The landscape of college football has been shifting over the last couple of years, and a proposed change by the Big Ten would continue that shift. The conference is looking to give more freedom to athletes who want to transfer.

Currently, undergraduate transfers aren’t always granted immediate eligibility when they transfer to a new school. The Big Ten is proposing a policy that would allow all its student-athletes a one-time transfer in which they would be granted immediate eligibility, according to a report from CBS Sports. Currently, athletes in 20 NCAA sports are allowed a one-time transfer. Football, men’s and women’s basketball, ice hockey, and baseball are the only sports that don’t allow that.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel believes it’s unfair to the athletes in those five sports that they don’t have the same level of freedom as their peers. Manuel wants to make sure that each player has at least one opportunity to change schools without any issues.

"We have five sports that are not allowed to transfer in this day and age. That is something we need to fix," Manuel said. "We need to give all young people flexibility to transfer once. If they transfer a second time, there is no waiver."

This policy will almost certainly draw criticism from some coaches, who have been critical of the changes that have already been made to the transfer market. However, one Big Ten athletic director noted that coaches should try to find players they know will stay with the program for their entire career.

Another issue with the current transfer rules is that minorities make up a majority of the athletes — 55 percent — in the five sports mentioned above. Per CBS Sports, that number in men’s and women’s basketball is up to 65 percent. Manuel doesn’t believe the current rules intentionally target minorities, but he does recognize they are more adversely affected.

"It's not that we believe the rules are racist," Manuel said. "The rules are disproportionately impacting a group of people that are distinctive by race."

The latest change proposed by the Big Ten seems to have support across the board from the conference’s athletic directors. The earliest this one-time transfer rule would come into effect would be 2021.

If this proposal gets approved, it would be another step in giving student-athletes more power over their collegiate careers. In Oct. of 2018, the NCAA Transfer Portal was enacted. That allows athletes to put their name on the transfer market without having to notify their coaching staff first. Once a player’s name is in the portal, other schools can begin to contact him or her.