However, new University of California-Berkley offensive guard Tyler Krieg admitted that his transfer from Duke University had as much to do with football as academics. Krieg told the Contra Costa Times (link here), “I came from a place where there was no respect, the bottom of the barrel. There is a lot of hype around Cal.” After redshirting and playing for three years at Duke, Krieg graduted in May and then transfered to Cal.
According to the article, Krieg had not planned on returning to play for Duke with his final year of eligibility until he learned of the rule because of Duke’s lack of success. Part of the intent of the rule is to allow players to attend a graduate program that fulfills their personal requirements. “Personally, I think it is a good rule,” he told the Contra Costa Times.
“I’m OK with the rule,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. “If we had a fifth-year guy who wasn’t completely happy, I would be OK with him transferring. Of course, you would hope that a guy in his fifth year would have an investment in the program.”
The NCAA national office has received 44 requests from the Division I membership for an override vote on the proposal. At its August 3 meeting, the Board of Directors stated their support of the proposal in a press release: “citing academic primacy as the basis for their decision. The presidents acknowledged the possibility of a “free agency” market with this new pool of student-athletes but agreed that the legislation correctly assumes that graduates will make their decisions based on where they want to attend school, not on where they want to play games.” (link here). An override vote of Division I members will take place at the 2007 NCAA Convention.