Why can they not change the number of Transfers allowed... at this point, a player could play for 1 team this week and transfer to the team that won the next week.
We'll just keep moving to the best team available.
Because once schools coordinate limits on player movement, they're restraining labor... and that triggers antitrust law.
In NCAA v. Alston, the Supreme Court made clear that the NCAA is not exempt from antitrust scrutiny and that its member schools are competitors coordinating rules that suppress athlete compensation and leverage. While
Alston dealt with education-related benefits, the Court's reasoning applies broadly to labor restraints - including transfer restrictions.
Limiting the number of transfers is functionally the same as a no-poach or non-compete agreement. Competing employers can't agree to restrict worker mobility, even if they think it's "good for the system."
Think of it like construction companies in a city: they can't coordinate to cap wages or stop workers from switching job sites. They have to compete in an open labor market.
The only legal way to impose limits - on transfers, pay, drafts, or contracts - is through collective bargaining. That requires players to be recognized as employees, to unionize, and for schools (or conferences) to negotiate rules under the nonstatutory labor exemption.
That's why the NFL can have a draft, the NBA can have max contracts, and MLB can have service-time rules. Without a union, all of those would be illegal. College sports are running into chaos precisely because they're trying to impose labor rules without a labor framework.
