GHSA responds to Bruce Pearl’s ‘shame on them’ comment

In Georgia, a transfer student is ineligible for one year unless he completes a bona fide move, which entails establishing residence in the student’s new school district with his entire family unit while relinquishing the family’s previous residence. (See GHSA eligibility rules here.)

Cardwell played his freshman high school season at Evans, near Augusta, then two seasons at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia. He enrolled at McEachern for his final season, but was ineligible because of the GHSA’s bona-fide move rule. The hometown listed on Cardwell’s Auburn profile is Augusta.

Additionally, GHSA rules do not allow students to become eligible for one year if they transfer from out-of-state boarding schools that are not members of their state associations. Oak Hill, a school of fewer than 150 students that has helped develop 42 NBA players, is one of those.

Cardwell was part of the same AAU program, Athletes of Tomorrow, with Cooper and another future NBA player from McEachern’s 2019 state-championship team, Isaac Okoro. All three ultimately played at Auburn. GHSA rules may consider joining AAU teammates on a high school team as evidence of undue influence, or recruiting, which is a GHSA violation.

Robin Hines, the GHSA’s executive director in 2020, would not comment specifically on Cardwell’s case but defended the GHSA’s bona-fide move rule.

“It prevents schools from stacking teams,” Hines said. “If you don’t have that, a player can decide he wants to go to play with this coach or this player and go play where he wants. It creates a competitive imbalance.”

Hines said the rule is popular among the GHSA membership. The GHSA office enforces rules that the membership approves.

“Member schools would not want to change that rule,” he said. “That’s never comes up. No one (among GHSA member schools) has ever tried to challenge the bona fide move rule (since Hines joined the GHSA in 2016). As soon as that happens, you don’t have the GHSA anymore. People can go play with whoever they want, and you’re eligible no matter where you live or whoever you live with.”

Almost all states have eligibility requires based on residency, although they differ. Florida is a notable example of a state that does not require a bona fide residency moves for transfers.

The GHSA approved about 4,000 requests for transfer eligibility this academic year, Hines said. About 1,700 were denied for various reasons. The are about 460,000 students playing sports in the GHSA.

Tim Scott, who succeeded Hines as athletic director last summer, also said the GHSA’s member schools overwhelmingly support the bona-fide move rule.

“If anything, our membership would like it to be tighter,” Scott said.

In addition to the competitive-balance issues, Scott said that the rule exists to discourage athletes and families from letting sports take priority over education.

“If you have a student that moves three, four, five times in a four-year high school career, that can have an effect on what they’re doing academically,” Scott said. “We are an education-based organization, and first and foremost goal should be getting your high school education and preparing for post-secondary education.”

Auburn defeated Michigan State 70-64 on Sunday to advance to the Final Four. Auburn is 108-32 during Cardwell’s four seasons, the best run of its kind in school history.