Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields throws during an NFL Pro Day at Ohio State University on March 30 in Columbus, Ohio. (AP file photo)

The Division I Council meets today and Thursday, and the agenda includes voting on a proposal that would grant all college athletes the ability to transfer one time as undergraduates without having to then sit out a season of competition.

All indications are the proposal will pass. When it does, athletes in football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball and men’s ice hockey will for the first time be immediately eligible to play after switching schools without asking for special permission.

For decades, the penalty of giving up a year of eligibility helped deter athletes from transferring, at least in those high-profile sports. In all other NCAA sports, athletes were allowed to switch schools once before graduating and play immediately.

The exception will soon be available to everyone — which is likely to mean more transfers than ever.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields passes against Alabama during the first half of the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 11 in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP file photo)

South Dakota State athletic director Justin Sell, a member of the council, said the lack of uniformity in the rules across sports had become difficult to justify.

“Trying to create opportunities for students that are equitable across the board, it becomes much more difficult to create a case of why a football student-athlete should be sitting out when a volleyball student-athlete doesn’t have to,” Sell said.

The NCAA has been examining its rules regarding athletes who transfer seemingly forever. But three and a half years ago Sell was put in charge of a working group tasked with making substantive changes.

From that, the transfer portal was created and athletes no longer had to ask for permission to be released from their scholarships if they wanted to switch schools and receive financial aid. No longer could coaches stand in the way if a player wanted to leave or dictate where they could go.

Sell’s group considered the idea of lifting the year-in-residence rule, which forced athletes to sit out the year after transferring, but never quite got there.

“We walked right up to this question … but the Rice Commission report (on college basketball) came out and they asked that no further action be taken on transfers at the time,” said Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher, who was part of the working group. “So boom, we walk up to the question and then we stop.”

Instead, the waiver process was tweaked to allow athletes to receive immediate eligibility by showing a hardship of some sort that necessitated the transfer. That led to problems.

Some high-profile players such as quarterback Justin Fields, who transferred from Georgia to Ohio State in 2019, were granted waivers by the NCAA, creating an expectation that all players would be cleared to play right away.

When that didn’t happen, players, coaches and fans criticized the NCAA and claimed the waiver process was inconsistent and unfair. A working group led by Steinbrecher concluded that waivers were no solution.