This year, that number is over 1,700 -- an average of nearly five players per Division I men's basketball team. The numbers have certainly been influenced by name, image and likeness (NIL) rules and immediate eligibility for every first-time transfer.
Although many coaches have cited the transfer wave as a significant challenge for the game, at least a few can relate to the experiences of these players, because they once made the same decisions.
ESPN recently reached out to some of the sport's top coaches to ask them why they made the decision to transfer when they were players.
Why did you decide to transfer as a college athlete?
Think about this: Jimmy [Valvano] won the national title with the Cardiac Pack [NC State] against Phi Slama Jama [Houston] on the Lorenzo Charles putback dunk in 1983. I go there in '86. Jimmy V was such a pioneer. I tell this to people all the time. He really was ahead of his time. All the money that us coaches are being afforded now, the on- and off-the-court opportunities, really, Jimmy V was one of the pioneers in that avenue.
He was the athletic director [at NC State]. He was the head basketball coach. He had his own companies. He had his own brand. He was creating products. He was endorsing everything. He was getting paid for speeches. In the mid-'80s, those were things that were foreign to coaches.
So I went [to NC State], and I was part of an ACC [tournament] championship team. I was playing behind a guy named Vinny Del Negro [first team all-ACC in 1988, future NBA standout], who ended up being a 12-year pro. And I was just a dumbass, honestly. God rest [Valvano's] soul, if it gives him any peace, my knuckleheaded-ness, thinking I was better than I was and being impatient. I deal with it 10 times a year, every year now, so it's coming back to me 100 percent.
And there was the distance. [Editor's note: Kennedy was born and raised in Mississippi.] My grandmother on my mother's side was ill. My parents had been avid supporters [of my career]. For the first time, I could see that they couldn't be involved in the process or the experience because of the distance. So distance, frustration, immaturity, all led me to say, "Hey man, I'm going to change and get back closer to home and change my vibe a bit."
How difficult was the decision?
We won the ACC tournament championship in 1987, so it wasn't like we had a bad team. This was NC State in 1986-87. Duke was just starting to become the Duke that we know they are today. They were just starting to make that push. When I was a freshman at NC State, Tommy Amaker was the starting point guard at Duke. Danny Ferry, Quin Snyder were on that team. Muggsy Bogues was at Wake Forest. Horace Grant was at Clemson.
It wasn't an easy decision. Because they didn't necessarily want me to go. They tried to dissuade me otherwise. But I just kind of had it made up in my mind, for a number of reasons -- my immaturity, my inability to process at that age and impatient, as we all are. I certainly was at 18, and then the distance. I just made up my mind that that was what I was going to do.
Transferring was less common when you played. How did people around you view your decision?
It used to be that a transfer was kind of a scarlet letter. "Oh, something must be wrong with him." It was a bad word. Now, kids look at it like, if you're not transferring, you're not cool. It's completely changed.
I was fortunate to have a number of different opportunities in Round 2 of the recruiting process, and legendary coach Gene Bartow was the guy that really started UAB basketball off a lot of transfers.
People were questioning that. But my family was terrific. They certainly wanted me to be closer to home so they could be a little more involved.
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