Less than 2 percent of Georgia student athletes were transfers

The word transfer has become part of many’s vocabulary when it pertains to high school sports. Though most believe the number of transfers is running rampant, the state of Georgia‘s data would suggest otherwise.

On the same day when the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) announced it was cracking down on 3-school athletes, GHSA executive director Tim Scott provided surprising transfer numbers to Georgia High School Football Daily.

Less than two percent of student athletes were transfers during the 2024-2025 Georgia high school sports season. Of the 462,492 athletes, 5,916 (1.28 percent) transferred this past season and with new rules in place, that number could dip below that.

Correction on my numbers regarding transfers:

Per GHSA's Tim Scott, 5,916 of the GHSA’s 462,492 student athletes were transfers during 2024-25 academic year.

— GHSF Daily (@GHSFdaily) June 10, 2025

The Peach State is one of the toughest states when it comes to high school student athlete transfers as they recently made a major change to their bylaws pertaining to transferring.

Any student athlete who transfer schools multiple times after their initial ninth grade year will be ineligible and be forced to sit out one year before they can compete again. 

Families looking to transfer would have to prove to GHSA officials that the student athlete is in fact making a bonafide move and that would include furnishing copies of driver’s licenses, utility bills and lease agreements.

The bylaw is a revision of the GHSA’s 1.60 is listed here in its entirety:

1.62 A transfer student who has established eligibility at a former school in grades 9-12 shall be immediately eligible at the new school if:

a. The student moved simultaneously with the entire parental unit and all other persons he/she lived with at the former residence, and that residential unit moved into the service area of the new school with simultaneous enrollment of the student in the new school. This is known as a “bona fide move.” (NOTE: A move within the same service area does not constitute a bona fide move.)
1. The student may choose the public or private school serving that area.
2. It must be apparent that the parent(s) and all the persons residing with the student and the student have relinquished the residence in the former service area and have occupied a residence in the new service area.
3. The following factors, although not conclusive, may be evidence of relinquishment of the former residence: Selling the residence and vacating it; OR vacating the residence and listing it for sale at a fair market value; OR vacating the residence and leasing it to another (other than a relative) at fair market value; OR abandoning the residence and shutting off the unnecessary utilities. NOTE: When a family claims multiple residences, the residence for which they apply for a homestead exemption will be declared the primary residence provided the family spends the majority of their time at this residence.
4. The bona fide move is validated when the student’s family maintains the new residence for at least one calendar year. A return to the previous service area within that year renders the student to be a migrant student. All hardship appeal processes are available.