It’s not a done deal yet, as the representative assembly, the Minnesota State High School League’s 48-member legislative body still has a vote, but it appears as if the landscape we call high school athletics is about to change.

Thursday, the MSHSL board unanimously approved a change in its transfer rules. The change means once students start ninth grade, they will be ineligible for varsity competition for one year if they transfer schools without a change in address.

The current rule states that students can transfer once without penalties; subsequent transfers result in a period of ineligibility of half the varsity season.

General Assembly is expected to vote on this at its March 22 meeting. If it passes, new rules take effect March 30.

Last year, some 2,300 students open enrolled into other schools; of these, 1,500 were said to be athletes.