PHILADELPHIA — D.J. Rivera played for Saint Joseph's last season. D.J. Rivera is playing for Binghamton this season.

Welcome to the new world of the "hardship waiver."

It was no secret that Rivera was not getting along with St. Joe's coach Phil Martelli. The sophomore wasn't happy with his playing time. Everybody knew he was going to transfer.

Everybody also knows transfers must sit out a year at their new schools. Not anymore, at least not in cases where a player's new school applies for, and the player is granted, a "hardship waiver."

Hardly anybody knew about the 1991 rule until Tennessee used it before last season on behalf of Tyler Smith, who had been at Iowa and wanted to come home to be with his very ill father in Tennessee. The NCAA granted Smith a "hardship waiver." He did not have to sit out a year and played last season with the Volunteers.

Rivera, a high-flying scorer at Neumann-Goretti High School, is averaging 20.3 points and 6.6 rebounds for 4-3 Binghamton, of the America East Conference.

In the summer of 2007, Rivera was allegedly involved in an incident in which he was the victim.

Apparently, Binghamton made that incident and Rivera's reaction to it the centerpiece of its appeal to the NCAA. David Eagan, Binghamton's associate athletic director for compliance, wrote in an e-mail: "I can confirm that the NCAA granted D.J. Rivera a hardship waiver allowing him to compete this year. In addition, we are not at liberty to discuss any specifics, in accordance with student privacy issues."

The NCAA has loosely defined the basis for a winning appeal as "circumstances that are out of the control of the student-athlete." Which is nice enough and quite vague.

The NCAA obviously ruled in Rivera's favor, as he is playing. It is perfectly within the rules and, in Rivera's case, might very well have been for perfectly legitimate reasons. The rule was put in to be athlete-friendly by an organization that has often been accused of being autocratic.

Like so many NCAA rules with good intentions, however, the "hardship waiver" rule has the potential for abuse. After the Smith case, players around the country are suddenly homesick and discovering ill relatives, trying to find a way out of a situation they do not like, without having to sit out a year.

More and more appeals are being made. Somehow, the NCAA has to sort through what is legit and what is not. Good luck.

It isn't exactly free agency, but players are now more likely to be recruited successfully off a school's bench if the prospective new school can convince that player it can get him a "hardship waiver" and he won't have to sit out a year. Third parties will be getting in players' ears telling them they can get them a "hardship waiver."

The National Association of Basketball Coaches would like the NCAA to revisit the rule and get rid of it. The rule is there to help an athlete in a difficult circumstance. Which is a good thing. How often the rule is now being used may be less of a good thing.