Interesting article. My take is pretty simple:
When you sign with a school, you commit to 4 years of being on the team in exchange for an opportunity to get a degree. If you leave early, you lose a year of eligibility and have to sit out for a year as a consequence of not holding your end of the agreement.
If, however, you stay for 4 years, get your degree, but have an extra year of eligibility due to a red shirt season (often something the coach chooses to do at his own discretion), you've fulfilled your part of the deal...sticking for 4 years. Now, degree in hand, with the original deal fulfilled, you should be a free agent, unencumbered by the terms of the fulfilled deal. You can stay and play your last year of eligibility with the team that you were on, or if you feel that there are better opportunities, you can go.
The argument that it hurts mid-major programs is bunk. Coaches know exactly what's going on with any kid's eligibility, and if a coach has a kid who might bolt for a grad year at another program, the coach has already had FOUR YEARS to prepare for such an event, and in the kid's penultimate year, should have open lines of communication regarding that kid's plans. I would imagine that very few coaches who are losing a player don't see the writing on the wall well in advance of the kid's departure.
