NCAA Votes To Shorten Transfer Portal Window, But Keeps Spring Period Open, And Some Coaches Won’t Be Happy

The ongoing saga with the college athletics transfer portal took another turn on Tuesday evening, as the NCAA Division I Committee voted to shorten the windows for both college football and basketball. 

There was talk over the summer that the spring portal period could be eliminated for the upcoming cycle, but the committee has taken a different approach to how many days it will be open during the spring instead. 

Now, as the NCAA voted on, the portal will be opened only for a combined 30 days, in both sports. 

For college football, shortening the period for both periods from 45 days to 30 days will be a transition that coaches across the country should be satisfied with, though there will still be detractors, obviously. 

Per the new schedule, college football players can start entering the portal on December 9, and it will close 20 days later on December 28. For the spring period, the protal will open on April 16, and run through April 25. This is a pretty big step for the winter period, given that it has gone from 60 days, to now 30 days over the past two years. 

It should be noted that players will have the same 30-day window to enter their names into the portal if their head coach were to leave. This was one of the biggest clusters following the Nick Saban ripple effect after the legendary Alabama coach retired last year. Chaos ensued because of coaches accepting different jobs, and it felt like the cycle would never end. 

So, that part will continue going forward. One of the most interesting aspects of the transfer portal is how it coincides with teams that make the college football playoffs.

“So we have to continue attacking the transfer portal, while we’re potentially fighting for a national championship,” one Power-4 head coach told OutKick. “What about the guys that want to leave after they’re eliminated from the playoffs? Should they enter their name before we actually play? So, as I’m preparing for the opening round or quarterfinals, I have to worry about players coming into my office and complaining about playing time, or how much money we’re gonna have to offer them to stay. What about our needs? You think other programs are not going to offer our star players more money to transfer, while we’re getting ready for a game?

“This is such a cluster-f-ck, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Now that the period will only be open until December 28, this will make the decision to transfer much harder for players still on rosters fighting for a national championship. The first round of the playoffs will take place on December 21, while the quarterfinals will start on December 31 and January 1. 

Spring Period For College Football Will Continue

As for the Spring window, the opportunity to enter the portal will now only entail a ten-day period, which has also been a point of frustration for coaches across the country, especially when players go through winter camp, and then decide to leave following spring practice, or games. 

Regarding college basketball, the transfer portal will open after the second-round of the NCAA tournament has concluded. 

ORLANDO – Head coach Deion Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes talks with Shedeur Sanders prior to a game against the UCF Knights at FBC Mortgage Stadium on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

The committee deciding to keep the spring period open for college football is an interesting move, given that major conferences were all for eliminating this period. But, the committee decided that it would keep this window open for the time being. 

Given that this continues to be an ongoing situation, the option to eliminate the spring period in the future is still on the table. 

Let the chaos continue, but for a shorter period of time.