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Jul 23, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Pittsburgh Head Coach Pat Narduzzi answers questions from the media during ACC Media days at Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Pitt HC Discusses New Changes in College Football

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI
By Mitchell Corcoran | Last updated Sep 25, 2025 5:00 PM ET

PITTSBURGH — College football is rapidly changing, and each decision that is made affects every program in the country one way or another, including the Pitt Panthers.

Recently, the NCAA eliminated the spring transfer portal window, making Jan. 2-11 the lone window for all FBS and FCS players. The ACC also announced that it will be implementing a nine-game conference schedule, plus all ACC teams will be required to schedule one Power Four opponent each year.

Pat Narduzzi gave his thoughts on the recent changes this week and how he sees them affecting the sport as a whole, the ACC and Pitt.

On the 9-Game ACC Schedule

"I expected that to come," Narduzzi said in a press conference on Sept. 25. "Everybody else is doing it. I feel like we shouldn't be the last ones to do it. So, I'm happy with that. I think everybody is playing at the same level, and us going to 10 Power Four (games), I think it's a good thing."

The ACC was the last of the Power Four conferences to make the switch to nine conference games. The Big 12 and the Big Ten were the first to do it years ago, and the SEC recently switched at the end of August.

Although Narduzzi thinks this move is a positive for the Power Four, he sees it as a negative for other parts of college football.

"I think it's a bad thing for FCS and the Group of Five," Narduzz said. "It's crowding the way where they don't get many games. They're going to struggle to find games. It's going to be the Group of Five conferences playing Group of Five conferences."

The reason that could be bad is that some of the biggest paychecks Group of Five and FCS schools get each year are from playing Group of Four schools, typically early in the season.

Every year, larger Power Four FBS schools pay lower-level programs to play them for, presumably, an easy win. Without as many of those games, with 10 Power Conference opponents taking up the 12-game schedule, those smaller programs will lose out on hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Narduzzi, who played at two FCS schools, Youngstown State and Rhode Island, and later coached at Rhode Island, knows that better than anybody.

"I think those are money games for them that keep their athletic department rolling," Narduzzi said. "I think it's going to take a hit on them. But we can't worry about them. We've got to worry about the Power Four."

On the One-Time Transfer Portal Window

"I'm absolutely thrilled," Narduzzi said on his weekly radio show on Sept. 24. "When that portal opens up, it's an anxious time for every coach in the country."

Having one transfer portal would relieve a lot of stress for head coaches.

Last year's transfer portal opened on Dec. 9 and closed on Dec. 28 — during the heart of bowl season, the College Football Playoff, coaching changes and early national signing day for high school recruits.

The spring had a 15-day window, typically after the spring games and practices, but surprise transfers created holes on rosters that could only be filled by incoming high school recruits during summer enrollment.

But according to Narduzzi, just because there is a transfer portal doesn't mean that every athlete should use it, and sometimes, the best place for players is where they are already at.

"I think too many options are bad for kids, and leaving open one short window is great for the kids," Narduzzi said. "They still get an opportunity. I'm all for the transfer portal for guys to get opportunities to maybe go play some place they can play. But, with all the tampering that goes on and the longer the window is open, the bigger chaos it creates."

Narduzzi also believes that the transfer portal could be setting a poor precedent for athletes, and in a college football world where leaving programs for a bigger paycheck is applauded by many, sticking at the same school for four to five years could be beneficial in the long run.

"My dad always taught me growing up, ' I'm never going to let you quit anything. If you start it, you're going to finish it,'" Narduzzi said. "I think that's what it's all about. I think if we teach our young how to quit, move on, they're going to quit on their jobs, they're going to quit on their wives, they're going to quit on their kids and that's not a good thing to teach."

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Panthers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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