Ohio State coach Ryan Day Lori Schmidt / Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ryan Day doesn't hold back on potential transfer portal change

Originally posted on CFB-HQ on SI | By Patrick Previty | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 4:06 PM ET

Ohio State coach Ryan Day did not agree with the NCAA's proposal to compress college football's transfer portal into a single, 10-day January window, arguing it unfairly burdens College Football Playoff teams and collides with recruiting and roster decisions.

"No. I don’t think it’s a good idea at all," Day said Tuesday. "In the conversations we've had with the Big Ten coaches, I think the majority of them agree. I just don't quite understand how teams that are playing in the playoff are expected to make the decisions and sign their upcoming players while also getting ready to play for games."

The NCAA FB Oversight Committee voted today to support a single transfer portal in January, sources tell @YahooSports, ushering in a significant change.

The Administrative Committee still needs to formally adopt the change later. The 10-day window is expected to open Jan. 2.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 4, 2025

Day added that Big Ten leadership has a different timing in mind. "I know the calendar is funky, but... [commissioner] Tony Petitti... doesn't believe in it either. We've had a lot of long discussions... but I don't agree with it being in January," he said. Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork has publicly favored a spring window that aligns with the end of the academic year and new revenue-sharing contracts.

The NCAA's FBS Oversight Committee voted last week to support moving to one winter portal opening from Jan. 2-11 while eliminating the spring period and making December a recruiting dead period. The change requires approval from the Division I Administrative Committee, with a vote expected before Oct. 1. If adopted, it would start with the 2025-26 cycle. Last season’s winter window ran Dec. 9-28 and the spring window April 16-25. If implemented, the portal would open one day after the CFP quarterfinals, with semifinals on Jan. 9-10 and the title game Jan. 20. "It doesn’t make any sense to me," he said.

Texas' Steve Sarkisian and LSU's Brian Kelly have come out in favor of a January-only window. In 2024, the NCAA also cut football's total portal access from 45 days to 30. The Administrative Committee will decide whether to finalize the change before October. If it passes, schools would navigate an early January market and Playoff teams would do so while still chasing a championship, which is the scenario Day says the sport should avoid.