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Major changes coming to transfer portal, but challenges still remain
Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who led the Buckeyes to the national championship last season, is among those who are opposed to a one-time-only transfer portal. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Major changes coming to transfer portal, but challenges still remain

College football's transfer portal window is undergoing a significant overhaul, with two major changes on the horizon that will substantially impact how programs recruit players.

The NCAA Division I Administrative Committee has approved specific dates for a one-time-only transfer portal that will replace the two existing windows. The new transfer portal will be open for 15 days, from Jan. 2-16. Previously, there was a winter portal window in December and a spring transfer portal in April.

The committee's approval of these dates was expected to become official at the conclusion of its October meetings on Wednesday, per NCAA News on X. The problem with a December window is that it occurred while many teams were involved in bowl games, along with those invited to play in the College Football Playoff.

The spring portal, meanwhile, was challenging for coaches because it fell toward the conclusion of most squads' spring practices. Eliminating these two transfer portal windows and sticking with just one window moving forward is logical, although it presents issues.

Huge changes are coming to the transfer portal window

The biggest challenge with this one-time-only transfer portal in early to mid-January is that some athletes will still be competing in the CFP. For those participating in the event, they will have five days after their team's final postseason game to enter the portal.

The new portal window closes on Jan. 16. The CFP national championship game this year is on Jan. 19. That means players who suit up in the title contest could enter the portal from Jan. 20-24, even though the portal will have officially closed on Jan. 16.

Depending on where a player in the portal might want to transfer to, he could run up against challenges due to classes at his new school starting before he can enter the portal and make a decision about where to head next.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, who led the Buckeyes to the national championship last season, is among those who are opposed to a one-time-only transfer portal.

"I don't think it's a good idea at all," Day said last month. "In the conversations that we 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 playoffs are expected to make the decisions and sign their upcoming players while they're still getting ready to play games. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Day's argument is valid, but there's no perfect solution here. Moving back a single window after the CFP title game won't work, and the transfer portal being in December during bowl season or in April after spring practices is flawed. While there are challenges that will arise with the transfer portal being open from Jan. 2-16, it's the best option of the three.

Another significant change that will be enacted is the Division I Administrative Committee's decision to limit athletes to 15 days to enter the transfer portal after a head coaching change occurs. Currently, it is 30 days. 

Athletes must also wait five days after a new head coach is hired or announced to enter the portal, although players whose head coaches have already departed are grandfathered in under previous rules. That's a massive change, as athletes would often flock to the portal in droves once a head coach left or was fired. Now, they have to wait.

Neil Adler

Since graduating summa cum laude from Syracuse University's Newhouse School in 2000 with a degree in broadcast journalism, Neil Adler has served as a sports reporter, a marketing professional and a business journalist, mainly in the Washington, D. C. , market

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