The possibility of removing college football’s spring transfer window is officially on the table. The NCAA Football Oversight Committee this week recommended a proposal to the Division I Council to eliminate the 15-day April window and leave only the 30-day winter window, two people with knowledge of the decision told The Athletic.
If adopted by the D-I Council, the change would take effect this cycle. The proposal had widespread support across conferences and the American Football Coaches Association, one of the people said. The D-I Council next meets in person from Oct. 8-9. Yahoo Sports first reported news of the proposal.
Transfer portal windows are the periods in which college athletes can enter the portal in order to play at a new school in the following season. Players only need to enter their names within that timeframe and do not need to select a new school before the window ends. This year’s winter portal runs from Dec. 9 to Jan. 7, while the spring portal is April 16-30.
The spring portal window has been especially frustrating for coaches, who finish spring practice and still don’t know their complete team for the coming summer. There have also been instances when players transfer to a new school in the winter window, then transfer again in the spring window. The NCAA says the majority of players enter the portal within the first four weeks of the window opening, including 82 percent for men’s basketball players in 2024.
The change would come on the heels of a Division I Council proposal in June to reduce the total number of portal days from 45 to 30 (after reducing it from 60 to 45 a year ago). Currently, the football portal is open for 30 days in the winter and 15 in spring. Athletes whose head coaches leave would still have a 30-day window from a coach’s departure under that proposal.
“In creating transfer windows a few years ago, NCAA schools identified that those windows might need to be adjusted over time as the transfer landscape evolved and we gained more information about student-athlete mobility,” Illinois athletic director and D-I Council chair Josh Whitman said in a June statement. “These proposals reflect ongoing evaluation and adaptation to transfer trends, and the data support that this adjustment would not meaningfully impact the great majority of transfer student-athletes in these sports. Introducing the proposals gives us an opportunity to hear from all key stakeholders as the environment continues to evolve.”
The potential changes come amid what could be massive player movement over the next year, as the House v. NCAA lawsuit settlement, if approved by the judge, plans to set football roster sizes at 105 players as part of its revenue-sharing terms. Most rosters are above 120 players and sit even higher than that in fall camp. But there is concern that walk-ons or players who get “cut” in the spring and summer paring down to the 105 would be left with limited options in finding a new place to play without a spring window. The spring portal is also a time when some players who don’t earn starting jobs in spring practice decide to head elsewhere, and when coaches encourage players who won’t play much to go look around. Student-advocacy groups are expected to push back on the change.
The elimination of the spring portal could also have an adverse effect on schools that have late coaching changes after the winter window, which happened at several high-profile schools this year in the wake of Nick Saban’s retirement.
The D-I Council is expected to review and discuss the proposal in the coming weeks before making a decision.
(Photo: Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
