Updated: NCAA D1 Council Introduces Potential Changes to Transfer Portal Window
(This article has been updated to reflect the Council’s decision to approve football staff member increases.)
STILLWATER – It’s possible we could see a change to the transfer portal window. According to a release, the Division I Council voted on Tuesday to introduce a proposal that would change the transfer portal windows from 45 days to 30 days.
The sports in question are football and men’s and women’s basketball.
The decision to move forward with the proposals will not be final until the meeting wraps up on Wednesday. And the vote won’t take place until October.
"In creating transfer windows a few year 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," said Josh Whitman, chair of the council and director of athletics at Illinois. "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 new proposal would still allow athletes whose head coaches have left a 30-day period in which to transfer, regardless of portal window.
According to the release, and based on the quote given by Whitman, coaches across the country have discovered most of the athletes who were going to transfer, entered the portal within the first four weeks of the portal being open.
The percentage of basketball players who entered the portal in the first four weeks of the window in 2024 was 82% for men and 86% for women.
What’s going to be interesting is the structure of the portal window should the vote pass. Using football as the example, there are 30 days from the end of the regular season throughout the bowl season. Then there are 15 days in April for players to enter the portal following/during spring football. Will there be a 15-15 split between spring and winter? We’ll have a better understanding if the Council moves forward with the vote.
The Council also approved to expand college football coaching staffs, allowing for as many analysts/assistants to officially coach players both in practices and in games.
Pokes Report has learned that according to Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy, not much will change with the Cowboys’ coaching staff. There will be a slight number of analysts who will help coach players, but most of the current and/or new analysts brought in will stay in the traditional analyst role.