NCAA Attempts To Rein In Transfer Portal Chaos

On Wednesday morning, the NCAA approved changes to the transfer portal windows in all sports.

Many sports, such as softball, already have a 45-day transfer window. Football, however, goes from 60 days down to 45 total days. As you can see in the Tweet above, the transfer portal windows for football will now be 30 days after the conclusion of the season - following conference championship games - and 15 days in the spring.

Previously, the window ran 45 days following the season. Often times, players would enter near the end of the period leaving teams with position holes and a very short time to address these roster issues. With the December Signing Period being the “new Signing Day” in which most players sign, coaches were left scrambling to find replacements and often times coming up empty-handed.

Last year’s football portal opened on the Monday after conference championship games, December 5th, 2022, and closed 45 days later on January 18, 2023 - two weeks before the final Signing Day. This past spring’s transfer portal window lasted May 1-15.

Under the new rule, it is assumed the winter dates will be Monday, December 4th through January 2, 2024. These dates are much more manageable and could bring back some action to the February Signing Day.

The men’s and women’s basketball portals for this year were open 60 days, March 13-May 11, 2023. The new dates have not been set as of yet. Hypothetically, they would run March 11 to April 24. The men’s 2024 NCAA basketball championship game is set for Monday, April 8.