NCAA Revises the Transfer Portal Windows Around Coaching Changes

As the NCAA moves forward with significant changes to the college football transfer portal, it’s adding another new wrinkle around coaching shifts.

As expected, the Division I Administrative Committee on Tuesday approved the elimination of the spring transfer portal window for football, which is effective following the conclusion of meetings Wednesday. 

However, the committee also approved a proposal for changes to the transfer window exception for football head coach changes. 

Here’s what the changes look like:

Outgoing transfer portal rules

• Two windows in the winter (Dec. 9–28) and spring (April 16–25)
• Exception: 30-day window opening immediately after any head coaching change

New transfer portal rules

• Single transfer window Jan. 2–11
• Exception: 15-day window beginning five days after a new coach is hired or announced

Players on teams competing in the College Football Playoff, which this season runs Dec. 19 to Jan. 19, will continue to have a five-day window to enter the portal following their last postseason game, as was the case last year.

What the Changes Mean

The elimination of the spring portal window and shortening of the new single winter time frame are mostly seen as positive by head coaches around the country. The changes should help create a less chaotic start to the postseason, as December bowl games and the beginning of the College Football Playoff can play out without mass portal exoduses, as was the case last season. Although the changes won’t prevent players from sitting out in anticipation of eventually entering the portal.

As for the coaching change exception, the new policy means players whose coaches get fired midseason will have to wait weeks and potentially months for the school to announce a new hire before entering the portal. 

Power 4 programs that have fired their coach since the start of this season include UCLA, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas. Players from those teams will be grandfathered into the old system, as they are already in their respective 30-day transfer-eligible periods.