March Madness Meets Portal Pandemonium: The New Era of Hoops

March Madness is now taking full flight, with the round-of-64 games on Thursday beginning what some fans argue are the two greatest days on the sports calendar. The other madness of March, though, with the upcoming start of the transfer portal in men’s college basketball, is already causing its own schisms throughout the sport. 

The current state of the portal is already reflected in the 297 transferred players competing in March Madness (according to a study by AD Advisors and Timark Partners). This is a subset of the more than 2,000 players in the portal last year—amounting to about half of all college basketball players.

Somewhat similar numbers are expected this year, and already, more than 300 players have declared their intention to transfer, according to Verbal Commits. The March 24 start of the 2025 cycle promises to bring plenty of changes. Among the forthcoming impacts:

• A different timing: The start of the transfer portal is a week later compared to last year, when it began right after Selection Sunday. This time, the window begins after the March Madness round-of-32 games, by which time more than 90% of all Division I teams will have concluded their seasons. 
• Postseason turbulence: While the new timing was designed to help programs, it still led to several non–March Madness teams turning down other postseason opportunities such as the National Invitation Tournament and College Basketball Crown. “We want to move full speed ahead on offseason plans, building our program and our roster, and going from there,” said Penn State coach Mike Rhoades. The Nittany Lions were one of numerous major-conference programs to decline secondary postseason tournament bids.
• NIL bidding wars: Just as was the case last season, this year’s transfer portal will feature players pitting programs against one another in search of deals for their name, image, and likeness rights. 
• The end of extra COVID-19-era eligibility: One factor that could curtail transfer-portal movement somewhat is this season’s end of an extra year of player eligibility stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. That will mean an end to fifth-year players from that period seeking a new college home, and a payday, from their extra year of eligibility. 
• A tighter window: The portal will close April 22, and the 30-day window is markedly shorter than last year’s 45 days, meaning both coaches and players will be under pressure to make quicker decisions. 
• A changing competitive landscape: The SEC is dominating the March Madness field in historic fashion, but talent continues to disperse in unprecedented ways.

“I think there’s better teams [across college basketball] because the whole reason people go places now is either for the money or for the opportunity to play,” said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. “Winning is not necessarily high on that list. And that’s O.K., but that means there’s going to be more players spread out.”