The NCAA is in transfer-portal chaos.

There are 2,033 men’s NCAA Division I basketball players who have entered the transfer portal as of April 10, according to Verbal Commits. That’s about 35% of the 5,607 players at the beginning of the 2024–2025 season, including players who will graduate this year. Not all of those players are on scholarships, meaning the players in the transfer portal make up an even greater share of minutes and benefits.

While the number of transfer aspirants has yet to surpass last year’s total (2,088), players can still enter the portal, as it will remain open until April 22. The 30-day transfer-portal window opened March 24. 

However, not all of the players will transfer schools. Players are allowed to return to their original schools so long as the school is open to them returning, such as San Diego State center Magoon Gwath, who entered the portal on the first day it opened but withdrew April 2. He is still included in the count of Verbal Commits.

Not Just the Men

The transfer-portal chaos does not stop on the men’s side, though. On3’s Talia Goodman reported Wednesday that more than 1,300 women’s D-I players have entered the transfer portal, which is about 25% of the 5,048 who were on rosters at the beginning of last season.

Among the transfers are Ta’Niya Latson, who led the NCAA in scoring last year and committed to South Carolina, and Olivia Miles, the projected No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, who chose to return to college and transfer from Notre Dame to TCU.

UConn coach Geno Auriemma, who led the Huskies to a record 12th national championship Sunday, spoke out about his qualms with the transfer portal during an appearance on The Dan Patrick Show on Monday.

“What makes it hard is that in the NBA, they have a free-agency period of time. … Our free agency is the whole year,” Auriemma said. “The portal is open during the NCAA tournament. Can you imagine the NBA playoffs and free agency is going on during the playoffs? I mean, it’s insanity.”

The forthcoming release of the National Football League’s 2025 regular-season schedule is set to look very similar to last year’s, but the game slate itself is poised to be rather different—further showcasing the league’s attempt to make each of the 272 games a major event. 

League officials are currently planning to unveil the full game schedule around May 15, a timing that would match last year’s release. The full drop of the game schedule is again likely to be preceded by announcements of special-event contests such as the Sept. 4 kickoff game at the Eagles’ Lincoln Financial Field and international games.

“Somewhere in the May 13, 14, or 15 range is probably still our target,” said NFL VP of broadcast planning and scheduling Mike North this week on the It’s Always Gameday in Buffalo podcast.

This year’s schedule, however, will contemplate several additional factors, making its construction more complex than ever. Among the additional issues:

• The record-setting collection of seven international games, including first-time trips for the NFL in the regular season to Ireland and Spain. 
• An expanded Christmas Day slate with a game on Amazon to join another doubleheader on Netflix.
• A desire to reverse a 2% decline in regular-season ratings in 2024. An unprecedented audience for Super Bowl LIX provided a massive counterpoint, but the league is still aiming for the regular-season viewership dip not to become an extended trend.
• A recently approved measure to expand the amount of flex scheduling available for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football package.
• Settling which network will broadcast the league’s Sept. 5 return to Brazil, a game involving the Chargers as the designated home team.
• Keeping every rights holder happy as they seek to broadcast particularly coveted 2025 games such as a Super Bowl LIX rematch between the Chiefs and Eagles, and another high-profile clash between the Chiefs and Bills as Kansas City remains the NFL’s top television draw. 
• The outcome of the upcoming draft and potential free-agent signings, such as whether Aaron Rodgers will sign with the Steelers. Green Bay will travel to Pittsburgh as part of the NFL’s established formula of 2025 game opponents. 

“Are there some trades that are going to happen? [We’re] still waiting on a certain future Hall of Fame quarterback to sign somewhere, maybe this year,” North said on the podcast. “Hopefully, a lot of that is known by draft day.”

A historic facility investment in U.S. women’s pro sports is already getting significant pushback just weeks after it was first unveiled.

Several members of the Denver City Council said Wednesday they have significant reservations about providing $70 million in taxpayer funds toward a planned stadium to house a National Women’s Soccer League expansion team.

That stadium, along with a record-setting $110 million expansion fee, is part of a collective investment that NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman previously described as ”the largest in women’s sports in the history of the world. Period.” The proposed use of public funds, however, is clashing against several other issues, including an already stretched city budget and a particularly turbulent national economy.

“I don’t believe this stadium will ever be built,” said city councilwoman Sarah Parady. “I wish that I did.”

The franchise owners, led by IMA Financial Group CEO Rob Cohen, remain undeterred as they plan to spend up to $200 million for the stadium.

“We won’t abandon this project because it’s important to our core values and what we’re trying to do,” Cohen said.

No votes have been taken yet as the council considers whether to provide $50 million for land and infrastructure improvements for the stadium and another $20 million for upgrades to adjacent areas. A vote on conditional funding could happen April 23. 

Bigger Issues

The proposed NWSL stadium, located in Denver’s Santa Fe Yards neighborhood just south of downtown, is also part of a growing collection of sports-related projects that look to reshape the city. The NFL’s Broncos are also actively considering what to do with the 24-year-old Empower Field at Mile High. 

Meanwhile, Stan Kroenke, owner of the NBA’s Nuggets and NHL’s Avalanche, is embarking on an ambitious plan to develop about 55 acres of land surrounding those teams’ Ball Arena. The NWSL project, beyond making its own statement about the future of the league and women’s sports broadly, will seek to integrate into a fast-changing Denver.

“This, to me, is a small investment in an area that has historic redlining, that has a lack of public spaces,” said councilwoman Flor Alvidrez, who challenged some of the opposition from other council members. “I’m pretty appalled that when it comes to investing in this area, all of a sudden it’s too much?”