NEWS: NCAA amends transfer window for athletes

According to the NCAA, transfer portal windows for college athletes has been shortened.

FOOTBALL

New transfer windows for Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision football will include a 30-day window beginning the Monday after FBS conference championship games. For student-athletes on teams that compete in the College Football Playoff, there will be an additional five-day transfer window in January. A second transfer window of 15 days would occur during the second half of April.

The tightening of the schedule for the portal is due to data gathered by the NCAA that 61% of their athletes enter within the first 30 day window.

Of course, student-athletes still have the freedom to announce their next step at any point. However, this gives coaches more of a complete view of their roster for the next season.

BASKETBALL

“In both men’s and women’s basketball, the council determined that a 45-day window that concludes on or before May 1 best enables coaches to understand their current rosters, provides stability for student-athletes remaining at the school as they prepare for summer basketball, and encourages student-athletes who intend to transfer to do so before final exams at their current schools and summer school application deadlines at most campuses,” said Lynda Tealer, chair of the council and deputy athletics director at Florida. “Moving forward, we will continue to evaluate the impact of transfer windows on student-athletes, coaches and athletics programs.”

This change will also help coaches and their programs have a better view of their roster leading into summer workouts similar to football.

Other changes made were for requirements to become a division 1 program, if an FCS program decides to move to the FBS. The NCAA has decided to ‘Increase the application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS from $5,000 to $5 million (effective immediately).’

There will no longer be attendance requirements for programs to remain FBS members.

The NCAA will also require all FBS programs to provide 90% of the total number of allowable scholarships over a two-year rolling period across 16 sports, including football. FBS schools will also be required to fund 210 scholarships each year, amounting to no less than $6 million annually (effective August 2027).