Arkansas RB Raheim Sanders plans to enter Transfer Portal

Arkansas RB Raheim “Rocket” Sanders plans to enter the transfer portal.

The 6’2 238 RB will have 1 year of eligibility remaining.

Sanders sent a statement to On3:

Razorback Nation

First and foremost, I would like to thank God for giving me the ability to play the game I love. I’ve been blessed beyond measure with all the opportunities I’ve been afforded.

To the entire Razorback staff, my teammates, and all of Razorback Nation thanks for supporting me throughout my collegiate career. Thank you to the Razorback educational support staff for your support with helping me be on track to graduate in the Spring of 2024 within three years of my initial enrolling.

Coach Smith thank you for your support, guidance and advice through everything. You are more than a coach to me and I appreciate you.

Lastly, I want to thank my family for supporting me through it all. With your unconditional love,  I’ve grown and strived to carry myself with honor that you would be proud of daily.    

It has been one of the most special distinctions in representing the State of Arkansas and the Razorbacks for the last three years.

After much prayer and reflection, it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter in my life. In order for me to reach further goals, it’s best for me to enter my name in the transfer portal with one year of remaining eligibility.

Raheim Rocket Sanders

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.