Missouri defensive lineman Travion Ford announces plans to enter transfer portal

Missouri defensive lineman Travion Ford plans to enter the transfer portal, he announced Tuesday via his Twitter account. A four-star recruit from the 2021 class, Ford appeared in just one game during his true freshman season and has not accumulated any stats in 2022.

“I believe it’s in my best interest to continue my collegiate career elsewhere,” Ford wrote in his tweet. “This wasn’t an easy decision, but I believe it is necessary to continue to grow as an athlete. I will have three years of eligibility remaining as a transfer.

“I’d like to thank my teammates for accepting me as a brother and having my back since Day 1. I wish this team nothing but the best in the future. Thank you Mizzou football and Mizzou nation!”

Thank you MIZZOU NATION 🖤 pic.twitter.com/3aqjMQG6BI

— Travion Ford ® (@Tre_Got_Skills) November 29, 2022

A Saint Louis native, Ford ranked as the No. 22 edge defender and No. 234 overall player in the 2021 class according to On3 Consensus. He chose to attend Missouri over offers from programs such as Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan and many more.

Below is some background information on the transfer portal to keep in mind as Travion Ford makes his decision. To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

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.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. For example, the 2021-22 cycle started Aug. 1. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle. In comparison, 1,833 Division I basketball players entered the portal during the 2020-21 cycle after totals of 1,020 in 2019-20 and 1,063 in 2018-19.