Division I Men's Basketball Oversight Committee recommends shortening, moving start of transfer portal window

The Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee recommended multiple changes to the transfer portal Wednesday, according to a committee report. Those proposed changes include shortening the window and, as a result, moving the start.

The committee recommended reducing the current transfer window to 30 days from the current 45. With that, the portal would then open after the end of the second round of the NCAA Tournament rather than after Selection Sunday, which is when transfers can currently begin to enter under the current setup.

In its recommendation, the committee said 68% of teams’ seasons end by Selection Sunday and by moving the window back a week, it would give those athletes time to catch up on their school work before making their transfer decisions. Additionally, according to the committee, 91% of teams’ seasons end by the Monday after the second round of March Madness.

The committee recommended the NCAA Division I Council introduce such legislation at its June 2024 meeting so it fits into the October 2024 governance cycle.

Fred Hoiberg: Balancing portal with postseason is ‘not a lot of fun’

Nearly 2,000 men’s basketball players entered the portal during the 2024 window, which opened March 18 and closed May 1. That meant as teams were gearing up to compete in the NCAA Tournament and NIT, athletes across the country were hitting the open market, creating an interesting balance amid the quest for a title.

“It’s not a lot of fun,” Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg said during the Memphis regional. “I’ll be honest with you. It’s a big part of the job, and you have to be on top of everything early in the process or you won’t have a chance. You want to be preparing obviously 24/7, but you have to be on top of that. And our staff does a good job with it.

“But at this time of year, for us, for me, it’s all about doing everything I can to prepare the team and put a game plan together to give us a chance to beat, again, one of the top teams in the country here these past six weeks. And we’ll worry about that. When this journey ends hopefully not for a while, we’ll get on top of it, but our staff is doing a good job right now keeping everybody in the loop on what’s happening on that front, at the same time staying very focused on the task at hand.”

Pete Nakos contributed.