Mark Sanchez, Colin Cowherd propose new transfer portal period

It’s a few years into the NCAA’s transfer portal era and it’s clear the process isn’t the smoothest for players or for coaches. Former NFL quarterback and USC star Mark Sanchez joined Colin Cowherd on The Herd this week to discuss potential ways to make the transfer portal process better for everyone involved.

“The NCAA is going to create a task force,” Cowherd said. “I do think they need guardrails. Even in the NFL there’s a trading deadline and you have a free agents period. … If I was the NCAA, I would say, you cannot transfer from Labor Day to the last regular season game. Let’s not compromise the regular season.”

“It’s the Wild Wild West right now,” Sanchez said before proposing his transfer window.”… Like a window to transfer or specific months like the European soccer leagues… It would probably help the coaches, too.”

The NCAA does have a deadline to enter the transfer portal for the fall and winter semesters – May 1. However, players in the portal still have until the semester starts to make a decision on their next move.

“The unfortunate thing with this portal is you never get the Clay Matthews’, the guy that shows up at 190-pounds soaking wet and then becomes this amazing Hall of Fame player,” Sanchez lamented. “You never get that guy that grinds it out.”

Transfer portal data reveals scary picture

The grass is not always greener on the other side. The NCAA released data from the first two years of the transfer portal, revealing that only 49% of college student-athletes enrolled at a new member school after entering the portal.

The percentages vary based on the sport and division, but they do not paint a pretty picture for college athletes seeking a better college athletics situation.

FBS Sport	Percentage Enrolled at New School
Football	54%
Men’s Basketball	65%
Women’s Basketball	65%

FBS football had more players enter the transfer portal than any other sport (2,358), but men’s basketball had 31% of its athletes enter the portal over the two-year period. The interactive dashboard allows you to examine a variety of data points in various sports across all divisions.

For updates on where all the different college football prospects across America are headed this offseason, keep it locked to the 2022 On3 Transfer Portal Wire.