NCAA D-I Committee shortens college football, basketball transfer portal from 45 to 30 days

The NCAA Division I Committee voted Tuesday to shorten the college football and basketball transfer portal window. The decision takes effect this cycle and impacts the upcoming winter window. Over the last two years, the transfer portal has moved from 60 days to 45 and now to 30.

In basketball, the portal will open after the second round of the NCAA Tournament and will conclude before the end of April. Athletes would still be given a 30-day window to transfer after a coach’s departure.

In college football, athletes will have a 20-day window in the winter and 10 days in the spring. For the current year, those dates will be Dec. 9 to Dec. 28 and April 16 to 25. In all sports, an additional 30-day notification of transfer window will continue to open for student-athletes the day after the departure of their head coach is announced.

The D-I Council decided not to eliminate the spring transfer portal for this calendar year. That option is not off the table for the future, though.

The NCAA Division I Council proposed changing the transfer portal windows in football and basketball from 45 to 30 days in June. In data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows, the NCAA found most athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the portal opening.

More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers. That means roughly 25% of all FBS scholarship players hit free agency in one year.

The SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, plus the American Football Coaches Association, all supported the elimination of the 15-day spring portal. The decision to limit the number of days athletes can transfer is directly tied to power conferences stabilizing and taking control of roster movement and construction. Managing movement has led the NCAA to the courtroom, forcing the governing body to pass new legislation this spring allowing multi-time transfers to enter the portal and play immediately.

The move comes as roster limits are set to hit college football when the impending House v. NCAA settlement is certified. College football currently allows 85 scholarship players on a roster but with walk-ons factored in, rosters can hover around 120. With these settlement terms, there will be a roster limit of 105, all of whom can be scholarship athletes. Establishing new roster limits stems from trying to cut costs where possible.