NCAA D-I Council proposes 30-day transfer portal for football, basketball

The NCAA Division I Council introduced a proposal Tuesday to change the transfer portal windows in football and basketball from 45 to 30 days. A vote is expected in October.

Currently, the football portal window is 30 days in December and another 15 days in April. For basketball, the 45-day window opens a day after Selection Sunday.

In basketball, the portal would 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 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. The study showed that 73% of men’s and women’s basketball undergraduate athletes entered during the first four weeks. That increased to 82% for men and 86% for women in 2024.

“In creating transfer windows a few years ago, NCAA schools identified that those windows might need to be adjusted over time as the transfer landscape evolved and we gained more information about student-athlete mobility,” Illinois athletic director and Division I Council chair Josh Whitman said in a statement. “These proposals reflect ongoing evaluation and adaptation to transfer trends, and the data support that this adjustment would not meaningfully impact the great majority of transfer student-athletes in these sports. Introducing the proposals gives us an opportunity to hear from all key stakeholders as the environment continues to evolve.”

No limit on number of times athletes can enter transfer portal

This comes after last summer when college football coaches called for the portal windows to move from 60 to 45 days. The NCAA approved those changes in October 2023, moving to the 30-day window in December. Athletes on teams that compete in the College Football Playoff are allowed to enter an additional five-day transfer window in January after their postseason.

The NCAA again pivoted on its transfer policy in December when it agreed to terms on a preliminary injunction in the Northern District of West Virginia District Court. The NCAA Division I Council adopted emergency legislation for a new transfer rule this spring. All undergraduate athletes can now transfer and play immediately as long as they meet specific academic requirements. Previously, if an underclassman wished to transfer a second time, the athlete needed the NCAA to grant a waiver to compete immediately. Absent an approved waiver, the athlete had to sit out a year. 

There is no limit on the number of times an athlete can transfer. The NCAA sent out memos to institutions twice this academic year stating that multi-time transfers could play immediately in 2024-25 without securing a waiver. Athletes cannot transfer mid-year and play for a new school in the same athletic season.

The Division I Council is in Indianapolis on Tuesday and Wednesday this week as part of its annual meetings. The 40-person council from all 32 conferences is also expected to vote on a legislative proposal that would expand the role of support staff. Specifically, all staff members would be allowed to provide technical and tactical instruction to athletes during practice and games.