NCAA Football Oversight Group evaluating elimination of Spring transfer portal

The NCAA Football Oversight Group is evaluating the elimination of the Spring transfer portal, a source confirmed to On3.

A source told On3 conversations are still ongoing and the FBS and FCS Oversight Groups have yet to have a formal conversation on the topic. According to Yahoo! Sports, the proposal introduced this week would take effect during the 2024-25 school year and impact the cycle.

On3 reported Thursday that any changes to the portal during October’s NCAA Division I Council meeting would be put into effect this year. With the elimination of the spring, the transfer portal would last just 30 days in the winter. Currently, it is scheduled to open the day after the College Football Playoff field is announced. According to the NCAA, the portal will open for business Monday, Dec. 9, 2024, and close Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.

The NCAA Division I Council proposed changing the transfer portal windows in football and basketball from 45 to 30 days in June, with a vote from the D-I Council set for October. 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.

Over the last two years, the transfer portal has moved from 60 total days to 45. Now, without the 15-day Spring portal window, athletes would just have 30 days to test free agency.

According to Yahoo, the SEC, Big Ten, ACC and Big 12, plus the American Football Coaches Association, support eliminating the Spring window. 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.

If the proposal does not move forward, the current spring portal is slated to open on April 16, 2025, and shut down on April 30, 2025.

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.

The reason for the increase in scholarships stems from trying to provide some legal protection from lawsuits. The reason to establish new roster limits stems from trying to cut costs where possible.

But without a Spring transfer portal window in 2025, players could be left without homes due to pending roster limits.