Florida Gators WR Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman entering transfer portal

On3 imageby:Zach Abolverdi•11/30/23•

ZachAbolverdi

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators sophomore receiver Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman told On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Thursday that he will be entering the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Bowman played in two games on special teams and redshirted in 2023, missing the majority of the season due to injury. He will have three years of eligibility remaining at his next school.

Bowman appeared in 12 games last season on special teams and as a reserve wide receiver. He finished his true freshman campaign with seven catches for 138 yards and made three tackles.

Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman is the second Florida receiver to transfer, along with starting sophomore WR Caleb Douglas, and the ninth overall player from the 2023 roster.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. 

Transfer portal background information

The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.

The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.

Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.

The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.

A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.

The portal has been around since Oct. 15, 2018 and the new calendar cycle within the portal begins each August. During the 2020-21 cycle, 2,626 FBS football players entered the transfer portal (including walk-ons). That comes after 1,681 entered during the 2019-20 cycle and 1,709 during the abbreviated 2018-19 cycle.

The window for FBS players to enter the portal opens on Dec. 4 and closes after 30 days on Jan. 2, 2024. 

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