NCAA Votes to Cut Transfer Portal Windows From 60 to 45 Days

The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to reduce the transfer portal window from 60 days to 45 days, one year after the system was first implemented in college sports.

Over the summer, Division I Council proposed cutting in half the window to enter the transfer portal and maintain eligibility for the following season, from 60 days to 30 days. The group settled on a 45-day window based on a recommendation from the Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Data released by the NCAA indicated that 61% of athletes who transferred last season entered the portal within the first 30 days.

For swimming and diving — a winter sport — the 45-day transfer portal window will open seven days after championship selection in March. There is no deadline for athletes to make their decision, and entering the portal does not mean they must transfer. Undergraduates can only transfer and be immediately eligible once if they enter the window on time; there are less restrictions for graduate transfers, who only have to provide notification of transfer by May 1.

“We are pleased the student-athlete voice was acknowledged and emphasized as part of the conversation about amending transfer windows,” said Cody Shimp, chair of the Division I SAAC and a former baseball player at St. Bonaventure. “We are happy that the council was able to find common ground and push forward a 45-day window to continue to provide a reasonable period of time for student-athletes to make rational and informed decisions about their athletic and academic futures.”

Football and basketball coaches primarily lobbied for the changes to the transfer portal windows as the lengthy period of uncertainty created issues with roster and time management. Swimming and diving has a relatively low transfer rate of about 5% — lower than it was two decades ago.

“In both men’s and women’s basketball, the council determined that a 45-day window that concludes on or before May 1 best enables coaches to understand their current rosters, provides stability for student-athletes remaining at the school as they prepare for summer basketball, and encourages student-athletes who intend to transfer to do so before final exams at their current schools and summer school application deadlines at most campuses,” said Lynda Tealer, chair of the council and deputy athletics director at Florida. “Moving forward, we will continue to evaluate the impact of transfer windows on student-athletes, coaches and athletics programs.”

The Division I Council also eliminated the requirement that an undergraduate transfer count against financial aid limits if they voluntarily withdraw from the school for reasons unrelated to athletics. It also voted to increase the application fee for transitioning from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) from $5,000 to $5 million.

The NCAA offered more insight into what its “modernized infractions process” might look like moving forward. Suspensions for coaches can now include all athletics activities between contests instead of just the competitions themselves. Additionally, the NCAA will reexamine eligibility for athletes accused of sports wagering as long as they did not allegedly bet on their own teams.