What Are the NCAA Transfer Portal Rules?

Nate Cunningham | 3 Hours Ago

Ohio State safety Caleb Downs was the No. 1 player in the 2024 transfer portal, jumping to the Buckeyes from Alabama. / Samantha Madar-Imagn Images

In 2024, college sports are as different as they’ve ever been. Players routinely bounce around the nation looking for the best place to maximize their talent and get an opportunity to make it to the next level. 

Of course, it wasn’t always quite like this, but the transfer portal does empower players to take their future into their own hands. 

What Is the NCAA Transfer Portal?

The transfer portal is essentially just an online database that coaches and student-athletes can access. It contains the names of all players who declare, so that coaches and recruiters can view them all, streamlining the recruitment process for transfer players. 

How the NCAA Transfer Portal Works

Any player can declare their intention to transfer and enter the portal. Once they have notified their university’s compliance office, the program has two business days to enter their information into the transfer portal. 

Once in the portal, that student-athlete’s contact information and academic records become visible to all other schools. At this point, once their name is in the portal, they don’t need permission to contact other programs or be contacted by other programs. 

A university can hold that player’s scholarship, but they are not required to. However, a fair number of coaches opt for this in the hope that they can re-recruit the player back to the team. 

Since 2021, a player was allowed a one-time transfer without having to sit out a season (assuming they met specific academic requirements). But thanks to the adoption of new rules earlier this year, multi-time transfers will be allowed immediate eligibility. 

Graduate transfers are also eligible for the transfer portal and can play without sitting out.

Transfer Portal Windows: Key Dates and Deadlines

Football (FBS & FCS)
Fall Transfer Window: Dec. 9–Dec. 24, 2024
Spring Transfer Window: April 16–April 25, 2025

Men's and Women's Basketball
Winter Transfer Window: March 24–April 22, 2025

Graduate Transfer Rules in the NCAA

Graduate transfers must have graduated from their previous university with a bachelor’s degree and have athletic eligibility remaining. If an individual does, they are allowed to transfer to a new school where they have immediate eligibility to play. 

They also remain eligible for NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) compensation/benefits. 

How NIL Deals Affect NCAA Transfers

While players transferring isn’t anything new, the scale at which players transfer now is pretty unprecedented. Even some of the top coaches in the nation are saying it’s incredibly difficult to build program depth, because so many players are quick to leave for more opportunity (both financially and athletically). 

Tampering is also a major concern. While it has always been illegal in college athletics, the increased presence of third-party collectives and brand reps have more access to players than they ever have. 

Sure, there are plenty of regulations in place. And many would argue that there was always someone lurking around a program with envelopes full of cash to slip to players or recruits. But no one can deny that the NCAA will likely institute more rule changes in the future. 

Even if it isn’t prompted by a large, rule-breaking scandal, there will likely be more pressure from frustrated coaches. 

How the Transfer Portal Affects College Recruiting

Speaking of those frustrated coaches, it’s worth noting why they feel that way. 

Nick Saban retired from Alabama a year ago and mentioned that player behavior in the age of the transfer portal was part of the reason why he decided it was time to walk away. 

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney’s use (or lack thereof) of the transfer portal has been well-documented (Clemson was one of just four programs to not add a transfer for the 2024 season). 

During a media event for the 2024 Southern Company Peach Bowl Challenge, Georgia’s Kirby Smart said he would prefer if players couldn’t transfer without penalty until they had spent two calendar years at a university. 

Depending on who you ask, the transfer portal either keeps coaches honest and their promises to recruits realistic or it creates chaos by essentially ushering in free agency to college sports because coaches have to not just recruit new players but also re-recruit their current roster.

Building a successful collegiate program doesn’t happen overnight. Even the most talented high school players have plenty of room to develop mentally and physically. Many of the game’s top coaches are finding it difficult to persuade players to stick around with limited playing time. 

At the same time, it’s hard to blame a student-athlete for wanting to maximize their earning potential. The odds of going pro aren’t exactly in their favor, and even if a student-athlete does go pro the door closes notoriously fast. 

In 2019, approximately 6.5% of FBS rosters were transfer players. By 2023, that number was pushing 21% according to SportSource Analytics. 

There’s certainly no sign of things slowing down moving forward. We’ll have to see how the collegiate landscape continues to change. 

---

More College Football on Sports Illustrated

feed