FBS coaches unanimously approve single transfer portal window
Changes could be coming to the college football transfer portal cycle in the near future.
On Tuesday, FBS coaches voted unanimously in support of a proposal that would reduce the transfer portal window to a 10-day period in January. The proposal would eliminate the December and April portal periods.
Pending approval from the NCAA Division I council, the proposal could go into effect for the 2025-26 college football season.
“These recommendations are intended to allow a student-athlete and coaches more opportunity to focus on their season while preserving the opportunities for students who choose to transfer to still be able to do so for a traditional spring semester,” American Football Coaches Association executive director Craig Bohl said. Bohl retired from coaching in 2023 after heading coaching stints at North Dakota State (2003-13) and Wyoming (2014-23).
“We looked at all kinds of information. I’m convinced our coaches care deeply about the student-athletes, so this decision was made through the filter of allowing them more stability and to be able to move forward.”
The current system features a winter transfer portal window (30 days, beginning in December) and a spring window (10 days, beginning in April). The new proposal aims to protect the integrity of the bowl season, preventing teams from having to play a bowl game with back-ups.
In December, Marshall opted out of the Independence Bowl due to a lack of available players. Marshall lost more than two dozen players to the portal, including all three scholarship quarterbacks.
Under the new proposal, the transfer portal would open on Jan. 2 and close on Jan. 12, allowing players to complete a full season before finding a new home in time for the spring semester. Pushing the transfer portal window to January would also give coaches more time to focus on bowl games and recruiting. In 2024, the college football early signing period ran from Dec. 4-6.
Boise State had 11 players enter the transfer portal — including backup quarterback Malachi Nelson — prior to its College Football Playoff quarterfinal matchup with Penn State. The Nittany Lions also competed in the CFP without backup quarterback Beau Pribula.
“(Pribula) had no intentions of leaving (before the playoff),” Penn State head coach James Franklin said before the Fiesta Bowl. “But we’ve got problems in college football.
“We had multiple man-to-man conversations trying to find a solution that was in Penn State’s best interest and Beau’s best interest. And I think … things outside of our control, from a calendar standpoint, from an NCAA perspective, made that almost impossible.”
Pribula committed to Missouri nine days before the Nittany Lions faced Boise State.
Broncos wide receiver Prince Strachan participated in the Fiesta Bowl before entering the transfer portal. He committed to USC Monday night.
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