New NCAA Transfer Portal Proposal Could Affect Both MSU Basketball and Football

The Michigan State Spartans had successful offseasons in basketball and football when it came to their respective transfer portals. A new NCAA proposal could potentially affect that in the future.

Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith leaves the podium after his press conference on the first national signing day for college football recruits Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA

At a recent convening of the NCAA Division I Council on Tuesday, a proposal was made that the transfer portal windows in basketball and football be changed from 45 to 30 days.

The current portal window for football is 30 days in December and 15 days in April. Basketball's window opens a day after "Selection Sunday" and lasts for 45 days. With the new rule, the basketball portal would be open after the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The portal would close before May.

Athletes would still get a 30-day window to transfer if a coach leaves.

The NCAA stated that this would benefit all parties:

"The basketball proposals would conclude the transfer window for basketball before the end of the academic school year, enabling student-athletes to spend more time in the recruitment process after being entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal, while also providing coaches with more information about roster stability before students leave campus at the end of the academic year," NCAA associate director of communications Meghan Durham Wright wrote. "In football, the change in notification-of-transfer days would provide greater stability for football programs and student-athletes."

The NCAA also elaborated on a study about how the portal has been used in the past few years.

"The majority of student-athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the window opening, according to data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows," Durham Wright wrote. "For men's and women's basketball in 2023, 73 percent of undergraduate student-athletes on scholarship who transferred were entered into the portal during the first four weeks. That percentage increased to 82 percent in 2024 for men's basketball and 86 percent for women's basketball."

The transfer portal has an intriguing cost-benefit. Players can be more mobile. Programs can suffer or benefit, depending on the situation -- some programs may lose more than gain, and vice versa. The new rule could have an affect on the number of players that transfer multiple times.

The Spartans built themselves into transfer portal winners in in May, but the month before saw them lose several key players on the defensive side of the ball.

However, the Spartans were able to get transfer gems like quarterback Aidan Chiles and tight end Jack Velling in the portal, along with freshman transfer offensive lineman Andrew Dennis.

In basketball, Frankie Fidler and Szymon Zapala were big pick-ups for Tom Izzo.

The new rules could affect the mobility of players, and how many decide a new school is right for them. It would have major implications on who the Spartans are losing and gaining, and the roster could take shape quicker than before.

The proposals would tentatively be voted on during October when the council meets.

Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.

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