NCAA updates college football transfer portal rules: What you need to know

Where things stand as the NCAA changes its college football and sports transfer rules

Change is coming to the transfer portal in college football and other sports after the NCAA issued an updated memo for undergraduates who are multiple-time transfers.

CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein revealed the memo that outlines the new rules.

"In all sports, four-year undergraduate student athletes who decide to transfer to a new NCAA school can generally be eligible to compete for the new school provided that they have not previously transferred and notify their current school by entering the NCAA Transfer Portal during their sport-specific transfer window," the document said.

What's new: The NCAA approved legislation to limit waivers for second-time transfer players. Now, any undergraduates who transfer a second time, or any other time after that, must meet specific guidelines in order to be eligible for immediate playing time starting with the 2023-24 season or risk sitting out a year between transfers.

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The exceptions: There are three reasons why an undergraduate transfer waiver will be considered in the future for any multiple-time transfers, effective for the 2023-24 eligibility:

1. For reasons related to the student-athletes' physical or mental well-being;
2. Due to exigent circumstances outside the student-athlete's control (e.g. physical or sexual assault or discrimination based on a protected class); or
3. Assertions involving diagnosed education impacting disabilities

Why the change: The NCAA wants to rein in the number of players using the transfer portal, a figure that has exceeded 2,000 just in the first transfer window after the 2022 college football season. Of those, at least 120 are quarterbacks.

The rule in action: As an example, this new rule would have affected the career trajectory of quarterback JT Daniels. The former 5-star played at USC (2018-19) then at Georgia (2020-21) and then West Virginia (2022) before moving to Rice. Had this rule been in place, Daniels would have needed to graduate between each of his other two transfers or sit out and use up a year of eligibility.

Undergrads only: The new rule applies only to undergraduates and not graduates, who are still eligible to play immediately should they transfer.

(Rothstein)

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