NCAA D-I Council Approves Changes to Transfer Portal Windows

The Division I Council on Wednesday approved changes to notification-of-transfer windows across all sports, including a reduction from 60 to 45 total days in both FCS and FBS football and a reduction from 60 to 45 consecutive days for men's and women's basketball.

The Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee supported 45-day windows as preferable to previously introduced 30-day windows. 

"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 former baseball student-athlete 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."

Data from the first year of the notification-of-transfer windows indicate that 61% of student-athletes who transfer are entered into the NCAA Transfer Portal within the first 30 days.

New transfer windows for Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision football will include a 30-day window beginning the Monday after FBS conference championship games. For student-athletes on teams that compete in the College Football Playoff, there will be an additional five-day transfer window in January. A second transfer window of 15 days would occur during the second half of April.

In men's and women's basketball, the windows will open for 45 days the Monday after Selection Sunday.

"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." 

In all other sports, windows will be modified to the following:

• Fall sports: 30 days in the fall, beginning seven days after a sport's championship selection, and 15 days in the spring (May 1-15).
• Winter sports: 45 days, beginning seven days after championship selection.
• Spring sports: 30 days in the spring, beginning seven days after a sport's championship selection, and 15 days in the fall (Dec. 1-15).

The council also heard from the Legislative Committee on an update to graduate transfer waiver guidelines. The Legislative Committee noted that notification-of-transfer deadlines of May 1 for fall and winter sports and July 1 for spring sports apply to graduate transfers transferring for the first time, and that beginning in 2024-25, graduate students seeking waivers for postgraduate eligibility will need to comply with those same deadlines. 

The council expressed support for the current transfer waiver guidelines for student-athletes who have transferred multiple times as undergraduate students.

Additionally, the council eliminated the requirement that an undergraduate transfer student-athlete count against financial aid limits if that student-athlete voluntarily withdraws from the school for nonathletics reasons.

Football proposals

The council voted to eliminate the annual limit on initial counters in both FBS and FCS (previously 25 and 30 per year, respectively, per program). Limits on initial counters had been suspended by the council in 2021 as a result of uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of the one-time transfer exception.

The council also affirmed changes to spring practice rules to specify that protective equipment is limited to helmets and spider pads. The action is the first legislative change under the pilot sport oversight committee model, in which the Football Oversight Committee adopted the proposal, which was subject to council review prior to implementation.

Division I membership requirements

The council also adopted changes to membership requirements for Football Bowl Subdivision schools that: 

• Eliminate attendance requirements at FBS schools (effective immediately).
• Increase the application fee for transitioning from FCS to FBS from $5,000 to $5 million (effective immediately).
• Require all FBS programs to provide 90% of the total number of allowable scholarships over a two-year rolling period across 16 sports, including football. FBS schools will also be required to fund 210 scholarships each year, amounting to no less than $6 million annually (effective August 2027).
  • For schools that begin transitioning to FBS in 2024-25 or later, requirements must be met by the conclusion of the transition process.