On Wednesday reports emerged that the NCAA has eliminated the spring transfer portal period and is moving to a single window in the winter. Precise dates will be formalized in October but the proposed window would give players 10 days, starting on Jan. 2, to enter the transfer portal and find a new program before being locked in for the next season.
The policy decision now completely alters the landscape of the sport after it just began to settle from massive realignment and player movements due to the advent of NIL.
The proposed 10-day window falls right smack in the middle of the College Football Playoff, which is scheduled to last from Dec. 19-Jan. 19 this season. It's not clear just how thought through this decision was, because there are some obvious issues that will arise from it.
NCAA's single transfer portal decision will create more problems than solutions
Narrowing the original idea of two transfer windows down to one was the correct move by the NCAA; there aren't many in opposition to that idea. However, the timing of that single window was always the main problem.
The new winter window falls just before the College Football Playoff semifinals, meaning national championship-contending programs could be in danger of losing key depth pieces on their rosters at a critical point in their campaigns as second- or third-string players understandably start to think about the future of their individual careers.
You can't blame those players if they're already seeing signs that there won't be room for them in spring camp, or that there are obvious starting opportunities for them elsewhere. But why punish teams by potentially whittling down their rosters severely in the postseason? It seems counterintuitive to competition.
The NCAA should've made a single spring transfer window instead, allowing every team to finish the entire season before players make decisions to depart or stay for another year. Programs would have time to sift through players that maybe aren't great fits for their schemes and thus give them the courtesy to find a new home rather than being locked into another season where they are unlikely to see the field.
That option wastes little time for the players and schools, avoiding unnecessary drama and even allowing the opportunity for those farther down the depth chart to prove themselves or realize they need a change of scenery. But the NCAA rarely thinks of these things, so prepare for more chaos starting this winter.