NCAA Eliminates Spring Transfer Portal Window

The NCAA Administrative Committee voted on Wednesday to eliminate the spring transfer portal window.

Going forward, there will be just one transfer portal window, though the committee has not decided when that portal will be open.

Earlier this month, the NCAA Football Oversight Committee voted to move to a single 10-day transfer window that would be open on Jan. 2 and close Jan. 11, which would be during the College Football Playoff. However, the NCAA said that the dates for the window will be decided at a meeting in late October after listening to feedback it received.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was one of the figures who offered his opinion on the January 10-day window proposal when he was asked about it.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea at all,” Day said. “The conversations we had with Big Ten coaches, I think the majority of them agree. I don’t quite understand how teams that are playing in the playoffs are expected to make the decisions and sign their upcoming players while they’re getting ready to play games. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Day said that Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti was working hard toward getting the NCAA to decide on another date, and the pushback seems to have had some effect on the NCAA’s decision.

However, the difficulty of having a transfer window open another time after the season causes issues with the timing of the academic calendars for universities. Coaches who are getting new players likely want those players to participate in spring practices if possible, so the portal opening between the CFP championship and spring practices would be in the middle of a semester for most colleges.

The committee also voted on Wednesday to make the month of December a dead period in recruiting, which will start after the early signing period is over. Jan. 5-31 will be a contact period moving forward. The date that a high school senior can receive a written offer was also changed from Aug. 1 to Nov. 15.