On Wednesday, the NCAA Administrative Committee met and made a monumental change approving the change for College Football to move from a two Transfer Window to just one window. The move eliminates the Spring Transfer Portal making just one window which will happen in the Winter but, there are several details need to be ironed out. Decisions need to be made on when the Transfer Portal will open and just how long the window will be opened for.
Administrative Committee eliminates DI football's spring transfer window and fall transfer window's graduate student exception.
— NCAA News (@NCAA_PR) September 17, 2025
In response to student-athlete feedback, football oversight committees will consider modifications to proposed single January window, including length… pic.twitter.com/fFP3sEf0ty
The move was made to cut down on some of the craziness of the Transfer Portal as coaches truly got no time off between when they're actually coaching to recruiting and managing the transfer portal. While the elimination of the second transfer window will cut down on the time coaches spend chasing players, it may not cut down on the number of transfers.
The NCAA may have accidentally created even more chaos
While the NCAA had great intentions, the change they made may lead to more turnover than we've seen in the past few years. Moving to just one Transfer Portal window is going to lead to more instant reactions from players rather than them taking the time to figure out which move is the perfect move.
In the past, if a player was unsure on where they stand in their positional battle, they could wait until the end of Spring Camp to make a decision. Now, players will be transferring before Spring Camp which means that rather than a player finding out if he's earning a role in the Spring, if there's any uncertainty, the player will transfer to where he'll have the best shot of playing.
Making the only Transfer Portal window immediately after the season may not be the best decision by the NCAA. Opposing teams are going to be able to pitch the players on the fact that they just sat the entire season and without them playing in the role in Spring Practice, the promise of playing time elsewhere may be far more appealing.
This Winter Transfer Portal window is going to be far and away the craziest we've seen yet, and it may become the new standard going forward.
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