NCAA Nearing Approval of Single January Transfer Window For College Football

The NCAA is on the verge of approving a single transfer window in college football that would allow players on teams competing in the postseason to remain eligible for playoff and bowl games before entering the portal.

The window of Jan. 2-16 was approved by the Division I bowl subdivision oversight committee on Monday and needs only a final signoff from the D-I administrative panel next month to take effect.

Bowl subdivision coaches voted unanimously to support the January portal proposal during their American Football Coaches Association convention earlier this year. The change would allow them to focus more on coaching during bowl season, and it would prevent most teams from losing active players as they prepare for important games. Last winter, Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula entered the portal and missed his team’s run in the College Football Playoff.

"The current NCAA post-season model creates a challenge for student-athletes," Pribula, now at Missouri, wrote on social media at the time. "The overlapping CFB playoff & transfer portal timeline has forced me into an impossible decision."

Players on CFP teams will have a five-day window to enter the portal following their team’s final game. All other players will have from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16 to enter, instead of the current Dec. 9-28 window.

Already gone is the spring portal period, which was April 16-25 this past offseason. That saw many players and coaches juggling transfers and spring practice. Nico Iamaleava, a quarterback who led Tennessee to the playoff last season, left the Volunteers for UCLA in the spring, leaving Tennessee scrambling.

The oversight committee had initially recommended a 10-day notification-of-transfer window from Jan. 2-11 but expanded it after feedback from athletes. Other than the CFP exception, the only other way for football players to transfer outside the new window is if a coach is fired; in those cases, players may enter the portal within 30 days. The committee is considering changes to that exception as well.

Reporting by The Associated Press.

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