The NCAA Divison I Administrative Committee approved a major change to the college football transfer portal on Tuesday.
Starting in January 2026, there will be just one transfer window for players to enter, down from two.
Previously, players could enter the transfer portal following the season, then again in a window after spring practices had concluded. The latest change by the NCAA reduces that to one window from Jan. 2-16. If a team is playing in the College Football Playoff game on or after Jan. 12, their players will have a five-day window after their season has concluded to enter the transfer portal.
While players are now limited to a 15-day period to enter their names into the portal, that doesn't mean that teams need to sign players from the portal in that same window. Teams will be able to sign players at any time.
The change is a step in trying to corral the transfer portal and provide stability to teams. In 2024, following a number of legal challenges, the NCAA struck down all limits on transferring: An athlete can play for four schools in four years with no penalty. Previously, players that transferred more than once were required to sit out a year in residency.
Complicating matters was the post-spring portal, in which players could leave just a few months before the season kicked off.
This spring, former Utah wide receiver Zacharyus Williams — projected to be the Utes' WR1 this season — left for USC.
Utah used the spring portal to its advantage, too, signing receivers Tobias Merriweather and Larry Simmons, among others. But it was clear that coaches — Utah's Kyle Whittingham among them — preferred one transfer portal window.
"I think it's a positive. I don't think any coach in the country was in favor of two portal windows. It's just too much instability for your roster, and so I think that's a big step in the right direction," Whittingham said.
The timing of the new portal is early enough in the year for teams to replace lost production well before spring practices start.
"There is no perfect time to put it at the midyear. If you go too early, then you got guys complaining. If you go too late, guys (are) complaining. So I think it's probably in about as good a spot as it can be. And overall it's a net positive for everybody, I believe," Whittingham said.
The advantages are clear: The team you enter spring football with will be the team you start — and end — the season with. For team chemistry and continuity, that's huge. Additionally, if a player has a breakout spring the way Williams did, there's no chance for another school to swoop in and take him ahead of the season.
And without the threat of players leaving in the spring transfer portal, there won't be as many contract renegotiations in the spring.
"Cut down on the tampering and renegotiations and that type of thing. And then you know what what you have, what your roster is. You don't have to wait until after spring ball to know who you got on your team and where your deficiencies are and what you have to do. I don't see any negatives to it at all. I think it's a positive all the way around," Whittingham said.
