NCAA Transfer Portal: Everything You Need To Know
The college transfer portal debuted in Oct. 15, 2018 and has drawn interest from both the media and fans alike.
Although it has made headlines and drawn interest, many are unaware of how it works or why it was even created.
Why was it Created?
The transfer portal is a compliance tool meant to make the transfer process quicker, easier, and more transparent. Processes that would previously take hours or days are done in a matter of minutes using the portal.
It is also meant to give the student athletes more power throughout the transfer process
How Does It Work?
The transfer portal is simple to explain. The portal is a database of college athletes who are interested in transferring schools. All a student must do is go to their compliance department and tell them they would like their name to be put in the transfer portal. Once this request is made the compliance department must do so within 48 hours.
Once a student’s name is in the portal, schools will have the ability to begin contacting them, provided the student didn’t put “do not contact” in their entry.
If a student puts their name in the portal, it is not in there permanently. Student athletes can remove their names if they want to.
The portal gives coaches the ability to sort entries by sport, name, conference, division, and school. it also gives them the ability to save entries to a “transfer watchlist”.
What are the Rules?
The portal has made transferring easier than ever for student athletes, but new rule changes are making it even easier.
Previously if a student athlete transferred schools, they would be forced to sit out a season as per the rules. Now, with the most recent rule change all division I student athletes can transfer schools once without having to sit-out a season if they notify their school by the deadline.
This has led to an influx of students entering their names into the transfer portal and causing chaos for coaches as well as schools.
Many coaches are observing that so many athletes are entering the portal for the chance to play at a better school, that there will almost certainly be many that do not find landing spots.
Between the development of the transfer portal and the recent transfer policy changes, the college transfer landscape is changing drastically.
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