One of the biggest changes to college football might be about to happen.
Ross Dellenger, of Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that the “NCAA FB Oversight Committee voted today to support a single transfer portal in January…The administrative Committee still needs to formally adopt the change later. The 10-day window is expected to open Jan. 2.”
The NCAA FB Oversight Committee voted today to support a single transfer portal in January, sources tell @YahooSports, ushering in a significant change.
The Administrative Committee still needs to formally adopt the change later. The 10-day window is expected to open Jan. 2.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) September 4, 2025
That announcement will likely draw a celebration from those who are unhappy with the current state of college sports.
But will this change actually be a good thing?
As far as changing the start of the transfer portal window to January 2 instead of having the portal open right after the season, that’s a great change. That will benefit everyone.
Forcing every FBS team to start recruiting and retaining players as soon as the regular season ends was a crazy decision. Emotions are riding at their highest and that’s not a good mindset to make any life-changing decisions about.
Eliminating the spring transfer portal may also be a good thing.
Teams will go into spring practices knowing this is the crop of players they’ll go into the season with, minus any high school recruits that join in the summer and preseason.
But what if it ends up being a bad thing? What if a situation develops during spring practices and a disgruntled player can’t leave?
As an example, what happens if something similar to the Nico Iamaleava Situation at Tennessee happens under this proposed change?
A talented quarterback wants more money and makes a demand just days before the team’s spring game. Then the school, coach, general manager, or whoever says no.
There’s no spring transfer portal for the quarterback to enter, so they’re stuck at that school.
It’s an absolute certainty a portion of the fan base would take the “shut up and play” mantra and cheer the decision not give the quarterback what he wants.
But what good would come from that? It’s entirely plausible the quarterback’s displeasure about the situation would carry over onto the field or, even worse, into the locker room.
Or would they take a play from the NFL players’ contract dispute playbook and do a hold-in during preseason practices?
Or would the school, hoping to avoid its most important player from being a hinderance to the team’s success, find a way to give the quarterback what he wants?
Or, since the quarterback knows he only has one opportunity to enter the portal, would he enter the portal before the team even knows he wants a new deal?
Imagine if Iamaleava entered the transfer portal after the Volunteers’ playoff loss?
Maybe Tennessee is able to bring him back, probably at a higher price.
Or maybe Georgia, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss or Alabama offers him a deal he accepts?
We may not know how that would’ve happened but be certain that we’ll find out a how similar situation plays out soon enough with a superstar player. It’s inevitable.
Mississippi State fans should just hope that player isn’t Kamario Taylor.