The NCAA has made another modification to its transfer portal rules, though it should be a welcome one from coaches across college football — including Utah’s Kyle Whittingham.
The Division I Administrative Committee voted Tuesday for a single transfer portal window from Jan. 2-16, eliminating the spring window in favor of one 15-day period that would come after the College Football Playoff quarterfinals conclude.
The change, which is set to take effect at the end of the 2025-26 season, was made in the wake of a unanimous vote from Football Bowl Subdivision coaches earlier this year at their American Football Coaches Association convention to move the portal window to January. The idea was that it would give players and coaches more time to focus on finishing their season while still allowing players to change schools before the spring semester.
“I think it’s a positive,” Whittingham said during a media availability session Tuesday, after the rule change was announced. “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, so, I think that’s a big step in the right direction.”
Previously, college football had a 30-day transfer window starting the day after the College Football Playoff selections, followed by another 15-day transfer period between April 16-30.
The spring portal was typically viewed as the final opportunity for players to make a move before the upcoming season begins. For Utah, this past spring provided an opportunity to bring in several newcomers, including wide receivers Tobias Merriweather and Larry Simmons, as well as cornerbacks Jaylen Moson and JC Hart, among others.
Sep 6, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Utes wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (18) runs after a catch against Cal Poly Mustangs cornerback Boston Wilson (30) during the second quarter at Rice-Eccles Stadium. / Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Conversely, it allowed Zacharyus Williams, who was projected to be near the top of the Utes’ wide receiver depth chart, to enter the portal on April 22, just four months before Utah’s season-opener against UCLA. Two days later, tight end Landen King entered his name in the portal before landing with Duke in early May.
“There is no perfect time to put [the transfer portal window] at the mid-year,” Whittingham said. “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 of a spot as it can be.”
While the process remains imperfect to some, like Whittingham, there’s some optimism the switch to one portal window at the end of the season will curb some of the rules infractions that allegedly take place in the spring months.
“We cut down on the tampering and the renegotiations and that type of thing,” Whittingham said when asked about specific positives to the rule change. “And then you know 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 at all. I think it’s a positive all the way around.”
The shift from 30 to 15 days for the winter portal will mark the second season in a row in which the window for players to transfer shrank by a significant margin; the NCAA Division I council moved last season’s window from 45 to 30 days. Players can still commit and transfer to their next school at any time after their names have been entered into the portal. Players on the two teams competing in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Jan. 19 will get an additional five-day period from Jan. 20 to 24 to enter the portal after their season ends.
Additionally, the Division I utahAdministrative Committee approved a reform, effective immediately, that grants players a 15-day window to enter their names in the portal five days after a new head coach is hired or announced.
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