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NCAA DI Winter Sport Transfer Portal Closing Dates & Exceptions

Below are the closing Transfer Portal dates for NCAA Division I Winter sports which haven’t already closed.

Athletes who will be graduating from their current Division I university and are planning to transfer as a graduate student must remember that they still need to enter the Transfer Portal before it closes for their sport.

Men’s Basketball: April 22

Women’s Basketball: April 23

Bowling: May 16

Fencing: May 1

Men’s Gymnastics: May 29

Women’s Gymnastics: May 14

Men’s Ice Hockey: May 13

Women’s Ice Hockey: April 29

Skiing: April 17

Men’s Swimming/Diving: May 2

Women’s Swimming/Diving: April 25

Indoor Track and Field: April 24

Men’s Wrestling: May 2

Exceptions:

  • There is a 30-day Transfer Window available for Division I student-athletes immediately following their coach being fired or leaving to take another job.

Also, if you’re an NCAA Division II or III athlete, you can enter the Transfer Portal whenever you’re ready to do so. Keep in mind, however, that you will probably be removed from your current team as soon as you inform them of your plan to transfer.

Do You Have Questions?

Schedule a confidential Transfer consultation online for an explanation of the steps, rules and academic requirements to be eligible as a transferring student-athlete, or by calling us at 913-766-1235 or writing to rick@informedathlete.com

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NCAA DI Winter Sport Transfer Portal Dates

With many Winter sports approaching the end of the regular season, here are the opening and closing Transfer Portal dates for NCAA Division I Winter sport athletes:

  • Men’s Basketball: March 24-April 22
  • Women’s Basketball: March 25-April 23
  • Bowling: April 2-May 16
  • Fencing: March 18-May 1
  • Men’s Gymnastics: April 15-May 29
  • Women’s Gymnastics: March 31-May 14
  • Men’s Ice Hockey: March 30-May 13
  • Women’s Ice Hockey: March 16-April 29
  • Rifle: Feb. 24-April 9
  • Skiing: March 4-April 17
  • Men’s Swimming/Diving: March 19-May 2
  • Women’s Swimming/Diving: March 12-April 25
  • Indoor Track and Field: March 11-April 24
  • Men’s Wrestling: March 19-May 2

Exceptions:

  • here are exceptions for Division I student-athletes who will be transferring as a postgraduate student and for those who have had their sport discontinued at their school.
  • There is also a 30-day Transfer Window available for Division I student-athletes immediately following their coach being fired, retiring, or leaving to take another job.
  • For DII athletes, the transfer portal deadline is June 15th. DIII athletes have no specific deadline.
  • Keep in mind, however, that you will probably be removed from your current team as soon as you inform them of your plan to transfer.

Do You Have Questions?

Schedule a confidential transfer consultation online for an explanation of the steps, rules and academic requirements to be eligible as a transferring student-athlete, call us at 913-766-1235, or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com

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NCAA Academic Requirements for 4-4 and 2-4 Transfers

The academic requirements for a student-athlete to be eligible when transferring to a new university depend upon several factors, including the number of semesters when an athlete has been enrolled in college and taking classes as a full-time student. This is especially true for any athlete transferring to the NCAA Division I level.

When a junior college athlete who will be transferring to an NCAA Division I university has attended the junior college for more than two years (which has been somewhat common ever since the onset of the pandemic), the academic requirements to be eligible can become even more complicated.

Here is one reason why – think of the situation this way:

How will an athlete attending a two-year college that only offers freshman and sophomore level courses earn junior level course credits that will be acceptable for transfer to a Division I university if they’ve been attending a junior college for three years?

We can provide a confidential Eligibility Consultation to inform you and your athlete of the specific academic requirements that he or she will need to satisfy to be eligible when they transfer to a new university.

We also have a Transcript Review Service in which we assess your athlete’s transcript to estimate and inform you about the courses that will be transferable to the next university to satisfy the NCAA transfer requirements. This is available for a transfer from a two-year college or from one four-year university to another.

Contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235 for more information regarding our services.

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NCAA 2025 Convention Summary

The annual NCAA Convention was held recently in Nashville. I’ll share below some of the key decisions and rule changes that were approved during the Convention.

As a side note, I was surprised to not see any mention of a formal discussion about the possibility of athletes being granted 5 years of playing eligibility given recent lawsuits against the NCAA.

Here’s a brief rundown of the approved rule changes that directly impact student-athletes:

NCAA Division I

For Division I (and for Division III), the only proposed rule change that directly impacts student-athletes is the approval of Women’s Wrestling as an official Championship Sport beginning next year. There will be one National Championship for NCAA sponsored teams across all three NCAA Divisions in 2026.

  • There were 76 NCAA schools (across all three Divisions) that sponsored a Women’s Wrestling team during the 2023-24 school year.
  • By the end of the 2024-25 school year, it’s expected that there will be 93 schools sponsoring a Women’s Wrestling team (4 in Division I, 34 in Division II and 55 in Division III).

NCAA Division II

Effective Fall 2025, an athlete in their first year of college enrollment will be able to redshirt as long as they participate in less than 30% of the maximum permissible games or dates of competition in their sport.

  • Note that this will only apply for an athlete who starts their college career at a D2 school.
  • This option will not be available for an athlete transferring to D2.

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Also, D2 member schools voted to eliminate the academic requirement that an athlete must earn at least 18 semester credit hours or 27 quarter credit hours during the regular academic year to be eligible for competition the following year.

Other academic requirements were retained for Division II eligibility:

  • An athlete must earn at least 9 semester credit hours or 8 quarter credit hours during each semester or quarter of full-time enrollment to be eligible to compete during the next term.
  • An athlete must earn a total of at least 24 semester credit hours or 36 quarter credit hours annually to be eligible (summer or winter credit hours can be included to satisfy this requirement).
  • An athlete must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00 to be eligible for competition.

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Athletes who were Qualifiers based on their high school academic performance and who are transferring to NCAA Division II from a two-year college will no longer be required to earn transferable credit hours in English, math or science courses to satisfy transfer eligibility requirements.

  • Those athletes will still need to satisfy other academic requirements to be eligible as a 2-4 transfer (such as earning at least 12 hours of transferable credit for each term of full-time enrollment at the two-year college, etc.).

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Finally, as in the other NCAA Divisions, D2 approved the addition of Women’s Wrestling as a Championship Sport starting in 2026. It was necessary that all three Divisions approved this to establish a Championship next year.

NCAA Division III

As mentioned above under Division I and Division II, the only proposed rule change affecting Division III athletes was the approval of Women’s Wrestling as an official NCAA Championship Sport beginning next year.

Do You Have Questions?

For questions about any of these actions taken at the NCAA Convention, you can contact us directly via e-mail at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235.

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JUCO Student-Athletes and Academic Eligibility Issues at NCAA Schools

When a Junior College student-athlete is planning to transfer to an NCAA university and there are academic eligibility issues, it can create roadblocks to the transfer.

If the eligibility issue isn’t discovered until AFTER the JUCO transfer athlete has already started attending classes at their NCAA university, the athlete won’t be eligible to compete during their first year of attendance at the university.

Student-athletes who start their college career at a junior college may have differing academic requirements to be eligible in their first year at an NCAA university.

Some of the issues that can derail a junior college student-athlete’s athletic and academic career and end up costing them personally and financially include:

  • Was the junior college student-athlete a “qualifier” or a “non-qualifier” (as defined by the NCAA) based on their high school academic record? The answer to this will affect what a transfer athlete must achieve academically during their time at a junior college to be eligible to compete in their first year at an NCAA university.
  • How many semesters did the junior college student-athlete attend the junior college as a full-time student? (It can be a good thing to take a part-time course load at a junior college in some situations.)
  • Was the junior college student-athlete required to earn their Associates Degree to be academically eligible upon transfer to an NCAA university?
  • If a junior college transfer athlete has not satisfied all necessary NCAA academic requirements BEFORE they begin attending their new university, they won’t be eligible to compete during their first academic year of attendance and also may not be qualified to receive an athletic scholarship!

Knowing your eligibility status ahead of time can allow a student-athlete to make the adjustments that are needed to avoid disappointment and possibly financial problems down the road.

If you are a junior college transfer athlete (or parent of one) and you are uncertain about your NCAA academic eligibility status, Informed Athlete can help:

If you have questions, schedule a confidential Eligibility Issues Consult online, contact Rick Allen at rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.

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Upcoming NCAA DI Transfer Portal Dates

Here are the Transfer Portal Dates for NCAA Division I Fall sports:

Cross Country: Nov. 23 – Dec. 22
Field Hockey: Nov. 17 – Dec. 16
Football (FBS): Dec. 9-28
Football (FCS): Dec. 9-28
Men’s Soccer: Nov. 25 – Dec. 24
Women’s Soccer: Nov. 18 – Dec. 17
Women’s Volleyball: Dec. 8 – Jan. 6
Men’s Water Polo: Dec. 1-30

Also, there is a Portal Window from Dec. 1-15 for Division I Spring sport athletes.

There will continue to be an Exception to the above Portal dates when there is a change of Head Coach (30 days after such an announcement) and also an Exception that began on October 1st for athletes who will be transferring after graduating this year (or semester) from their current four-year university.

Questions?

If you have questions about the steps to enter the Transfer Portal, or perhaps more importantly about the academic requirements to be immediately eligible at your next university, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235 to arrange a confidential consultation.

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NCAA DI Basketball & Football Transfer Portal Window Changes

The NCAA Division I Council took action last week to reduce the Transfer Portal Windows for Division I men’s and women’s basketball and football from 45 to 30 days. These changes are effective for the upcoming Portal Windows at the end of those sport seasons for the current year.

For Men’s and Women’s Basketball the new Portal Windows are:

  • Men’s Basketball – March 24 to April 22
  • Women’s Basketball – March 25 to April 23

For Football (both FBS and FCS), there will be two Portal Windows totaling 30 days.

  • The first Window for Football will be for 20 days from December 9 to 28.
  • The second Window will be for 10 days from April 16-25.

There will also continue to be Exceptions to the above Portal dates:

  • When there is a change of Head Coach (30 days after such an announcement)
  • An Exception that began on October 1st for athletes who will be transferring after graduating this year (or semester) from their current four-year university.

Questions About the Transfer Portal Academic Eligibility Rules?

If you have questions about the steps to enter the Transfer Portal, or perhaps more importantly about the academic requirements to be immediately eligible at your next university, schedule a confidential Eligibility Issues consult online, contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235 to arrange a confidential consultation.

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NCAA Transfer Eligibility Rules That Junior College Athletes Should Know!

If a first-year junior college athlete was a Non-Qualifier for Division I (based on his or her high school academic performance), they are not allowed to take an official visit to a Division I university until they have completed their freshman year at the two-year college.

  • Also, be aware that there are specific academic requirements that must be satisfied by a junior college athlete to be eligible as a transfer to an NCAA university (whether as a 2-4 transfer or a 4-2-4 transfer) and that those requirements differ between NCAA Divisions I, II and III.
  • If your junior college athlete has been told by a coach that all they have to do is to earn their Associates Degree to be eligible, that’s not a complete and accurate answer for what it takes to be eligible at an NCAA university as a transfer from a two-year college.

Do You Need Help Navigating the Transfer Eligibility Rules?

Schedule a confidential Eligibility Consultation online or by sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com or calling 913-766-1235.

During our private phone consultation, we will answer any questions you have and explain the rules and academic requirements that your athlete will need to meet in order to transfer with immediate eligibility to an NCAA university.

We can also provide a Transcript Review Evaluation to determine whether your athlete is on track to satisfy the academic requirements for a successful transfer.

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NCAA Division I Grads Can Enter Transfer Portal October 1st

Current NCAA Division I athletes who plan to transfer after graduating from their current university can enter the Transfer Portal to begin having discussions with coaches at other universities starting October 1st.

However, athletes must be aware that if they do that, the odds are good that they will be immediately removed from their team and barred from using athletic facilities.

Also, the athlete must ensure that they WILL graduate from their current school before transferring elsewhere. Otherwise, their eligibility to compete at their next school may be in jeopardy.

If your athlete is thinking about transferring after earning their undergrad degree, schedule a Transfer Consult online or contact us at rick@informedathlete.com or by calling 913-766-1235 for questions about a potential transfer.

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NCAA Rule Changes Just Keep on Coming!

Over the past year or so, we’ve obviously seen many changes to the NCAA rules, mostly at the Division I level.

  • Changes to the Transfer Portal Windows in D1
  • The opportunity for athletes to be immediately eligible after a transfer, even if they have previously transferred from one four-year university to another (as long as they satisfy academic requirements to be eligible at the new university).
  • The elimination of contact, evaluation and quiet periods from the Division II recruiting calendars, as we mentioned in our last newsletter.
  • Proposed settlements in the “House vs. NCAA” lawsuit which potentially are leading to more scholarships being available to Division I athletes, even though roster limits may reduce the number of roster spots available in various NCAA sports.

AND NOW

It was recently reported by credible sources that Division I leadership is considering even further changes to the NCAA rules. Such changes being considered include:

  • Applying football’s “four-game rule” to all sports.
  • Allowing student-athletes in all sports to earn prize money before enrolling in college.
  • Eliminating the National Letter of Intent (but possibly being replaced by institutional scholarship signing agreements that would likely be very similar to the NLI).
  • Allowing student-athletes and recruits in all sports to maintain their collegiate eligibility while engaging with agents to consider and explore pro sports opportunities.

Do you have questions about how these rule changes could affect your athlete?

Schedule a confidential Transfer Eligibility Consult online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.

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