Tag Archive for: NCAA Transfer Portal

One of the questions we receive on a regular basis is whether an athlete must be added to the “Transfer Portal” to contact a coach at an NCAA athletic program when the athlete has already been cut from their current team or they have completely withdrawn from their university.

In the majority of cases, that answer is “yes.”

When an athlete at an NCAA university has withdrawn from their university, the NCAA rules state that the athlete can’t be contacted by coaches at other programs unless the athlete has been withdrawn from their previous college for at least one full academic year!

So, even if your athlete left their NCAA school at the end of the Fall semester, or were cut from the team by their coach, they still need to be added to the Transfer Portal to have contact with coaches at other NCAA universities.

If you have other questions about what you should or should not do when considering a transfer, schedule a confidential Transfer Consult online, call us at 913-766-1235 or send an email to rick@informedathlete.com.

NCAA D1 athletes who hope to transfer to another NCAA program for next year should take note of the following Transfer Portal Dates.

A Division I Fall Sport athlete who wants to be eligible at another Division I program next year must notify their current school that they want to enter the Transfer Portal by May 15. (Note: Division I Football closed on April 30.)

For Division I Winter Sport athletes, those Transfer Portal windows are closed except for a few sports. Those are:

  • Men’s Basketball – May 11
  • Women’s Basketball – May 11
  • Women’s Bowling – May 28
  • Fencing – May 13
  • Men’s Gymnastics – June 3
  • Women’s Gymnastics – May 19
  • Men’s Ice Hockey – May 18

The Transfer Portal Windows for D1 Spring Sports are:

  • Baseball: – May 30 – July 13
  • Women’s Beach Volleyball: May 1 – June 14
  • Men’s Golf: May 4 – June 17
  • Women’s Golf: April 27 – June 10
  • Lacrosse: May 8 – June 21
  • Women’s Rowing: May 17 – June 30
  • Softball: May 15 – June 28
  • Tennis: May 2 – June 15
  • Outdoor Track and Field: May 19 – July 2
  • Men’s Volleyball: April 24 – June 7
  • Women’s Water Polo: May 2 – June 15

(There are exceptions for athletes who will be graduating from their current university and for those who have not had an athletic scholarship at their current university.)

Do You Have Questions About Transfers?

To learn all the steps and rules involved in a transfer and answer any questions you may have, schedule a confidential Transfer Consult online, send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call our office at 913-766-1235.

With 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 13-May 11
  • Women’s Basketball: March 14-May 12
  • Women’s Bowling: March 30-May 28
  • Fencing: March 15-May 13
  • Men’s Gymnastics: April 5-June 3
  • Women’s Gymnastics: March 21-May 19
  • Men’s Ice Hockey: March 20-May 18
  • Women’s Ice Hockey: March 6-May 4
  • Rifle: Feb. 22-April 22
  • Skiing: March 1-April 29
  • Men’s Swimming/Diving: March 9-May 7
  • Women’s Swimming/Diving: March 2-April 30
  • Indoor Track and Field: March 1-April 29
  • Men’s Wrestling: March 9-May 7

Exceptions:

  • There are exceptions for Division I student-athletes who will be transferring as a postgraduate student and for those who are transferring as a non-scholarship athlete.
  • There is also a 30-day Transfer Window available for Division I student-athletes immediately following their coach being fired or leaving to take another job.

Do You Have Questions About Your Student-Athlete?

Schedule a confidential 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

Only one Division I Fall sports still has days remaining in their standard “midyear” Transfer Portal Window:

  • FBS Football: Through Jan. 18

Exceptions:

There is an exception for Division I student-athletes who will be transferring as a postgraduate student.

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

Transfer Windows for Division I student-athletes who participate in Winter sports will open beginning in late February or early March depending upon the sport.

Also, if you’re an NCAA Division II or III athlete who’s hoping to transfer to a Division I program, you can enter the Transfer Portal whenever you’re ready to do so. Keep in mind that you will probably be removed from your current team when you do that.

Schedule a confidential consultation online for the steps, rules and academic requirements to be eligible as a transferring student-athlete, or by calling us at 913-766-1235

NCAA Division I Transfer Portal Windows for Fall sport athletes:

  • Cross Country: Nov. 13 through Dec. 27
  • Field Hockey: Nov. 7 through Dec. 21
  • FBS Football: Dec. 5 through Jan. 18
  • FCS Football: Nov. 21 through Jan. 4
  • Men’s Soccer: Nov. 15 through Dec. 29
  • Women’s Soccer: Nov. 8 through Dec. 22
  • Women’s Volleyball: Nov. 28 through Jan. 11
  • Men’s Water Polo: Nov. 21 through Jan. 4

Also, the Division I Fall Transfer Window for Spring Sport athletes opens on December 1 and closes on December 15. This is for Spring Sport athletes who are planning to enroll at another Division I university this Spring or in the Fall 2023 semester.

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

If you’re interested in a confidential consultation to review the steps, rules and academic requirements to be eligible as a transferring athlete, you can schedule a Transfer Consult online or can call 913-766-1235 for more information.

If your athlete’s primary reason for considering a Transfer from their current four-year college to a Division I university is to receive an athletic scholarship, I encourage them to think twice.

I believe that it will be more difficult for a student-athlete doing a 4-4 transfer (one four-year college to another) to receive an athletic scholarship from a Division I program.

The reason is because of the very strict limitations placed on Division I coaches under these new Transfer rules as to when they can cancel or not renew an athletic scholarship that is provided to a 4-4 transfer.

Note that under these new rules:

The ONLY way that a Division I coach will be permitted to cancel or not renew an athletic scholarship granted to a transfer from another four-year college is if the athlete transfers yet again to another college OR if the athlete loses their amateur athletic status.

Otherwise:

The Division I university is required to continue the athlete on their athletic scholarship until the athlete’s undergraduate graduation or until the completion of their athletic eligibility, whichever comes first – EVEN if the athlete chooses to quit their team!

Put yourself in the shoes of a Division I coach:

Would you be willing to invest a valuable athletic scholarship in an athlete who transfers to your program while knowing that your program would still need to continue providing that scholarship (and counting it against your team’s scholarship limit) even if the athlete chooses to quit the team?

Do You Need Advice?

For a private discussion of all the factors your student-athlete should consider about a possible transfer, schedule a confidential Transfer Consultation online or call 913-766-1235.

NCAA Division I or II athletes who are thinking about putting their name in the Transfer Portal before the next semester or quarter begins should consider these things:

For NCAA Division I Student-Athletes

When an athlete submits their name for the Transfer Portal during the period between terms, their university has the right to cancel the athlete’s scholarship before the next term begins.

If the athlete is planning to stay at their current university this Spring while exploring other opportunities for next Fall, this could potentially have devastating financial consequences.

For NCAA Division II Student-Athletes

The rule is a bit different. The school doesn’t have the right to immediately cancel the athlete’s scholarship before the next term begins as long as the athlete is academically eligible and is fulfilling any other athletic responsibilities that their coach and athletic department expect of them.

However, if the athlete doesn’t want to continue practicing and working out with their team after putting their name in the Transfer Portal, a Division II university would have the right to immediately cancel the athlete’s scholarship if their coach or athletic department interpret their actions as quitting their team.

Do You Have Questions?

If your athlete is considering a transfer and you would like to review and discuss the Transfer rules, you can schedule a confidential Transfer Consult online. You can also send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.

I came across a sports media report a few days ago that 131 football players from Bowl Subdivision programs have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal since August 1.

The report didn’t include this info but it would be interesting to know how many of those entered the Portal before their season started compared to how many have entered the Portal in the middle of their season.

That report also noted that Florida State has the most football players in the Transfer Portal with 5, while Air Force, Colorado State and Syracuse all have 4 players in the Portal.

We’ve been receiving a large number of inquiries about the Transfer Portal recently.

We know that the number of athletes entering the Portal will be increasing for many sports over the next few weeks, especially as Fall sports move closer to the end of their season.

A recent article published to our website, When is the Best Time For An Athlete To Enter The NCAA Transfer Portal?, lists 4 things to consider before an athlete files a request.

If your athlete is considering a Transfer and wants to be prepared to enter the Portal at the end of their season or even before, schedule a Transfer Consultation online or contact us via rick@informedathlete.com or 913-766-1235.

The new NCAA Division I One-Time Transfer Exception which was approved in late April requires that four-year college athletes must enter the Transfer Portal no later than July 1 to have an opportunity to be immediately eligible upon enrollment at a Division I university this Fall.

Does that mean that it’s too late for an athlete to enter the Transfer Portal and be eligible if they transfer to an NCAA Division I university this Fall from their previous four-year college? Not necessarily.

There are other transfer “Exceptions” which will permit an athlete to be immediately eligible in their first year at a Division I university.

  • The one most widely available to the largest number of four-year college athletes is the Non-Scholarship Transfer Exception. This Exception can be used by student-athletes who have not received an athletic scholarship at their previous university. (For athletes who have been at a university that doesn’t award athletic scholarships, the athlete must not have been “recruited” to the previous university.)
  • Other transfer Exceptions for four-year college athletes are for specific situations that don’t occur that often, such as when an athlete’s previous institution dropped the athlete’s sport or discontinued their academic major.

If you want to learn whether it’s still possible for your athlete to transfer for this upcoming year, you can purchase and schedule a confidential Transfer Consultation online. Or you can arrange a consultation session by sending an email to rick@informedathlete.com or by calling our office at 913-766-1235.

NCAA Division I or II athletes who are thinking about putting their name in the Transfer Portal before the next semester or quarter begins should consider these things:

For NCAA Division I Student-Athletes

When  a student-athlete submits their name for the Transfer Portal during the period between terms, their university has the right to cancel the athlete’s scholarship before the next term begins.

If the athlete is planning to stay at their current university this Spring while exploring other opportunities for next Fall, this could potentially have devastating financial consequences.

For NCAA Division II Student-Athletes

The rule is a bit different. The school doesn’t have the right to immediately cancel the athlete’s scholarship before the next term begins as long as the athlete is academically eligible and is fulfilling any other athletic responsibilities that their coach and athletic department expect of them.

However, if the athlete doesn’t want to continue practicing and working out with their team after putting their name in the Transfer Portal, a Division II university would have the right to immediately cancel the athlete’s scholarship if their coach or athletic department interpret their actions as quitting their team.

Do You Have Questions?

If your student-athlete is considering a transfer and you would like to review and discuss the Transfer rules, you can schedule a confidential Transfer Consult online. You can also send an email to rick@informedathlete.com or call us at 913-766-1235.