The NCAA’s Division I Council votes to shorten the transfer window

The NCAA’s Division I Council voted to shorten transfer portal windows for FBS and FCS football as well as men’s and women’s basketball, the NCAA announced Tuesday.

The DI Council reduced the total number of days players in the FBS and FCS can enter the transfer portal from 45 to 30 days but preserved the spring transfer window. They will proceed with a 20-day winter transfer window from Dec. 9 — the Monday after the conference championship games — to Dec. 28 and a 10-day spring window from April 16-25.

In August, the NCAA FBS and FCS Oversight Committee recommended eliminating the spring window, citing a focus on promoting “roster stability for student-athletes and their programs.” But the upcoming House settlement, which includes a change from an 85-man scholarship limit in football to a 105-man roster limit, will bring new complications to roster management and team revenue sharing budgets this offseason.

Men’s and women’s basketball will also move from a 45-day to a 30-day transfer window that opens the day after their second-round NCAA Tournament finish. Basketball’s transfer window opened on Sunday, the day after the election.

In all sports, players continue to receive an additional 30-day transfer window if there is a head-coaching change, opening the day after their head coach’s departure is announced.

Once they enter the portal, players will still be able to transfer to a new school at any time. Graduate transfers are currently allowed to enter the transfer portal between October 1 and the end of their sport-specific transfer window.