The NCAA is ready to finalize multiple changes to the transfer portal in 2026.
The Division I Administrative Committee voted on Tuesday to adopt the previously-proposed dates January transfer window. If finalized, the transfer portal will be open for student-athletes from Jan. 2-16 for both FBS and FCS players in 2026.
All college football players, which also includes graduate transfers, must now wait until Jan. 2 to enter the NCAA transfer portal and start contacting other programs about transferring.
Also, the NCAA’s 30-day transfer portal window for athletes who are dealing with head coaching changes has been lessened to 15 days and now won’t open until a new coach is hired instead of what a coach has been fired.
The Division I Administrative Committee approved this reform on cutting the portal window in half time-wise for coaching changes. Starting immediately, 5 days after a new head coach is announced, players will now have a 15-day window to enter their names in the portal. Previously, student-athletes had a 30-day window to enter the portal that began after their previous head coach departed the program.
These changes are expected to be finalized on Wednesday.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
