NCAA approves shorter transfer portal windows for football, basketball
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The NCAA Division I Council on Wednesday approved a shorter window during which football and basketball players can enter their names into the transfer portal and retain immediate eligibility for the following season from 60 to 45 days.
The council was finishing up two days of meetings in Indianapolis, during which it also approved a package of proposals that would regulate name, image and likeness compensation for athletes and another that recommends stricter penalties for individuals who commit rules violations.
The NCAA also announced on Wednesday that it would begin advocating for changes to state gambling laws and regulations to provide more protections for college athletes from harassment or coercive behavior.
The association is calling for mandatory reporting hotlines to report inappropriate behavior to law enforcement, increased penalties for bettors who harass college athletes and mandatory education for operators to help identify harassment.
The NCAA also is advocating for states to prohibit individuals younger than 21 from wagering on sports.
Transfer windows for undergraduate athletes were first implemented last year, and the timing of the transfer period is determined on a sport-by-sport basis. In football, there were two windows: a 45-day window starting in December, after the regular season, and a second in the spring.
The first window will shrink to 30 days.
Football coaches had called for shorter windows, and it became apparent that most players were acting quickly so they could switch schools and join their new teams in time for the winter/spring semester.
The basketball window opens after the season. Coaches in that sport were hoping to shorten the window to 30 days, but athletes advocated for 45 and their position was supported by NCAA President Charlie Baker.
Graduate transfers have more flexibility, with a deadline to enter the portal by May 1 for fall sports and July 1 for spring semester sports.