What Is The Transfer Portal? How Does It Work For College Sports?

It's officially the transfer portal era for college athletics.

All sports, not just football and basketball, now have to deal with the reality that any athlete can transfer after a season.

Players no longer have to sit out a season after transferring from their school, whether they are a graduate transfer or not.

In December 2023, college athletes were granted permission to play immediately after transferring a second time, after U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey of northern West Virginia issued a 14-day temporary restraining order against the NCAA's transfer rule.

At this point, we all know what the transfer portal is. For various reasons, college athletes enter their names in the portal to find a new school to attend. But how does it work? And when did it become the norm for college athletes?

To view the current Transfer Portal, CLICK HERE.

When Was The Transfer Portal Established?

The transfer portal is an NCAA application database that was created in the Fall of 2018. Players still had to sit out a season after transferring at that time until a rule change in 2021 allowed players who transferred to be eligible immediately.

What Is The Transfer Portal And How Do Athletes Enter It?

The transfer portal is an online database student-athletes are entered into by a compliance administrator or designee, according to the NCAA Transfer Portal User Guide.

The portal is used as the first step in the notification of transfer and the method used for coaches and other schools to contact the players.

Schools have 48 hours to enter a student-athlete into the portal and after that, coaches and staff from other schools are allowed to transfer.

When Can A Student-Athlete Enter The Transfer Portal?

For fall sports, as of 2022, a 45-day transfer window begins with a given sport's championship selection, according to NCSA college recruiting. For winter sports, it's a 60-day window given the sport's championship selection, and back to 45 days for spring sports.

A student-athlete does not have to officially transfer during this period they just have to apply during this window. They can transfer whenever, wherever, as long as they are accepted into the school and meet academic requirements.

In 2024, The Division I Council adopted new rules that allow student-athletes who meet certain academic eligibility requirements to be immediately eligible at their new school after transferring, even if they did so previously. For more details, CLICK HERE.

These windows were established by the NCAA in August 2022 and are just for undergraduate players. Graduate transfers can enter the portal at any time, according to The Athletic.

To view a PDF of the Transfer Portal windows for all sports in 2023-2024, CLICK HERE.

Can A Student-Athlete Return To The School They Entered The Portal From?

As long as the student-athlete meets enrollment criteria, they can choose to leave or stay at their original school. For college football, the 2022-23 winter transfer window had more than 1,200 scholarship players enter the portal, according to The Athletic.

What Notable Players Have Entered The Transfer Portal?

Dillon Gabriel: The two-year starter for Oklahoma entered the portal and committed to Oregon on Dec. 9th.

Alan Bowman: The Cowboys quarterback started at Texas Tech, transferred to Michigan for two seasons, and was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA, meaning he'll be with the Cowboys in 2024.

Hailey Van Lith: The women's college basketball star spent three years at Louisville before transferring to LSU for one season with Angel Reese. For 02024-25, she'll play for TCU in the Big 12.

Damonic Williams: OU Football picked up Williams from TCU, a 4-star defensive linemen who looks to anchor the Sooners move to the SEC.

Gavin Freeman: The Cowboys now have a former Sooner wide receiver on the team. Freeman entered the portal and committed to OSU in May 2024 after two seasons with the Sooners.

PJ Haggerty: Star shooting guard for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane left the program for Memphis after the 20223-24 season. He committed on April 4, 2024.

Gunnar Gundy: The son of OSU head coach Mike Gundy entered the portal and committed to Ohio before decommitting a few weeks later. He's still in the portal.

Max Abmas: After the 2022-23 season, the ORU sharpshooter who led the program to two March Madness appearances left for Texas.

Jabbar Muhammad: The former Oklahoma State Cowboys spent last season making a run to the National Championship with the Washington Huskies. Now, he's heading to their rival Oregon.

Malachi Nelson: A one-time five-star quarterback recruit who was committed to Lincoln Riley's Sooners' changed his plans when the coach went to USC. Nelson followed, but after the season he entered the portal and on Jan. 6th, he committed to Boise State.

Cayden Green: One of the more surprising moves this transfer portal season was when star offensive lineman Cayden Green entered the transfer portal from the Sooners. He flipped to Missouri on Dec. 19th.

Mario Williams: Another former OU player with Lincoln Riley followed him to USC after the 2021 season. He also entered the transfer portal this year and landed at Tulane on Jan. 15th.

Deion Burks: One of the top wide receivers in the portal left Purdue for the Sooners on Dec. 12th.

Caleb Williams: The former Sooner quarterback transferred to USC in Feb. 2022, following coach Lincoln Riley to the Trojans.

Max Brown: Brown played high school ball with Lincoln Christian in Oklahoma before heading to the Florida Gators. He entered the portal and transferred to Charlotte in December.

You can check out the College Football Transfer Portal Tracker HERE.