How has the transfer portal impacted the college recruiting process?
The NCAA Transfer portal is the database that only NCAA student-athletes enter when they have decided they will be transferring from their current institution. This is an online database that is accessible by all NCAA coaches and administrators that was developed for the purpose of creating a central location for coaches and administrators to locate information on transfer student-athletes. The Transfer Portal was developed in response to changes in NCAA rules that made it easier for Division I student-athletes to transfer.
The Transfer Portal has had a profound impact on the college recruiting process that has trickled down to student-athletes at the high school and junior college level. The reason that the transfer portal has impacted the recruiting process so profoundly is due to the ease of being able to find student-athletes intending to transfer. Prior to the transfer portal, coaches had to rely on word-of-mouth or transfer students reaching out to them in order to know who intended to transfer. Furthermore student-athletes often had to sit out a year. With the Transfer Portal creating an accessible database of intended transfers for NCAA coaches; it has made it far easier for coaches to recruit transfer students. When a student-athlete enters the transfer portal, they are giving permission for coaches to contact them immediately. In the past, coaches and administrators would need to view releases from the student-athletes current institution, and there would be a lot more steps prior to recruitment. With how easy it has become for student-athletes to enter the transfer portal and for coaches to access the names of transfer student-athletes, it has become more of a go-to for Division I and Division II programs to recruit student-athletes in the transfer portal, thus having a trickle down effect to high school student-athletes because it has created less roster spots.
Who is eligible for the NCAA Transfer Portal?
Current NCAA DI, DII, and DIII student-athletes are eligible to enter the transfer portal once they have notified their institution’s compliance department of their intention to transfer. In addition; incoming student-athletes that have signed their NLIs are also eligible to enter the transfer portal.
Student-athletes at the NAIA and NJCAA levels are not eligible to enter the transfer portal.
Link to NCAA information regarding One Time Transfer Rule
http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/eligibility_center/Transfer/OneTime_Transfer.pdf
When can I enter the NCAA Transfer Portal if I am in college?
A current NCAA DI, DII, or DIII student-athlete, you are eligible to enter the transfer portal upon informing the current institution’s compliance office of the intention to transfer.
Each sport has its own deadline, with some exceptions, as to the deadline to enter the transfer portal. All Fall and Winter sports have a May 1 deadline to enter the transfer portal and be eligible for the coming year, while Spring sports have a July 1 deadline to enter the portal and remain eligible. There are a few exceptions to entering the transfer portal after the deadline, one common exception is changes in Head Coach.