INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Student-athletes who will enroll at another school after graduating are now allowed to enter the Transfer Portal at any time, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Council decided during its virtual meeting on Wednesday, September 21.
On August 31, the Division I Board of Directors adopted new transfer rules — effective immediately — that required student-athletes to enter the Transfer Portal during sport-specific transfer windows.
After today’s Council action, student-athletes who plan to compete the following year as postgraduate students are exempt from those windows. Today’s action does not exempt the students from implications associated with the decision to enter the Transfer Portal, including the reduction or cancellation of athletics financial aid for their next academic term.
“The college application process occurs earlier in the year for graduate students, and today’s vote provides immediate relief for college students who are interested in pursuing graduate programs at other schools next year while competing in their given sports,” said Lynda Tealer, vice chair of the Division I Council and executive associate athletics director at the University of Florida. “The Council will continue to evaluate this issue and consider more permanent modifications to rules related to postgraduate participation.”
Postgraduate students will be subject to deadlines to enter the Transfer Portal:
- Fall and winter sports: May 1.
- Spring sports: July 1.
The postgraduate transfer rules approved today are effective immediately. The Council will continue to discuss the application of rules to postgraduate students.
Release courtesy National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
