Nick Saban reacts to NCAA shrinking transfer portal window

The NCAA made changes the transfer portal window on Wednesday, and Alabama coach Nick Saban offered his thoughts. It was announced that the window for players to transfer at the conclusion of the season will move from 45 days down to 30.

The spring portal window, which is currently set at 15 days, will remain unchanged. Saban was asked for his opinion on the matter at his weekly press conference, but admitted he wasn’t aware of the change so had little to say about it.

“I’m sure there was good reason to do what they did,” he said. “I’ve said before I’m all for players having rights to do the things they wanna do. I’m all for name, image and likeness and guys being able to do things that create value for them. I’m not for just paying guys to play. That’s not what name, image and likeness was supposed to be. I don’t really know what they did today, so I really shouldn’t comment on it.”

Football isn’t the only sport affected by the NCAA’s changes to the transfer portal window. For men’s and women’s basketball, the window will be 45 days after selection Sunday. The change does not impact when a player can announce their decision to transfer, but only when they can officially enter their name in the portal database.

Other SEC coaches offer their thoughts on the transfer portal window

Saban wasn’t the only coach from the SEC to comment on the change. Many coaches lobbied for a shorter window, and Arkansas‘ Sam Pittman was among them.

“I personally believe that it’s open too long,” Pittman said this offseason on the Paul Finebaum Show. “I think it needs to close down. I think kids who go in the transfer portal know they’re going to transfer way faster than 45 days.”

He wasn’t the only SEC coach of that opinion, either. South Carolina‘s Shane Beamer also chimed in during the offseason on the idea that the transfer portal windows were too generous.

“There was talk, I guess last year at this time there was talk about that window going like all the way through May, which I’ll be honest would be awful,” Beamer said.

“If a guy’s going to transfer, he knows he’s transferring by the end of spring practice. He doesn’t need the whole month of May to figure it out. So I think from that standpoint, the fact that the window was shorter it gave players time to go through spring practice, kind of see where they are and if there’s better opportunities for them elsewhere they can explore it. But it’s not too long where it gets drug out too long.”