Steve Sarkisian calls for change to college football model, transfer portal

There has been growing frustration over the current model of college football, particularly the Transfer Portal. Now, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has shared his frustrations, explaining that there needs to be some kind of change.

This spring, Sarkisian was asked about how he communicates with where quarterbacks stand as they approach the Transfer Portal. That prompted him to reflect on the Maalik Murphy transfer as an example of why things need to change.

“It’s no different than any other player on the team,” Steve Sarkisian said. “We try to communicate on a high level of where they’re at, where they can improve, what we envision their journey looking like short-term and long-term, but, again, two years ago we were in the College Football Playoff. Maalik was our backup quarterback. He felt like he had to go into the portal to solidify a position because if he didn’t go in somebody else was going to take that spot. That’s a terrible position for a young man to be in.”

The calendar in the winter portal window is a major issue that has popped up for players and coaches. Already, coaches have to balance postseason games, high school recruiting, and now the portal. Players, meanwhile, are often taking finals, preparing for postseason games, and often trying to find a new team. Maalik Murphy isn’t the only quarterback who has had to miss the CFP looking for a new team as a result. In 2024, Beau Pribula had to step away from Penn State to find his next team too.

“The fact that he’s worked since January with his team, competing to try and win a national championship. He started, I believe, two games for us that fall. Then, here we are going to play a semifinal game in the Sugar Bowl against Washington,” Sarkisian said. “And he has to leave his team or he might lose a spot on another team. Like, none of that makes sense to me. It didn’t make sense to me then, it doesn’t make sense to me now, but that’s what we created.”

That prompted Steve Sarkisian to call for a change in the model. However, he also noted that it needs to be done properly or legal challenges will again create future issues.

“If we’re going to do anything to help the players and the student-athletes and help the programs, we’ve got to look at this model and see where we can improve it and do it in a way where there’s some teeth involved,” Sarkisian said. “Because if not there’s just gonna be another lawsuit and the whole thing’s going to fall apart again and we’re gonna go back to square one.”

Steve Sarkisian isn’t alone in this position either. Other coaches, like Ryan Day, have also called for changes to the Transfer Portal. In Day’s case that meant just having one window in the spring. However, for the time being, they’ll need to continue to operate in the current system.