NCAA D-I Cabinet expected to vote on 'blind-transfer' legislation next week

The NCAA Division I Cabinet has called a meeting for next week and is expected to vote on blind-transfer legislation, sources tell On3. Set for next Wednesday, April 1, the cabinet is expected to vote on the proposed penalties to rein in “blind transfers,” which is when an athlete unenrolls from their current school and enrolls at a new university outside of the January transfer portal window.

The D-I Cabinet was previously scheduled to meet on April 14, but the meeting next week was added to the calendar to vote on the emergency legislation before most FBS programs wrap up their spring practices.

Among the proposed penalties for a program that adds a blind transfer would be prohibiting the head coach from all football and administrative duties for six contests. The school would also be fined 20% of its football budget.

The FBS Oversight Committee proposed last week removing the requirement that a school reduce the number of roster spots by five for the next season, regardless of the head coach’s employment status at the school.

The NCAA moved from two portal windows this year to just one, narrowing it to 15 days in January. The issue of blind transfers took center stage last year with Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas. A standout freshman cornerback in 2024 for the Badgers, Lucas posted 18 tackles and an interception in seven games. Lucas withdrew from classes at Wisconsin and enrolled at Miami in January, effectively circumventing the NCAA’s transfer portal.

Sources across college football have expressed concern to On3 in recent weeks that rosters could be raided if the proposed rules are not implemented. Programs do not have a way to add players ahead of the season without a spring transfer portal.

“I think the NCAA is going to need to do something,” a Big Ten general manager recently told On3. “There’s going to be 15 really high-profile guys that blind transfer, who don’t enter the transfer portal. It’s going to be a horrible look. There might need to be a spring portal. Do I know what that will look like? No. The NCAA would look like idiots — do you know how much publicity Xavier Lucas got? That was just one guy. You get 15 of those?”