DI Oversight Committee Proposes Portal Window Shift to After Championship Night
The Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight Committees have proposed a shift to the notification-of-transfer window.
Currently, the transfer window opens after the second round of the NCAA Tournament and stays open for 30 days. The new proposal is to shift the transfer portal windows so they open after the men’s and women’s Final Fours, rather than after the second round, and stay open for 15 days.
The Division I Cabinet is scheduled to review the proposal in January. This would go into effect in April 2026 if approved. The men’s notification-of-transfer window would then be open April 7-21, 2026.
Both committees want to wait until after championship night to open the portal.
In previous years, teams have basically been penalized for making deep runs into the NCAA Tournament. If you’re eliminated early, you could start recruiting the portal, while programs still playing had to worry about competing for a championship rather than recruiting.
If the proposal is approved in January, that issue will go away, and we won’t be distracted by big-name transfer portal entries with March Madness games still going on.
New rules were also proposed to the notification-of-transfer window applying to coaching changes. After a new coach is hired, players and staff get five days to meet, followed by a 15-day transfer window. If no coach is hired within 30 days, players get a 15-day window starting on day 31. But if the coaching change happens after Jan. 1, players must wait until the April transfer window.
More information can be found here.
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