Transfer Portal

The NCAA Transfer Portal is the database athletes use to notify their school that they intend to transfer. Entering it makes an athlete visible to other programs and allows those programs to contact them. It is a notification and compliance tool, not a marketplace, and not a guarantee of a new roster spot.

Q. When can an athlete enter the portal?

2026–27 transfer windows: The NCAA transfer portal calendar is sport-specific, so there is no single transfer window that applies to all athletes. For the 2026–27 cycle, windows generally fall between November 2026 and June 2027, with fall sports opening in late 2026, football using a single January 2027 window, and winter and spring sports opening later in 2027. Always check the current NCAA calendar for your specific sport before entering the portal, as dates and exceptions can change from year to year.

Q. Are there additional windows or exceptions?

Yes. Beyond the standard sport-specific windows, four scenarios let an athlete enter or move outside the normal calendar: a graduate transfer, a discontinued sport, a non-sponsored sport, and a head coaching change at the athlete’s current school.

Q. Does entering guarantee a transfer?

No. An athlete who enters and does not find a new program may not be able to return, their current school is not obligated to hold the roster spot or the athletic aid.

Q. How has revenue sharing changed the portal?

Substantially. Transfer decisions now involve direct compensation, and portal activity clusters around revenue-sharing and NIL negotiations in a way it did not before 2025.

Q. Does transferring affect eligibility?

Under the age-based eligibility model, an athlete’s five-year window keeps running regardless of where they enroll. Transferring does not add time.