NCAA votes for single transfer portal window
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Max Olson
Major changes are coming to the transfer portal in college football after the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee voted Thursday to move to a January transfer window and eliminate the spring window.
The proposed lone transfer window would be a 10-day period that opens Jan. 2, 2026, one day after the College Football Playoff quarterfinals are completed. The Division I Administrative Committee must approve the legislative changes before it can take effect. The vote is expected to occur before Oct. 1.
The committee is also proposing making the entire month of December a recruiting dead period. Coaches would still be able to have contact with recruits but would not be permitted to do on- or off-campus recruiting visits or evaluations.
FBS coaches voted unanimously to support the January portal proposal during their American Football Coaches Association convention earlier this year, saying it will give players and coaches more time to focus on finishing their season while preserving the opportunity for players to transfer to their new school for the spring semester.
In recent years, the portal has opened for underclassmen transfers in early December immediately following conference championship games and bowl selections. In 2024-25, the winter transfer window was Dec. 9-28, and the spring portal period was April 16-25.
The collision of transfer transactions, coaching changes, high school signing day and CFP and bowl games in December has been a major source of frustration for coaching staffs. Last season, Penn State and SMU lost backup quarterbacks to the portal while they were still competing in the playoff, and Marshall opted out of the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl after determining it did not have enough players to compete due to departures brought on by a coaching change.
This season, the CFP semifinals will be held Jan. 9-10 while the national title game is set for Jan. 20.
The elimination of the spring window, if approved, will generally be welcomed by coaches but could come under scrutiny and perhaps legal challenges for restricting the transfer movement of athletes.
The NCAA’s FBS and FCS oversight committees recommended eliminating the spring window last August, citing the importance of roster stability for football programs, but did not move forward with pursuing that change while schools reckoned with the implications of the House settlement, revenue sharing and new roster limits in college athletics.
Last year, the NCAA had to abandon its one-time transfer rule amid legal challenges and pass emergency legislation to permit unlimited transfers for athletes who are academically eligible and meeting progress-to-degree requirements.
The spring portal window has traditionally been the final opportunity for players to make moves ahead of their upcoming season. Some coaches have taken advantage of it to cut players from their roster and sign additional transfers. Others view the spring portal period as giving players and their representatives too much leverage to seek more money from deals with schools that were previously signed in December and January.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava became the latest high-profile example in April when he opted to enter the portal and transfer to UCLA after a falling out with Tennessee’s coaching staff over NIL contract discussions.
In 2024-25, the NCAA’s Division I Council voted to reduce the total number of days players in FBS and FCS can be entered into the portal from 45 to 30. Dropping to 10 would represent another significant reduction that results in a frenzied period with thousands of players becoming available at the same time. Players can commit and transfer to their next school at any time after their names have been entered into the portal.
If the recommendation is approved, graduate transfers would also have to wait until Jan. 2 to enter their names in the transfer portal. Players who have earned their degree and are moving on as graduate transfers have traditionally been permitted to transfer before underclassmen players during the portal era. Last year, they were allowed to begin entering their names in the portal on Oct. 1.
The NCAA has also previously made exceptions on transfer window dates for players at schools going through coaching changes and for those on teams whose postseason ends after the portal window closes.
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Eli Lederman
NORMAN, Okla. — A week after John Mateer threw for the most yards in an Oklahoma quarterback debut against Illinois State, the transfer passer’s instinctive playmaking highlighted an imperfect performance that helped propel the No. 18 Sooners to a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday night.
While Oklahoma smothered Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, Mateer completed 21 of his 34 passes for 270 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception. He also finished with a team-high 19 carries for 74 yards, adding a pair of rushing scores on either side of halftime in his second career start for the Sooners.
“You saw what he can do,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said of Mateer. “He falls forward a lot. He’s got great strength and great skills. Tough guy. He’s fearless. He attacks everything without fear.”
Playing behind four new offensive line starters, including freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi, Mateer remained poised against the Michigan pass rush early, connecting on completions of 34, 31 and 21 yards across the Sooners’ initial pair of offensive drives. According to ESPN Research, Mateer finished 8-of-13 with 156 passing yards and a touchdown in blitzing situations Saturday.
Oklahoma opened the scoring on its opening possession via a pop pass from Mateer to wide receiver Deion Burks, who logged a team-high seven receptions for 101 yards. Mateer’s 2-yard rushing score with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter handed Oklahoma a 14-0 halftime lead, and he used his legs again for a 10-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Mateer’s 19 carries marked the fourth-highest single-game tally of his career and included three runs of at least 10 yards. With his pair of rushing scores, Mateer joined Lamar Jackson and D’Eriq King as the only FBS players to record at least one passing and rushing score in eight consecutive games since 2015, according to ESPN Research, dating to his breakout campaign at Washington State last fall.
“John’s a willing runner,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “He understands what it takes to win. They’re definitely designed QB runs in the game. At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win a football game, and John Mateer is willing [to run]. He probably took a big hit or two tonight. But hopefully all for the good of the team.”
Mateer’s night was not without mistakes. He was intercepted by Michigan defensive back TJ Metcalf in the first quarter after overthrowing tight end Will Huggins. Mateer was nearly intercepted again after halftime, and his third-quarter overthrow in the end zone beyond the hands of tight end Jaren Kanak cost the Sooners seven points as the Wolverines mounted a second-half comeback.
But Mateer’s risk-taking and flair for the extraordinary were also the drivers for Oklahoma in only the Sooners’ third win over a top-15 opponent under Venables. The Sooners led 14-7 early in the third quarter when Mateer shed a tackle in the backfield, rolled to his right and fired a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. Mateer ran in his second touchdown and lifted the Sooners to a 21-7 advantage just two plays later.
“The thing with John, I trust that kid to like no end,” Arbuckle said. “He understands moments and situations. He knows when to take a chance, when not to take a chance. So whenever he lets one rip and puts the ball in what someone may say is a risky situation, whenever he does that, I have the utmost confidence that he’s making the right decision.”
Another one of Mateer’s risks paid off early in the fourth quarter, ultimately launching an 8:27 drive that allowed Oklahoma to drain the remaining minutes and any lingering hope of a Michigan comeback.
Facing second-and-10 from the Sooners’ 38-yard line, Mateer again rolled out and — with Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham bearing down on him — made a daring throw off his back foot into heavy traffic to find Kanak for a 9-yard connection.
“[Kanak] kind of went to the open space and I threw it a little dangerous,” Mateer said. “But he made it happen.”
A timely bit of innovation, Mateer’s throw marked the start of a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive that effectively iced Oklahoma’s Week 2 victory and showed off the very best of Mateer and what his game-changing playmaking ability can offer the Sooners.
Oklahoma visits Temple in Week 3 before embarking on a gauntlet of an SEC schedule at home against Auburn on Sept. 20.
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David Hale
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man with more Super Bowl wins than any other coach in NFL history now has his first win as a college coach.
Bill Belichick picked up win No. 1 in college — and No. 334 overall — as North Carolina shrugged off a dismal opening performance Monday vs. TCU and beat Charlotte on Saturday night 20-3.
“It’s great,” Belichick said, “but it’s really about the team. It was disappointing Monday night against TCU, but these guys bounced back — players, coaches, staff, support people — and just got back to work. They were determined to have a better outcome. I’m really proud of what they did. They deserve the credit for tonight.”
After a 48-14 blowout loss that included two defensive touchdowns by the Horned Frogs, Belichick praised the team’s ability to shrug off the performance and focus on the fundamentals.
UNC led 17-3 at the half, rushed for 148 yards, and didn’t turn over the ball against Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels’ maligned defense held the 49ers to just 21 yards on the ground, five days after TCU ran for 258.
The news cycle after Monday’s loss had been ugly for Belichick and the Tar Heels — “a lot of negativity from the outside,” he said — including reports from multiple outlets, including ESPN, that scouts from the New England Patriots, with whom Belichick won six Super Bowls, have been banned from North Carolina’s facility.
Belichick confirmed those reports Saturday, saying the decision was in response to a closed-door edict in New England.
“It’s obvious I’m not welcome at their facility,” Belichick said, “so they’re not welcome at ours.”
Belichick has had an acrimonious divorce from New England and owner Bob Kraft since he left the Patriots after the 2023 season, with multiple spats erupting in the media in recent months. Belichick took issue with comments from Kraft that hiring him had been a “big risk,” releasing a statement in July saying that he was the one who took a risk by accepting the job. In a Boston Globe story last month, Belichick appeared to take another swipe, saying that one of the perks of his job at North Carolina is that “there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son,” the latter a reference to Jonathan Kraft.
On Saturday, Belichick seemed in far better spirits, though hardly effervescent in his celebration.
Asked if the team had given Belichick a game ball to celebrate his first win with the Tar Heels, senior Gavin Gibson laughed and said, “If we’d tried, I think he’d look at us like, ‘Nah.'”
Instead, Belichick pointed to UNC’s determination to wipe the slate clean after Monday’s ugly loss and offer some renewed hope that the Tar Heels wouldn’t roll over.
“It was clear in the locker room and as we got out on the practice field there was a … higher level of determination and commitment,” Belichick said. “That was good to see us improve.”
North Carolina hosts Richmond next week before heading to UCF to close out its nonconference schedule.
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