ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Josh Allen has accomplished plenty of firsts in his career.

He’ll corral another one in November as the University of Wyoming is set to retire Allen’s No. 17. The Buffalo Bills quarterback will be the first Cowboy to have their jersey retired.

A ceremony to retire Allen’s jersey will take place Nov. 22 during halftime of Wyoming’s game against Nevada. Allen will be in attendance for the game and ceremony with the Bills having the weekend off as they play on “Thursday Night Football” that week at the Houston Texans.

“What’s up, Cowboys fans. Josh Allen here,” Allen said in a video announcing the retirement. “I’m excited to announce that I will be returning to University of Wyoming Nov. 22 against University of Nevada. Excited to be back in Laramie. Go Pokes.”

17 coming home. pic.twitter.com/rA7YZv6kan

— Wyoming Cowboy Football (@wyo_football) September 4, 2025

The reigning NFL MVP will make his return to the school for the first time since he was chosen by the Bills seventh in 2018, Wyoming’s highest draft pick.

After starting his collegiate career as a no-star recruit and playing at Reedley College, a juco program in central California, Allen transferred to Wyoming, playing there from 2015 to 2017. After suffering a broken collarbone his first year in Laramie, he led the school to back-to-back eight-win seasons, finishing his career with 5,066 passing yards, 767 rushing yards and 57 total touchdowns. The two-time team captain was also named MVP of the 2017 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

“It is very exciting and a wonderful day for the State of Wyoming,” University of Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman said in a statement. “It is going to be a big day in the history of Wyoming Football. Josh is the most high-profile ambassador the University of Wyoming has ever had.”

The Bills kick off the season Sunday night against the Baltimore Ravens (8:20 ET, NBC).

North Carolina and first-year head coach Bill Belichick have banned the New England Patriots’ staff from accessing the Tar Heels’ program, sources told ESPN.

When reached by ESPN, North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi said, “Good luck” and then hung up the phone. UNC also declined comment.

Lombardi and Tar Heels pro liason Frantzy Jourdain informed the Patriots that they would be banned from UNC the day before one of their scouts was scheduled to visit in August, a source with direct knowledge told ESPN.

Two NFL scouts who work for other teams told ESPN that North Carolina, under Belichick’s leadership, offers limited access to all NFL personnel. Clubs are allowed to speak only with Jourdain, and UNC’s college relations website says that “scouts will have zero access to coaches or other personnel people,” according to the scouts.

The term “zero access” appears three times on UNC’s college relations website, a page accessible only to NFL personnel.

One scout said NFL personnel are only able to watch three periods of practice at UNC. Each college program varies in access to NFL personnel, but the scouts said that many programs allow scouts to watch full practices.

“Can’t think of another school with a statement of ‘zero access,'” one scout told ESPN.

3 & Out’s John Middlekauff first reported the news.

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.