The NCAA approved a single January transfer window in college football Wednesday, a move that will allow coaches with high-stakes postseason games to focus more on matchups than player retention.
The Division I Administrative Committee approved the new window of January 2-16. Coaches in NCAA Division I’s upper-tier Football Bowl Subdivision voted unanimously to support the change during their American Football Coaches Association convention earlier this year.
The new 15-day period replaces the current 20-day December period. Most teams now will be able to keep active players as they prepare for their biggest games. Last season, Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula entered the portal and missed his team’s run in the College Football Playoff, with the Nittany Lions reaching the semifinals of the 12-team event.
The new window will allow players on teams in postseason games to remain eligible before entering the portal. Players on teams competing on or after Jan. 12 can notify during a consecutive-five-day period beginning the day after their team’s final postseason game.
The spring portal period already had been removed. The April 16-25 window this past offseason created havoc for coaches and players during spring practice. Nico Iamaleava, the quarterback who led Tennessee to the CFP last season, left for UCLA in the most high-profile example.
The NCAA also announced that the head coach change exception for football will now be 15 days, starting five days after a new coach is hired if that announcement comes after Jan. 2.
Gambling rules could be relaxed
The NCAA also moved a step closer Wednesday to allowing athletes and athletic department staff at member schools to bet on professional sports.
The Division I Administrative Committee approved the change, which must still be approved by Divisions II and III for it to go into effect. If approved by all three divisions, the change would begin Nov. 1.
“The Administrative Committee was clear in its discussion today that it remains concerned about the risks associated with all forms of sports gambling but ultimately voted to reduce restrictions on student-athletes in this area to better align with their campus peers,” University of Illinois athletic director Josh Whitman, the committee’s chairman, said in a release. “This change allows the NCAA, the conferences, and the member schools to focus on protecting the integrity of college games while, at the same time, encouraging healthy habits for student-athletes who choose to engage in betting activities on professional sports.”
This doesn’t change the NCAA rule that forbids athletes from betting on college sports. The NCAA also prohibits sharing information about college competitions with bettors. The institution also doesn’t allow advertising and sponsorships of NCAA championships by betting sites.
Despite the potential change, the committee emphasized that it doesn’t endorse betting on sports, particularly for student-athletes.
“Division I members are actively working to deregulate NCAA rules where possible, and the Division I Board of Directors remains focused on preserving rules that directly speak to the fairness of college sports competition and the academic successes of college athletes,” Virginia Tech president Tim Sands said in the release. “While NCAA members do not encourage student-athletes to engage in sports betting behaviors of any kind, the timing is right to modernize these rules by removing prohibitions against betting on professional sports and focusing on harm reduction strategies for behaviors that do not impact college sports directly.”
The change comes as NCAA enforcement caseloads involving sports betting violations have increased in recent years. Just last month, the NCAA banned three men’s college basketball players for sports betting, saying they had wagered on their own games at Fresno State and San Jose State and were able to share thousands of dollars in payouts.
The NCAA Committee on Infractions released findings from an enforcement investigation that concluded Mykell Robinson, Steven Vasquez and Jalen Weaver bet on one another’s games and/or provided information that enabled others to do so during the 2024-25 regular season; two of them manipulated their performances to ensure certain bets were won. Their eligibility was permanently revoked.
Sponsor patches possible
The same committee proposed a change to rules barring commercial logos on uniforms in a move that would clear the way for sponsor patches to appear on jerseys next year.
Under current rules, the only commercial logo permitted on athletes’ equipment or apparel during regular-season games is the logo of the equipment or apparel manufacturer.
If the proposal is adopted, schools could place two additional commercial logos on uniforms and pregame/postgame apparel during competition outside of NCAA championship events. Also, one additional commercial logo would be permitted on equipment used by athletes.
The committee directed the playing rules committees and subcommittees to review the proposal and make sport-specific recommendations on national standards for placement of commercial logos.
“The committee’s introduction of this proposal demonstrates the continued efforts by the NCAA to modernize rules where appropriate within Division I,” Whitman said in a release. “As we move into a new era of Division I athletics, in which student-athletes can receive unprecedented financial benefits and support from their schools, it is appropriate for NCAA members to identify and consider additional opportunities for schools to generate additional revenue to fully support those benefits.”
Committee members will solicit feedback from NCAA schools in the coming months and may consider revisions to the proposal. A final proposal is expected to be considered for a vote in January. If adopted, rules changes for apparel and equipment would be effective Aug. 1.
The committee also directed playing rules committees and subcommittees to consider potential changes for sport-specific national standards for commercial trademarks or logos on playing surfaces and officials’ uniforms during competition outside of NCAA championship events.