Transfer portal windows set to open at West Virginia, across the landscape
West Virginia head coach Neal Brown had long asked for periods when the transfer period could be utilized to temper the unlimited free agency that has occurred in college football.
This week will be the first time that will be in place.
The NCAA Division I Board of Directors previously approved for two separate windows for fall sports athletes such as football to enter the transfer portal.
Those will be a 45-day window beginning the day after championships selections are made in each respective sport and then again from May 1-15. That first window for FBS football will be Dec. 5 to Jan. 18 this season which means that it is set to begin tomorrow.
It addresses a major concern in the sport that Brown has addressed multiple times in the past.
"First of all, let's call it what it is, it's free agency. In what other sport do you have free agency year around? We got to get it into windows, and it has to be feasible for the student-athlete and for the school,” Brown said previously.
The Mountaineers had plenty of off-season turnover this past off-season that ultimately made things even more challenging for the coaching staff in a 5-7 finish.
Brown had previously suggested two separate periods from some point in December until mid-January and a then another running from mid-April until the month of May. The end result is right in line.
Players would have to provide written notice that they intended to enter the transfer portal during one of those two windows and would then be able to start the process of selecting a new school. That doesn't mean they must decide in that timeframe, only ensure that their names are within the portal.
The goal would be to battle some of the tampering and other things ongoing with college sports that has made roster management a difficult task for all involved. The new NCAA dead period that just wrapped up this past week was put into place in order for coaches to meet with their players.
“You have to be ready. What we’ll do, there are a lot of things that have to be decided, but you try to get in front of it,” Brown said.
The Mountaineers have already had several players declare their intentions to transfer prior to the start of the period including cornerback Charles Woods, tight end Mike O'Laughlin, safety Saint McLeod, cornerback Mumu Bin-Wahad and tight end Corbin Page.
This isn’t going to stop tampering from completely occurring but it would at least give coaching staffs an idea of when to be on high alert to combat the issue.
Both of these new transfer periods align with times that coaches won’t be necessarily heavily involved with their teams outside of bowl preparation but it should give them an idea of when it could occur.
It's a two-way street as well as the coaching staff will be able to fill holes on the roster with players that can step in and contribute immediately from the portal as well.
Brown wanted to have these measures in place, along with plenty of other college coaches, and the end result is a system that should bring at least some order to the chaos.
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