The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee agreed Tuesday to a single 15-day period for student-athletes to enter the transfer portal following the 2025 season.

Under the agreement, which is expected to become final Wednesday, both undergraduate and graduate FBS players will be permitted to put their names in the portal from Jan. 2-16. Initially, the committee had considered a Jan. 2-11 transfer portal period but visited the length of the open dates again at the request of student-athletes.

The change comes after the NCAA committee decided last month to do away with the spring portal period. That move was favored by the American Football Coaches Association, which voted at its annual convention this year to recommend a single January portal period.

The portal previously also was open in December, with the two periods now consolidated into one.

Why did the coaches support the loss of the second portal period? Quite simply because of the drama – and lack of roster stability – it causes.

The spring transfer period was created as a 15-day window in April 2023, then cut to a 10-day span the following two years. That gave players who weren’t happy with their standing in spring drills – or did so well the thought they could get more name, image and likeness money elsewhere – to initiate the transfer process and led to late roster turnover for coaches.

In short, the second spring period left coaches who felt comfortable with their rosters being forced to recruit again to fill spots. Some players also have faced a lack of security because of the spring portal, with coaches recommending them to find a new program while the coach sifts through the portal for their potential replacements.

In the 2025 class, Syracuse brought in 16 transfers and lost 24.

There are two major exceptions to the Jan. 2-16 portal period.

First, players in games contested on or after Jan. 12 may enter the portal for a five-day span that starts the day after the final postseason game.

Next, when a head coach leaves his job, student-athletes have 30 days after the coach’s departure to enter the portal. That exception will undergo further review.