Transfer Portal Rules – Are there any?

[tarheelute]

Does the transfer portal have rules similar to recruiting, i.e. visits, contacts? Are teams allowed to contact a player prior to their transfer announcement, or can say a team like USC cherry-pick the best players that say Wyoming or Colorado have developed? I think even the NFL does not let their teams contact or negotiate with other teams players and coaches while the season is ongoing.

[UteBacker]

This is the million-dollar question, Tarheel.  It’s the wild west out there right now and even if there were rules in place (which I don’t know), who is going to enforce them?  The NCAA is BROKEN and has been for years.  I think the blue-bloods are going to really benefit from this era of free agency that college athletics has become.

[Charlie]

Good question. I assume not more than one transfer per year and no mid year transfers. I assume schools can’t contact athletes not in the portal. With NIL can literally anyone contact an athlete about where they should go? Could it be that because there are no legal limits in regular law it becomes difficult for the NCAA to impose their own limits? Could total freedom of movement and pay for play at some point wreck athletics for all but a few teams? I don’t think pro sports can work without rules so I assume college athletics need some rules as well to survive.

[Utesbyfive]

I believe that the NCAA granted everyone a free transfer for 2020, however I believe that going forward a player may only transfer once with immediate eligibility while still an under-graduate. Then again as a graduate. I believe a second undergrad transfer would require sitting a year. That may slow the tidal wave we’re seeing now.

[Central Coast Ute]

Utesbyfive is correct and by rule, a team is not allowed to contact a player before they enter the portal. We all know it happens though.

[2008 National Champ]

You are correct. Schools are not allowed to contact players under scholarship at another school who have not entered the portal. However, I’ve seen a bunch of stories on transfers where they credit either a 7 v 7 coach, High School coach or friend of the family with contacting the new school to find out if there is interest before the player enters his name. If the NCAA had any enforcement power, these would all be violations.

So while it is good in my mind that players can finally profit from their NIL, the same cheating is still going on. If I was a kid who had a good season, and someone associated with me was able to negotiate a deal for me to change schools, how does that not violate the rules in place? At the same time, if no one is going to enforce the rules, why should I care that I’m breaking them?