Yes

The transfer portal created a very interesting dynamic that’s taken some harsh turns since NIL was legalized in 2021. College athletes, whether former or current at the time, are very outspoken on how their sports leagues profit billions of dollars off their athletes but weren’t sharing any of that money with the athletes themselves.

Now, they get to earn that money. Not only that, but the universities have been able to directly pay their athletes, leading to a shatter of transfers across all sports.

It’s become free agency. An escape from the grind. Commitment is nonexistent. The only way to regulate this is to bring back the transfer redshirt rule — athletes having to sit out a year before playing with their new team.

Those transfer rules were exempt in 2021, and since then, each year has seen a record amount of transfers. The biggest number I’ve seen is in college basketball with over 2,000 transfers this year alone. There are players who are literally bouncing between two or three programs every offseason.

With players having to sit out a year, continuity will come back to the sport. It’ll force kids to work hard for playing time and stick with the plan rather than bailing because they’re upset they weren’t starting after one season with their respective program.

These new rules are like giving these athletes special privileges and handouts. The NCAA is allowing kids to take the easy way out instead of working hard for what they want. Bouncing between different colleges every year can have an affect on the quality of education the student athlete is truly getting because of that lack of continuity.

I strongly believe it’s not good for the sport, not good for the colleges, and not good for the character development of  young adults.

No

Over the past years, NIL and the transfer portal have had major impacts on the world of college athletics, for better or worse.

In 2018, the NCAA introduced the new transfer rules that would make switching schools much easier and provide bigger opportunities for student athletes.

Athletes can now have immediate eligibility. Before this rule was installed, transfers would have to sit out one year before playing.

Many fans of the sport are blaming this rule change for the absurd number of athletes who leave their original schools. While it has a part to play in the overall issue, I believe there are other rules and regulations the NCAA can implement to limit the expanding transfer portal.

The first rule that can be encted is limiting the number of times an athlete can transfer.

In many cases, players who transfer typically have done so multiple times.

A prime example of this is AJ Storr, a basketball player who is now going on his fourth team in four years.

Players are treating schools like fast food restaurants and leaving immediately when they face some sort of adversity.

A new rule will limit athletes to two transfers max and keep the transfer portal pool to a minimum.

Secondly, the NCAA can install a cap limit for NIL funds. Another factor in the mass exodus of transfers every season is the chase for more money.

Larger schools with more resources are poaching players all around the country when offering athletes money they simply can’t turn down.

The addition of immediate eligibility is one of the reasons for the transfer portal getting more and more out of hand. But I believe there are other factors that, if changed, can completely fix the problem at hand.