College football coaches association to propose transfer windows

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — College football coaches will propose transfer windows in the late fall and spring to help with roster management around the transfer portal.

Todd Berry, executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, said Tuesday his group would like two transfer windows for players to enter their names in the portal: one from the final Sunday in November until the early signing date in mid-December, and another from April 15 to May 1. Both windows would coincide with contact periods in recruiting. Players wouldn't be required to transfer, only to enter the portal during designated time periods.

The NCAA's transfer portal, which debuted in October 2018, currently doesn't have specific windows for movement. The only deadline is that players must notify schools that they are entering the portal by May 1 of each academic year. Berry noted that AFCA members proposed transfer windows before the portal went into effect, but they have not been adopted.

«We knew there were going to be very few controls over it, but at least if we had a window, then the student-athletes would be able to go, 'Is this a good decision? Because here's my competition. Now I know what the other competition is because we're all in the window at the same time,'» Berry told ESPN. «It might change some perspectives. They need to be able to make educated decisions.

»We're working on a window concept that I think is going to be very good for the student-athlete, to give them those opportunities, and to provide the universities and their team and teammates with a little bit more clarity on positions and recruiting and those kinds of things."

Berry said the current portal setup without windows has created «turmoil» and «chaos» with roster