The Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball Oversight committees have put forward a proposal to modify the notification-of-transfer windows, allowing them to open for 15 days after the completion of the NCAA tournaments. This announcement was made by the NCAA on Wednesday.
The proposal will be reviewed by the Division I Cabinet in January, and if approved, it is set to take effect in April. Specifically, the men’s basketball transfer window would be available from April 7 to April 21, while the women’s window would run from April 6 to April 20.
This change represents the third adjustment to the transfer window format since its inception during the 2022-23 academic year. Originally, a 60-day period followed the selection announcements of the NCAA tournaments. This was later reduced to a 45-day window starting on the Monday after Selection Sunday, and most recently, it was changed to a 30-day window that begins after the second round of the tournaments.
The rationale behind the new proposal is a unified desire among the committees to allow for both tournaments to conclude before students make transfer decisions, ensuring a more organized and fair process.
Alongside this, both committees have suggested an amendment to the transfer process related to coaching changes, which aligns with a similar measure adopted in football last October. The new process would grant players a five-day period to meet with incoming coaching staff following the announcement of a new head coach. After this, players would have a 15-day window to enter the transfer portal. If a school fails to appoint a new coach within 30 days of the previous coach’s departure, players will be offered a 15-day window starting from the 31st day. For coaching changes occurring after January 1, players will need to wait until the April transfer window opens.
Currently, athletes have a 30-day timeframe to enter the transfer portal following a coaching change, indicating a shift towards a more structured and player-friendly approach in dealing with transfers.