NCAA proposes stiff penalties for programs that add transfers outside of two-week portal window

The NCAA Division I FBS Oversight Committee has proposed strict penalties for football teams that add transfers outside the two-week portal window in January, the organization announced in a press release on Wednesday. The NCAA football oversight committee has recommended that its Division I Cabinet adopt emergency legislation to address situations such as Ole Miss adding former Clemson transfer signee Luke Ferrelli on Jan. 22, nearly a full week after the two-week portal window closed Jan. 16.

Longtime Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney held a press conference the next day and publicly accused Rebels head coach Pete Golding of “blatant tampering” for allegedly texting Ferrelli directly on Jan. 14 — when Ferelli was already attending classes at Clemson — and enticing him to re-enter the transfer portal, which he did a week later on Jan. 22 and committed to Ole Miss the same day.

Should a similar situation occur after this emergency legislation is approved, programs found guilty of violating the transfer portal window would face harsh penalties, including multi-game suspensions for involved head coaches, a multi-million dollar fine, and the loss of roster spots. The NCAA D1 Cabinet next meets in April, when it could vote to make this emergency legislation effective immediately.

“Attempts to circumvent the transfer window process is an issue for the sport,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks, head of the oversight committee’s calendar subgroup, said in the release. “We want to let everyone know that this is not going to be allowed, and the committee wants to protect the transfer window that has been established.”

Proposed penalties for teams that have been found in violation, per the NCAA release:

The head coach would be prohibited from all football (recruiting and on-field coaching) and administrative duties (team meetings) through the sixth contest of the season.

The school would be fined 20% of its football budget.

The school would be required to reduce the number of roster spots by five for the next season, regardless of the head coach’s employment status at the school.

“We felt this was appropriate to place an emphasis on this rule with where we are in Division I football,” Buffalo athletic director Mark Alnutt, the chair of the oversight committee, said in Wednesday’s release. “We have a window for student-athletes to notify their school when they would like to enter the Transfer Portal. If there is movement without going through the process as it is legislated, the committee felt there needed to be significant penalties.”

The NCAA Division I FBS and FCS oversight committees also voted to eliminate the annual limit on official recruiting visits. This effectively codifies a blanket waiver that’s been in place the past two years that has provided schools an unlimited number of official visits in Division I football.

This move aligns football with other sports that are currently permitted to provide official visits in accordance with their own individual program budgets. A final vote on this proposal will take place when the Division I Cabinet meets again on April 14.

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