Per The Athletic —

HOW DOES THE TRANSFER PORTAL WORK?

“The portal launched in the fall of 2018 as a communication tool to help give athletes more say in the process of switching schools. To enter the transfer portal, athletes notify the school of their intent to transfer. From there, the school’s compliance department has 48 hours to put an athlete’s name into the portal.

Athletes must enter the portal within one of the windows (for football, either a 30-day period beginning Monday or a 15-day period in the spring) in order to be immediately eligible to play at their new school through the NCAA’s one-time free transfer rule. Graduate transfers can enter the portal at any time.

Once in the portal, a player can select a destination – or decide to stay at their current school – at any time as long as they meet enrollment criteria. This means that even though players must enter their name in the portal within the window, they do not have to make a decision on their new destination by the time the window closes.”