The Pandemic & The Portal: How COVID-19 Forever Changed College Football
5-minute read on transfer portal timeline & changes
The transfer portal has become a central feature of college football, with thousands of players across all divisions using it each year. This influx of transfers has had significant impact on programs’ success. The act of transferring has long been a topic of debate in college football. With the creation of the NCAA transfer portal in 2018 and subsequent rule changes, transferring had become rampant.
However, it could be argued that the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, has had the most permanent impact on the sport. Along with other key changes, the pandemic accelerated and intensified the transfer culture in college football via rule changes and common practices. But how did it all happen?
PROLOGUE
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
In January 2020, reports surfaced of a new virus outbreak in Wuhan, China, which was later identified as COVID-19. The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was confirmed on January 20, 2020, in the state of Washington.
However, it wasn’t until later in February and early March 2020 that the virus began to spread more widely within the country and the severity of the situation became clear to many Americans. The World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
CHAPTER 1: The Cancellations
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
On March 12, 2020, the NCAA announced the cancellation of all remaining winter and spring championships. This included the highly anticipated men’s and women’s basketball tournaments. Also as a result of the pandemic, college football spring practices were also canceled.
A few days later, in late March 2020, the NCAA announced that it would grant an additional year of eligibility to all spring-sport athletes who had their season’s end canceled due to COVID-19. This decision was intended to provide relief to impacted athletes who missed out on their seasons due to the pandemic. It, however, would set a precedent going forward for collegiate sports.
CHAPTER 2: The Battle for a Season
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
From April to June 2020, the NCAA debated whether to cancel the fall football season due to COVID-19. Most Division I-FCS, Division II, and Division III conferences ultimately postponed their seasons. This caused controversy among players who wanted to play, but their conferences chose not to hold fall sports. Some non-FBS schools managed to play a few games in the fall, further fueling the debate over fairness.
The FBS schools, in contrast, were able to implement COVID-19 protocols and reschedule their fall season. However, it was plagued with cancellations, postponements, and controversies. One of the most significant was the Big Ten’s attempt to play and Ohio State’s eligibility for the College Football Playoff, which raised concerns about fairness. There was also an underlying sentiment regarding players’ rights to choose whether or not to play.
CHAPTER 3: Blanket Waivers & Big Rule Changes
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
In August 2020, the NCAA Division I Council granted a blanket waiver to all fall-sport athletes, allowing them to compete in the 2020-2021 season without using a season of eligibility, regardless of the number of games they play. This was in order to not penalize players who chose to not potentially risk their health with the virus. This extra year of eligibility would inevitably become a problem regarding roster management and the recruitment of incoming freshmen.
In late Fall 2020, the NCAA Division I Council approved a rule change that allowed all student-athletes to transfer once without having to sit out a year, subject to certain academic and other requirements. This came off the back of players wanting to decide whether or not they could play, not their conference.
CHAPTER 4: College Football During COVID-19
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
The end of the 2020 FBS season saw Alabama defeat Ohio State in the national championship game on January 11, 2021. Meanwhile, Division II and Division I-FCS schools that had postponed their fall seasons due to COVID-19 began playing an abbreviated spring season in early 2021.
The FCS season culminated in Sam Houston State defeating South Dakota State in the national championship game on May 16, 2021. The Division II season also ended in May, with West Florida defeating Minnesota State in the national championship game on May 22, 2021. The seasons were still plagued by cancellations and controversies, and there is speculation that the spring season may have contributed to a higher number of injuries in the following fall.
CHAPTER 5: The Great Transfer Portal Boom
The Pandemic & The Portal: Transfer Portal Timeline & Changes
Starting in the spring of 2021, the NCAA rule change allowing transfers to switch schools without penalty came into effect. This, coupled with the increased waiver success during the COVID-19 pandemic, led to a surge in players utilizing the transfer portal in 2020 and 2021.
In 2021, more than 7,000 players entered the transfer portal, forcing nearly all programs to now consider signing transfers to replace their own entries. By the end of the year, the average NCAA program had more than ten annual entries.
Since the transfer portal’s introduction in 2018, many have expressed concerns about the increasing number of players entering the portal and the difficulty they faced in finding new schools. Moreover, college programs were now dealing with roster management and scholarship allocation issues after the COVID-19 pandemic. These concerns laid the groundwork for the first rule changes aimed at controlling the transfer portal.