Student Athletes and the NCAA Transfer Portal
When I was a freshman in 2020 I realized that the school I was attending did not have the gymnastics program for me. I talked it over with my family and we decided I should transfer. I entered the transfer portal, which was a very scary and overwhelming experience. Since I have had two season-ending injuries, I really struggled with the thought of transferring for a fifth-year.
At my previous school the compliance person assigned to our team told me this would be the only time I could transfer without losing a year of eligibility. I never thought I would have to think about transferring again, so it didn’t bother me. Since then, the rules have changed. On April 17th, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, the nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics, announced that student-athletes would be allowed to keep their eligibility immediately, even if they had previously transferred. However, there are still regulations in place. For instance, a student-athlete cannot play for more than one team in a single season and the transfer portal is open only during parts of the year. But even with these regulations, the eligibility change has made it much easier to transfer from school to school. This has brought both good and bad outcomes for players and coaches.
For student-athletes, this is a great change to the transfer portal rules. This means that as long as there was no disciplinary action against them at their previous school they can transfer and immediately compete the following year, instead of having to sit out a year. There are many reasons why student-athletes transfer. For instance, they may no longer be able to afford the school they’re attending, the program or coaches may not be the right fit for them, or they may have a better opportunity at another school.
Katy Koopman, a fifth-year on the Rutgers gymnastics team, has transferred twice.
“I decided to transfer because my coach at my other school was mentally draining,” said Koopman. “I decided to transfer so that I didn’t have to end my career on a bad note. I wanted to end my career in a more positive environment where I could be happy when it was time for me to leave the sport.”
Koopman applauded the change in transfer rules.
“I feel like the new transfer portal rules are beneficial because it makes it very easy for athletes to show they are looking for a new home,” she said. “It just makes it known that you want to be somewhere else even if you have already transferred in the past.”
Many athletes transfer because they’re unhappy at their school, but others are looking for better opportunities, like Kristina Grkovic, a Rutgers volleyball player who will be transferring in May. This will be her first time transferring, so the new rule does not affect her. Although some changes have made the portal easier to use for student-athletes, Grkovic said it was still a demoralizing process.
“Some schools reached out to me, but they didn’t chat with me for long,” she said. “Other coaches didn’t even reply back to the first email I sent. The ones that talked to me more were people who found out about me from another source or from word of mouth.”
Coaches can sometimes receive the short end of the stick when their athletes transfer, especially if several people leave the same program. They may be concerned it will reflect poorly on their coaching abilities and impact team morale and cohesion.
Rutgers Basketball assistant coach T.J. Thompson said student-athletes typically transfer when they’re unhappy with their role on the team, want to be closer to their families, or don’t get along with the staff.
He said transfers can be both beneficial and difficult for a team.
“It’s hard to build chemistry and a certain culture when you don’t know who’s going to be on your team,” said Thompson. “Positive, it gives both coaches and athletes a chance at a fresh start for both parties if things don’t work out.”
