Bill O'Brien Outlines Major Concerns Over College Football Transfer Portal Timing: The Extra Point

Does the NCAA football transfer portal window need to change? Here's what BC football head coach Bill O'Brien thinks.

Oct 25, 2025; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Bill O'Brien questions a call during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium. Louisville defeated Boston College 38-24. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

This offseason, there was only a two-week span in which college football players could enter the transfer portal, which took place from Jan. 2 to Jan. 16.

Unlike past years since the transfer portal was introduced, that short window marked the only period in which players could officially leave their former program in search of a new home, which brings up a major dilemma that the NCAA must address in some manner in the future.

That is, to a large extent, because the 2026 College Football Playoff was still taking place during that timeframe. 

In fact, the two most important games leading up to the 2026 National Championship, the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl, were played right in the middle of the window, on Jan. 8 and 9. On Jan. 2, four additional bowl games not associated with the Playoff — the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, and the Trust & Will Holiday Bowl — were played as well.

In coaches’ opinions around the country, including Boston College football head coach Bill O’Brien, the timing of the sole transfer portal window needs to be changed.

“The calendar is still messed up,” O’Brien said in his first address to the media since the Eagles’ 2025 season finale. “You have this portal open from January 2 until, I think, the 16th, and so you’ve got teams still playing, teams in the playoffs. I’m watching a game where there’s a guy playing for a team and he’s in the portal but he’s playing for the team.”

O’Brien continued: “I mean, that’s just not right. To each his own, I’m not putting any judgement on that, I’m just saying that’s really not right. There’s something wrong with that.”

The root of the issue stems from the academic calendar, because players who sign with new programs as mid-year enrollees must get to campus around the same time classes begin. For most schools, that is sometime in mid-to-late January.

“I think the academic calendar, like, it’s so difficult here at a place like BC,” O’Brien said. “You’ve got to get their transcripts, you gotta see, like, can they do the work here at Boston College. That’s a big part of it if you bring anybody in. Do they have enough credits to transfer in? What credits will BC accept?” 

“So to be able to do that in such a short period of time, our admissions did an unbelievable job working with us and letting us know. So that’s a big part of it.”

In an ideal world, according to O’Brien, the college football transfer portal timing should reflect the schedule of the National Football League (NFL).

“Like the draft in late April, then you have rookie minicamp, then you have [organized team activities],” O’Brien said. “So maybe give us some practices in June. You have that portal window sometime in the Spring. Maybe it’s May, at the end of the school year, and then in June, you’ve got your team, and now you can have maybe 15 or so practices in June, and then July is summer conditioning, and then August you ramp it up for training camp.”

Across all three divisions, over 10,500 players entered the transfer portal this offseason, according to the NCAA. 

Since Miami and Indiana played in the National Championship, which happened on Monday, those players were granted an extra period of five days, from Jan. 20 to Jan. 24, to decide on whether to enter the portal or stay at their respective school.