Would a Proposed Shorter Portal Window Have Changed Fate for Tulane Green Wave?

Coaches among college football have voted for a proposal that reduces the transfer portal window, one that left the Tulane Green Wave in a challenging spot to finish the season.

The unanimous vote took place at the 2025 American Football Coaches Association convention, aiming to shorten the portal window to a single ten-day period in January and consequently eliminating the current windows in December and April.

Tulane football felt the effects of the current system that has a 30-day window beginning on Dec. 9, three days following their American Conference Championship loss to the Army Black Knights. Quarterback Darian Mensah departed from the program that Monday.

The mess that governs things as it stands sticks the crucial portal window in the midst of the postseason and signing day for high school recruits. It leaves teams in limbo immediately following conference championship games.

The Green Wave weren't in contention for the college football playoffs after losing their final regular season game to the Memphis Tigers. But what if they had been and then defeated the Black Knights?

It's difficult to believe a playoff run would have changed Mensah's decision, given that he reportedly received a multi-million dollar deal from the Duke Blue Devils.

The proposed change certainly wouldn't eliminate tampering. However, it would undeniably leave programs better off for assembling a bowl game roster that illustrates the team in full form that competed all year.

Tulane started backup quarterback Ty Thompson in the Gasparilla Bowl loss to the Florida Gators, and his backup was a freshman who had minute experience taking snaps under center in a game setting, let alone against an SEC opponent with no notable opt-outs.

It marks a consecutive bowl loss for the team with a backup under center.

While the benefits are markedly clear for postseason bowl games, it's unclear how the college football playoffs would stand to benefit with the proposed window opening and closing prior to the national championship game.

Currently, players on those teams have an extension to the portal window following their exit from the playoffs. However, the ten-day window binds other players who lack this luxury.

The semifinals this year were on Jan. 9 and 10, the first date the proposed window would open. But Notre Dame and Ohio State have a game on Jan. 20.

How would they go about hosting prospects in the midst of preparation and travel? How do they anticipate the roster needs prior to the date their players who choose to utilize the extension depart?

The move for change appears to favor and incentivize competitive programs striving for a strong season finish. It's simply impossible to ignore the underlying existence of tampering and NIL agents speaking to schools on behalf of players.

Acting as if the players wouldn't be able to assess changes or behavior in teammates looking to leave feels foolish. The question is how much that matters to team chemistry and how steadfast they can shut out outside noise.

An outside perspective on the end of the Green Wave's season has to account for the fact that their losing streak began before the window opened. No one but the players will ever know why, or whether extraneous factors played a role.

Did the rumors surrounding head coach Jon Sumrall being linked to open jobs affect their psyche? Did any of them have the impression that the player next to them was likely not coming back?

They were certainly affected by the cold in West Point, and struggled to find an answer for the Memphis Tigers offense. It may have been as simple as that.

Would a bowl win with Mensah under center have been better than the alternative? Or would Tulane be in a worse hole?

A different portal window wouldn't have changed Mensah's decision to leave. If he had to wait until Jan. 2 to make his decision, it would have put Sumrall in a challenging situation, as he would have had ten days to find his next starting quarterback.

It's nearly impossible to imagine how they would have hosted all three signed quarterbacks within that time frame, in addition to 23 important transfers across position groups.

TJ Finley signed with the team on Dec. 17 before the bowl game. Donovan Leary followed on Dec. 22, and Kadin Semonza rounded out the group on Jan. 5.

While programs need more stability than the current framework offers, this proposal doesn't appear to solve conundrums outside of bowl rosters. The system would benefit from some tweaking, but not in a way that gives teams less than two weeks to recruit and rebuild holes caused by players exiting via the portal.