The NCAA currently operates two transfer portal windows throughout the year but the Fighting Irish head coach has admitted there is an inconvenience to it, citing its effects on postseason preparation
13:40 ET, 31 May 2025Updated 13:41 ET, 31 May 2025
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has had his say on the current state of the transfer portal
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman has called on the NCAA to have just one transfer portal window instead of two in an attempt to lessen the burden on coaches and players.
The 2024 college football season is firmly in the past and preparations for the upcoming campaign are already well underway, with schedules being released just a month after Ohio State was crowned national champions and more than 250 players moving on to the NFL. Recruitment for the 2026 and 2027 classes have also taken center stage, with Notre Dame making offers to more than 90 players in March.
April also saw the return of the spring transfer portal window, where Notre Dame offensive lineman Pat Coogan confirmed his intent to leave ahead of next season, joining three teammates who also confirmed their decision after losing the national championship game. Defensive tackle Jared Dawson did arrive from Louisville, however.
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The NCAA also has a winter transfer portal window, which was open from December 9, 2024 to December 28, 2024 — right when Notre Dame was starting out its CFP journey.
Coach Freeman, though, is behind a push to have only one portal window. Speaking to local media on Thursday, he made it perfectly clear what he’d prefer to see in the transfer portal and why.
“If you made me vote, I would vote for the spring, but I wouldn’t be upset if it were the winter or the spring, right?” he said, as per 247Sports. “I’m a big proponent of one transfer portal window, but if you made me choose one over the other, I would choose the spring.”
Marcus Freeman has cited his preference for just one transfer portal
When pushed for why he came to his decision, the 39-year-old cited the distractions the winter window poses for post-season play, along with the negative influence it can have on players’ education.
“Probably more than anything, not dealing with that distraction during your postseason play, the ability to get people into school, right?” Freeman said. “You know, after the spring semester is an advantage for us, but I’m not opposed to some of the other times, like the winter.”
He added: “The other side of it is, you know, I’m a proponent for young people. The minute there’s uncertainty, they pack up and go somewhere else, right? And so I think about it, as a lot of coaching changes happen, right?
“It might be best for that young person to stay there. And if there’s no option to get up and leave, when the coaching (staff) changes, maybe they say, ‘Well, I do like this new head coach. I do want to stay here. I do want to get my degree from here,’ instead of getting up and leaving the minute there’s uncertainty with who’s the head coach.
Notre Dame QB Steve Angeli entered the transfer portal following the end of the 2024 College Football Playoff(Image: Getty Images)
“And so, if you put it in the spring, at least, it gives that new coach a chance to convince that player it’s the best thing to do to stay at the university, because I’m a proponent of our young people getting degrees.
“That’s so important. And not just making decisions based on what’s going to be best football-wise, but also, like the longevity of my life, education is so important.”
The recent transfer portal threw up its fair share of stories, but sometimes things can get out of hand. Last month, Tennessee State star Eriq George — the son of former TSU coach and 1995 Heisman Trophy winner, Eddie — was forced to shut down “false” claims over his college football future.