Most of what you say is true, but more than 1 Coach per staff can have access to the portal. It is not something open to the public though.
I stand by my post #12 above. You need an NCAA login to get into the transfer portal. A .edu email but clearly, its for coaches and admins. Same place they host the educational modules and other internal stuff. There was some uproar at one point about coaches sharing their login with media and other services. Suspicion it had value and it does in some sports. The NCAA added some security features. I think they just make sure the IP address matches the school location. Interesting about "good" players in the portal. There aren't usually P5 starters in there just looking around. Most have a plan - often with a school or schools that may have recruited them already. Some good players may be really shopping around but I don't think it's that many. I also think some coaches are pretty careful and do their research on kids in the portal they don't know well. And then some schools/coaches are a bit desperate and email tons of kids. Look at the HotSeat. Places like AZ, MD, KY, Villanova will have spots open! Kinda depends on where their new coach comes from. (I admitted on the HotSeat thread how impressed I was with MSU's Ava Cook. Wish her well) I would like to know how many emails a D1 starter might actually get these days. I think budgets are still a bit tight some places with holdover players. 283 names in the portal. 91 of those are 5th years but those are kids likely to get in there early anyway. I'd expect this number to crank up the next week or two of course.
I’d be careful about reaching out prior to going into the portal. Or using your club coach to do it. I know several schools who have been turned in for communicating with a player prior to going into the portal and compliance has been alerted. And not to sound histrionic, but if a coach is willing to cheat in this area, where else will they bend the rules?
It’s worth pointing out that one coach having access to the portal is different than one coach having access to the information, and although a compliance officer is usually assigned to the Athletic department, sometimes the role is more compartmentalized and compliance offices can encompass several departments of a school, including academic, financial aid, administrative, and athletic offices.
65 new players in the portal since Monday. Some from the likely suspects that mirror the open positions like KY and MD, but 2 kids from Akron showed up today. Makes you wonder if they had an important meeting this week?? Also interesting when a batch of 5th years show up from the same school about the same day. You assume they've been told there's no money or no place for them.
Florida kids starting to show up in the portal. It's like you know when they are having their individual meetings! Akron now has 4 in there. Are they in there though because the coach is staying or because she's leaving?? Fridays are interesting days for announcements and such....
If you are a freshman and signed a NLI, do you still need a release to enter the portal and/or be eligible at the next institution if leaving at mid-year?
YES. The portal is partly a free agent marketing tool but is also the way that eligibility is certified by the relevant institutions. Once you've enrolled at a school, you must be in there to change schools and certify eligibility, regardless of NLI status.
i believe the standard is not just enrolling, you have to have attended your first day of class. from the four year transfer guide:
sorry what I meant was, does simply being put in the transfer portal release you from fulfilling your NLI obligation?
I believe your answer is yes. I think the only issue is the timing. After the player enrolls (takes classes on day 1) then the portal is the vehicle they use to transfer. Funny that even if a player does not play, they still have to use the portal to certify they are eligible to transfer. So there are some names in the portal of kids that never played or may have not been recruited by the school they decided to attend. BEFORE the player enrolls but after they sign, it's a bit more confusing since the NLI is a contract. I know schools will release kids from their NLI commitment if there's a coaching change for example or some family emergency. The school the prospect signed with can release the player from their obligation before they enroll. The NLI is really about ending the recruiting process from the day the player signs until they enroll. Once they enroll and take classes, I don't think the NLI is in effect as a practical matter since schools are now obligated to put players in the portal who want to be there. Maybe someone has a different take. My experience has been that if the player wants to leave, we are fine just letting them go and will help the player if asked. I've not been involved in ever making it tougher for a player to leave.
Does a freshman still need to complete a full year in residence before they can transfer without penalty (sitting out a season)? In other words, can they transfer after their fall freshman season in January without penalty?
I believe that there is now a 1-time exception to the year in residency requirement for just about every transfer who wants it. Restrictions on grad transfers were reduced recently as well. I believe the main restrictions are those imposed by conferences, that is transfers in the same conference do not get that exception and may have to sit out. I've heard of those even being challenged on appeal. Assuming of course the student can gain admission at the new school. Very often, the students same initial application record would be used to admit them since they don't have grades yet when they apply right away in that first semester. Some schools want transfers to have at least 24 credits as well as a high gpa before they gain admission as a transfer. Many kids try to get into schools as transfers they couldn't get into as first-year students and lots of competitive schools are not all that crazy about transfers. Many other schools love transfer kids so you need to do that research.
I believe entering the transfer portal does NOT release you from the NLI for the year in which you signed. The release grants that. And you can’t enter the portal without a release from either the school or the NCAA on appeal. The NLI is a one year contract that goes to the end of the academic year. The school is obligated to fulfill its monetary obligations to the player and the player is obligated to fulfil his/ her academic and athletic responsibilities to the school. Without a release ( or the grant of a release on appeal to the NCAA) there is still a penalty if you leave during the academic year. entering the transfer portal does end the scholarship money the school is obligated under the NLI contract if the release is granted. And the school is not obligated to take you back if you change your mind. In those conferences that guarantee four year scholarships, that can be important to consider. As I see it, the main thing the transfer portal did was eliminate the penalties and restrictions that schools and conferences imposed on transferring. And the NCAA seems willing to override refusals of releases by schools on a regular basis. In the old days that was pretty rare and left to the conferences. for instance, in the PAC-12 there was a one year eligibility penalty on transferring imposed by the conference and a two year penalty on transferring within the conference unless 80% of the athletic directors granted an exception. Schools could also limit which other schools you could transfer to. Some other conferences were similar. That’s all gone now.
Thanks Clive - I went searching around and found a good FAQ. Link below. (btw, over 600 kids in the portal now, 188 are 5th years) I don't think many schools are going to be aggressively NOT releasing students from their NLI. That all depends of course. If the player is not playing, fitting in, has a family issue, why would the coach want the player to stay? They want the roster spot and money for the next player. Of course the player could be awesome and just thinks they can do better, and maybe wants to stay in the same region or conference as the first school, then you may have trouble getting that release and any conference rules could be enforced. 2) NLI rules still apply. Freshman who have signed an NLI are still bound by the NLI’s year in academic residence requirement. Their current institution would have to be willing to release them from their NLI for the SA to transfer after only one semester. https://jvra.org/ncaa-transfer-portal-initial-impressions-tips-for-coaches-educators/
completely up to the school. Most will release but not all. The school can still make you fulfill your 1 year of NLI if they want to
To go along with this, if a freshman would enter the portal now, is there time to transfer to a school for spring semester or is it too late? Most transfer application deadlines are past, but can a coach pull strings to get a player in for spring semester?
Agree with that last answer - it depends - completely depends on the coach and how competitive the school is and their influence. One of the biggest unknowns in this process at every level is what influence the coach has on the admissions process. Some have 'slots' or preferred admissions spots allocated to them but sometimes those are all used up. Have to ask that and do your research. There are some schools that famously have been in trouble on this issue in recent years!! But quite a lot of State schools love for transfers to arrive mid-year.