NCAA proposals would give teams 21 days of offseason practice over 2 periods, up from 15 in spring
Division I football teams would be allowed more on-field practices in the offseason, the number of preseason practices would be reduced and the window for declaring intent to enter the transfer portal would be shortened under a proposal introduced this week by an NCAA committee
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Division I football teams would be allowed more on-field practices in the offseason, the number of preseason practices would be reduced, and the window for entering the transfer portal would be shortened under proposals introduced this week by two NCAA committees.
Oversight committees for the Bowl Subdivision and Championship Subdivision are scheduled to vote on the proposals in August and, if adopted, they would take effect Jan. 1.
The out-of-season activities model would replace the current spring practice and summer activities legislation and allow FBS and FCS schools to conduct two out-of-season practice periods with a total of 21 on-field practices. The duration of the two practice periods may not exceed a total of seven weeks, and neither period may exceed five weeks.
The FCS proposal would allow teams to hold a joint practice with another four-year institution during the spring academic term.
Teams in both divisions are currently allowed to conduct 15 spring practices over 34 days.
Recommended for you
In the summer, FBS and FCS teams currently can require eight weeks of strength and conditioning training and film study with no on-field practice or coaching. Under the proposals, each school would designate a minimum of nine discretionary or voluntary weeks for players when required athletically related activities are not permitted.
The new preseason practice period would allow 21 practices over 27 days in both divisions. The committees noted that additional practice opportunities in the spring and summer would warrant a reduction from 25 practices over 31 days.
The window for entering the transfer portal would go from 15 to 10 days beginning the first business day following Jan. 1.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.