INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA football oversight committee is recommending emergency legislation to protect the transfer portal window by issuing penalties for schools and coaches who circumvent the rules.
The committee on Wednesday proposed the legislation to penalize schools who add players who did not make public their interest in transferring during the January transfer portal window.
The proposed legislation would become effective immediately if approved at the Division I cabinet meeting in April.
Among the proposed penalties, the head coach who accepts a transfer who did not properly enter the January portal would be prohibited from all recruiting, on-field coaching and team meetings for six games.
The school accepting the transfer would be fined 20% of its football budget. Also, the school would lose five roster spots for the following season, even if the coach who accepted the transfer is no longer employed.
Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks said it is important to enforce the transfer portal window rule.
“Attempts to circumvent the transfer window process is an issue for the sport," Brooks said in a statement released by the NCAA. "We want to let everyone know that this is not going to be allowed, and the committee wants to protect the transfer window that has been established.”
Buffalo athletic director Mark Alnutt, the chair of the oversight committee, said “significant penalties” are needed to enforce the transfer rule.
“We felt this was appropriate to place an emphasis on this rule with where we are in Division I football,” Alnutt said. "We have a window for student-athletes to notify their school when they would like to enter the transfer portal. If there is movement without going through the process as it is legislated, the committee felt there needed to be significant penalties.”
The committee also voted to eliminate the annual limit on official recruiting visits.
The transfer rule and compensation for players through name, image and likeness contracts have created other issues. The University of Cincinnati is suing its former quarterback, Brendan Sorsby, following his transfer to Texas Tech. Cincinnati is accusing Sorsby of breaching his NIL contract, which the school says was signed in July 2025 to cover the 2025 and 2026 seasons. Cincinnati says the contract included a $1 million buyout if Sorsby transferred.
Sorsby received the most lucrative deal of the portal period — a reported $5 million — to return to his home state for his final season.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Poetry Without Borders 2026 is an annual poetry contest for youth of all ages. It is being j… Read morePoetry Without Borders 2026
“Powerful, moving, and exhilarating” Read moreSongs For A New World
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(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.