More than four years since its implementation, the NCAA transfer portal still gives Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy pause. Gundy, who enters his 19th season at the helm in Stillwater, made it clear with reporters earlier in the week there's still a Wild West-like element with the portal that he's not fond of, and the emergence of name, image and likeness (NIL) isn't making problems any easier to solve. Gundy, in his spiel, made particular note of the challenges the portal brings with roster management, noting the desire for "contractual scholarships" to curb those issues.
"Well, you got several issues there," Gundy told reporters when asked about potential portal modifications. "One, you have federal lawmakers making decision, not the NCAA, and you know as well as I do — well I don’t know if you do, I read a lot of politics, but lobbyists and things happen for a reason. And that's just the way it is. You're not going to control them. They're going to control you. And until we get contractual scholarships in high school recruiting the portal is never going to settle down. For example, young men should be able to sign a one-, two-, three- or four-year scholarship. That's their choice. Whatever they sign, that's what they're committed to. That's what we're going to now. That's the only way that we are going to have a chance to manage rosters. So, let's just say that at the end of this year I've got 19 guys whose contracts are up. They may be a senior or a freshman. So, if you're a five-star guy, like you're a heavily recruited guy, you might just sign a one-year deal and then say, ‘Well, I'm good enough to sign another one-year deal, or I can leave if I want.'
"So, until they do that, we don't really know who's in and out for that upcoming year. So, it's hard for us to balance our numbers. So, I've suggested (modifications) . I don't know if anybody's listened or cares, but high school kids ought to have an opportunity. So, you want a four-year deal? Sign a four-year deal, but you're bound to that four-year contract unless your head coach says he'll sign off and let you go. And then that puts more pressure on the head coach, but at least it gives a young man a chance to leave if he comes in and says, ‘Coach, I'm not good enough to play here. I want to go to this school.’ I sign off and let him go. Or whatever reason. But that's the only way they're gonna be able to manage numbers in my opinion. That would slow the portal down."
Undergraduate transfers were long forced to sit out one season at their new institution, barring a waiver for immediate eligibility. But the recent implementation of the rule allowing undergraduate athletes to transfer once with immediate eligibility can certainly account for the uptick in transfer portal activity. Gundy went as far as contending that transfer eligibility parameters are now obsolete given transfer athletes are increasingly filing lawsuits against the NCAA in the event immediate eligibility is denied.
"There’s over 14,000 unread lawsuits right now sitting on the NCAA’s desk in San Francisco," Gundy added. "So, every time you try to corral a young man, they're gonna file a lawsuit, and they're gonna give them a waiver and they're out of here. That's just the way it is. And they're not gonna fight that battle. So, we've got several players that are playing this year in the NCAA that are at their third or fourth school. How does that work? They just file a waiver. So, you can't control it. Unless it becomes a contractual situation, you're never going to be able to control the portal."
There were 3,083 FBS players to enter the transfer portal during the 2021-22 transfer cycle, sources said. That was up from 2,646 in 2021-20, 1,692 in 2019-20 and 1,717 in 2018-19.
The NCAA introduced the transfer portal Oct. 15, 2018, providing athletes a path to explore their options. Players do not need to ask permission from their coaching staff in order to transfer. They merely need to request that compliance enter their name. Usually, it takes 24-48 hours for a player to appear following their request. Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal.
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"Well, you got several issues there," Gundy told reporters when asked about potential portal modifications. "One, you have federal lawmakers making decision, not the NCAA, and you know as well as I do — well I don’t know if you do, I read a lot of politics, but lobbyists and things happen for a reason. And that's just the way it is. You're not going to control them. They're going to control you. And until we get contractual scholarships in high school recruiting the portal is never going to settle down. For example, young men should be able to sign a one-, two-, three- or four-year scholarship. That's their choice. Whatever they sign, that's what they're committed to. That's what we're going to now. That's the only way that we are going to have a chance to manage rosters. So, let's just say that at the end of this year I've got 19 guys whose contracts are up. They may be a senior or a freshman. So, if you're a five-star guy, like you're a heavily recruited guy, you might just sign a one-year deal and then say, ‘Well, I'm good enough to sign another one-year deal, or I can leave if I want.'
"So, until they do that, we don't really know who's in and out for that upcoming year. So, it's hard for us to balance our numbers. So, I've suggested (modifications) . I don't know if anybody's listened or cares, but high school kids ought to have an opportunity. So, you want a four-year deal? Sign a four-year deal, but you're bound to that four-year contract unless your head coach says he'll sign off and let you go. And then that puts more pressure on the head coach, but at least it gives a young man a chance to leave if he comes in and says, ‘Coach, I'm not good enough to play here. I want to go to this school.’ I sign off and let him go. Or whatever reason. But that's the only way they're gonna be able to manage numbers in my opinion. That would slow the portal down."
Undergraduate transfers were long forced to sit out one season at their new institution, barring a waiver for immediate eligibility. But the recent implementation of the rule allowing undergraduate athletes to transfer once with immediate eligibility can certainly account for the uptick in transfer portal activity. Gundy went as far as contending that transfer eligibility parameters are now obsolete given transfer athletes are increasingly filing lawsuits against the NCAA in the event immediate eligibility is denied.
"There’s over 14,000 unread lawsuits right now sitting on the NCAA’s desk in San Francisco," Gundy added. "So, every time you try to corral a young man, they're gonna file a lawsuit, and they're gonna give them a waiver and they're out of here. That's just the way it is. And they're not gonna fight that battle. So, we've got several players that are playing this year in the NCAA that are at their third or fourth school. How does that work? They just file a waiver. So, you can't control it. Unless it becomes a contractual situation, you're never going to be able to control the portal."
There were 3,083 FBS players to enter the transfer portal during the 2021-22 transfer cycle, sources said. That was up from 2,646 in 2021-20, 1,692 in 2019-20 and 1,717 in 2018-19.
The NCAA introduced the transfer portal Oct. 15, 2018, providing athletes a path to explore their options. Players do not need to ask permission from their coaching staff in order to transfer. They merely need to request that compliance enter their name. Usually, it takes 24-48 hours for a player to appear following their request. Schools are free to contact a player without restriction once their name appears in the portal.
Oklahoma State football: Mike Gundy says 'contractual scholarships' could solve NCAA transfer portal issues
The Oklahoma State coach has a unique solution to curb issues involving the NCAA transfer portal.
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