Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

On Oct. 9, the NCAA approved changes to the transfer windows for both football and basketball, along with replacing the National Letter of Intent for recruiting purposes.

These changes were initially proposed to the NCAA Division I Council back in June and the NCAA says the changes are “intended to provide greater stability to student athletes and programs, in better alignment with academic terms, and in some cases, professional league draft rules.”

The notification-of-transfer windows in basketball will open for 30 days, starting the day after the conclusion of the second round of each NCAA Division I Tournament, when 91 percent of teams in both men’s and women’s basketball have concluded their season. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the transfer window will be open March 24 through April 22 for men’s basketball and March 25 through April 23 for women’s basketball.

For both Football Championship Subdivision (FCS/Division I-AA) and Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS/Division I-A), the notification-of-transfer windows will be 30 days spread over two separate windows. The first window will open the Monday after the FBS conference championship weekend and will last 20 days, and the second window will open in the spring for 10 days. For the 2024-2025 academic year, the windows will open Dec. 9-28 and April 16-25.

The changes for these sports sees the transfer window reduced from 45 days to 30 days in both sports.

Athletes that seek to transfer and be recruited by other schools to compete the following academic year must provide their current school with administrative notice during the window for their sport. The window is for notice only and does not impact the amount of time a student might need to decide whether to ultimately transfer to what school.

Additionally, athletes whose head coach leaves their school will still have an additional 30-day transfer window beginning the day after a coach’s departure in all sports.

The NCAA will also be replacing the National Letter of Intent (NLI) with written offers of athletics aid. The NCAA adopted NLIs in 1964, which was viewed as a binding agreement between a school and athlete. If a player wanted to go to another school after signing an NLI, the school would need to release him/her from the agreement.

Moving forward, a player will sign a written offer of athletics aid with their school of choice and other schools will be prohibited from recruiting that player once the aid agreement is signed. Transfer prospects will also sign this written offers of athletics aid with the same rules in place.