The Unintended Consequences of the NCAA College Athletics Transfer Portal

Abstract

The article examines the unintended consequences of the NCAA College Athletics Transfer Portal. For decades, college sports abided by a uniform set of NCAA rules that only changed incrementally over the years. The advent of the transfer portal dramatically changed this orthodoxy seemingly overnight. It is the revolving door caused by this platform that has had nightmarish consequences for administrators in college athletics and coaches. The universal reason that one attends college is to be a student and what is lost in the portal fanfare is the stability of the student-athlete’s experience as a student. One of the most problematic aspects of the portal is that there is no mandatory orientation session for prospective transfer portal applicants that highlight the pros and cons of their decision and there are few guard rails that protect student-athletes from making impulsive decisions. Student-athletes must be protected from themselves. Moreover, there were few rules that existed at the time this article was written that prevented coaches from exploiting this new platform in negative ways. This article examines the concept of bureaucracy and how bureaucratic principles are needed to provide guidelines and standard operating procedures with this new platform. There must be clearly defined rules and regulations even in the free market. While the portal has certainly created excitement among many, the purpose of this article is to clearly show how the costs of this platform, in its current form, outweigh the benefits.