When it comes to issues surrounding the still new NIL era in college football there has been few advocates for positive change like Georgia's athletic director Josh Brooks. For reference, Brooks was one of the first athletic directors in the country to stand up against the Brendan Sorsby ruling back in June when he banned Georgia athletics from playing Texas Tech in any sport for the foreseeable future.
Brooks does not just speak, he acts, and last week he and the NCAA FBS Oversight Committee made a change for the better.
OTA, Transfer Portal issues solved in approved legislation
One of the biggest messes in college football since the NIL era took shape has been the Transfer Portal. Unregulated windows that last way too long have shifted focus from impactful football games to drama surrounding athletes moving schools.
In January, the notification-of-transfer window is a designated time frame that allows players to publicly announce their plans to leave a school and offer the opportunity for other schools to be able to recruit them. Most recently, the notification-of-transfer window in January caused Lane Kiffin to leave Ole Miss for LSU for the College Football Playoff began, as he would not be able to recruit the transfer portal players while still employed with the Rebels for the Tigers.
While this ruling does not completely wipe out that notification-of-transfer window or reschedule it, this ruling has shortened the window from 15 days down to 10. It may not sound like a major change, but it really is if your team is fighting in the CFP.
The January portal window starts on January 1. Likewise, the quarterfinals of the CFP start on New Years Eve. To those teams that move onto the semifinals, that gives those coaches five extra days to not have to worry about the transfer portal and instead focus on the task at hand: winning a National Championship.
The most important ruling was the move to allow FBS schools to conduct two out-of-season practice periods with a total of 21 on-field practices. Brooks himself said the committee as a whole "dedicated a tremendous amount of time and energy to ensure we built a calendar that best fits the needs of our coaches and student-athletes. I am proud of this work and appreciate the efforts of our group, which included athletics directors, coaches, student-athletes and commissioners from various schools and conferences.”
Before this ruling, it was hard for early enrollees and incoming transfers to get valuable reps before fall camp. Now, they'll have a much better opportunity to make an impact early and feel more comfortable on a new campus.
Lastly, week 0 games are no more starting in 2027. With that in mind, the schedule could be moved up and likely the SEC Championship game date. If that is the case, hopefully the playoff is moved up and there won't be a month-long bye for those that get a first round bye. That has been Georgia's kryptonite the past two seasons, losing both quarterfinal games coming off that bye and something Kirby Smart has publicly stated he is opposed to.
College football teams that receive a first round bye in the 12-team playoff model are 1-7. With this rule change, hopefully we see a shorter gap in play and a better record to those that deservingly have a bye.
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