The Transfer Portal is Ruining College Sports. Collin Johnson Ozarka College ENGL 1013: Comp 2 Nancy Clayborn April 19, 2024. Abstract This paper shows why the Transfer Portal is awful for college sports. The transfer portal is responsible for every athlete that has transferred in the last five years. The NCAA and the coaches of the colleges are expected to find the right home for these players after they hop into the portal. The transfer portal has the biggest effect on coaches. Although coaches can change their team for the good, they can lose their entire team after one bad season. Coaches can never plan for the future, because they do not know what their team will look like the following season. Players are always chasing whatever …show more content…
It brings a shift in the way that students navigate their college choices and it opens up more avenues for their college careers. With many coaches focusing on the transfer portal, this shows the high school athletes that the coaches who recruit them heavily truly want them. It shows the loyalty that the coach has for players. The coaches still recruit players that are coming out of high school, but there is a higher emphasis on college players. The level of strength and conditioning of college players compared to a player coming out of high school is drastically reduced. There is much more maturity in a 21 year old that has played college sports for three years than an 18 year old that hasn’t played a snap of college football or a minute in a basketball game. You definitely see why there is a bigger emphasis on the portal. Also, the transfer portal allows the athletes to explore different opportunities if their situation once they get to college doesn’t fit them the best. This allows them to have more control over their athletic and academic careers, which allows them to find a school that fits them the best. Many high school players continually get overlooked by Division I college programs for programs seeking ready-made players. According to South Carolina High School Sports Report, as of August 25th, there were 24 high school senior football players that committed to major college football schools or “D1” schools by December. The state of South Carolina would normally have 30 players commit to major college football schools, as well as an additional 8 to 12 players that sign on signing day in February (Baker, 2023). Due to the portal, many high school athletes are forced to go to small D1 or D2 schools just to get some college years under their belt before transferring to bigger schools. If the player has intentions to go play professional ball