Op-Ed: The Madness of March: Timing of the Transfer Portal in NCAA Basketball

Top b-ball collegiate athletes march to the pros after the madness

Sports Reporter Collective

Saturday, March 29, 2025

By McKenna Monogue | Aspiring Journalist

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – March Madness represents the pinnacle of college basketball, a month where every dribble and every shot can define legacies. However, the timing of the NCAA’s transfer portal opening has become a serious distraction for both coaches and players. This annual event, which coincides with the tournament, forces teams to focus not only on their championship aspirations but also on potential roster changes.

For coaches, it’s already a logistical nightmare. Their job is to strategize and prepare their team to perform at its highest level. But with the transfer portal open during the tournament, they now face the added pressure of managing their rosters for the next season. Coaches are caught between supporting their players’ current success and dealing with the reality that key players might leave.

This timing isn’t just an issue for coaches—players feel it too. With so much uncertainty swirling around, it’s hard for any athlete to focus purely on the game in front of them. Players might feel torn between doing their best to help their team win or exploring new opportunities at other programs. Some might even hold back, thinking about what’s next rather than what’s now. It’s a mental burden that’s unnecessary during a time that should be focused on championship glory.

This problem isn’t limited to men’s basketball. The women’s tournament faces the same issue. Female athletes, just like their male counterparts, are at risk of being distracted by the lure of transferring. And while transfer opportunities can be a positive for some, they shouldn’t overshadow the excitement of the tournament. Every year, women’s programs battle for attention, respect, and growth in a space that’s often overshadowed by men’s basketball. Adding this extra layer of transfer portal chaos only distracts from the hard-earned attention these athletes deserve.

The NCAA transfer portal is a necessary aspect of modern college athletics. It provides athletes with more autonomy and freedom to change programs if they feel their current situation isn’t the best fit. However, its timing during one of the most critical periods of the season—when coaches and players are laser-focused on the championship—needs rethinking.

For the sake of the integrity of the tournament and to reduce unnecessary stress on everyone involved, it would make sense for the NCAA to adjust the timing of the transfer portal. Allow the teams competing for national titles to focus solely on the task at hand. Let the chaos of transfers begin after the final of the tournament, when coaches and players can take a deep breath and plan for the future, without being distracted by what might come next.

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McKenna Monogue

REPORTER’S BIO | McKenna Monogue is a junior majoring in Advertising and Public Relations in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.

Note: Featured photo by Ben Hershey on Unsplash