NCAA approves NFL-style OTAs, schedule and transfer portal window changes for 2027 — SkimNews
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- NCAA approved the FBS calendar changes, but they will not take effect Jan. 1 unless the Division I Cabinet approves them at its Oct. 6-7 meeting.
- FBS schedule will begin one week earlier, with its opening game moving to the slot now called Week 0; another added week gives every team a second bye.
- January transfer portal will shrink from 15 days to 10 and open on the first business day after Jan. 1; under the current calendar, that is Jan. 4, three weeks before the Jan. 25 national championship.
- Offseason policy will reshape spring and summer activities around NFL-style voluntary workout periods, allow 21 on-field practices across two sessions totaling no more than seven weeks, with no session exceeding five, and require schools to designate at least nine discretionary or voluntary weeks without athletic activities.
- Preseason will contract from 25 practices over 31 calendar days to 21 practices over 27 days.
- Clark Lea, Vanderbilt coach and AFCA president, called the schedule a “great step forward” and said it gives teams more flexibility for spring and summer team building.
- Josh Brooks, vice chair of the oversight committee, said the calendar subcommittee built on AFCA recommendations and included athletics directors, coaches, student-athletes and commissioners.
Why it matters: Committee members Josh Brooks and Clark Lea both backed the package: Brooks praised the collaborative process, while Lea called it a “great step forward” for spring and summer team building. For players seeking transfers, the window opens Jan. 4 but loses five days; separately, every team receives a second bye.
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