? speaks during a press conference celebrating the 25 year anniversary of the NCAA moving its national office to Indianapolis on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the NCAA Headquarters in Indianapolis.

The NCAA’s Administrative Committee has recommended a new 15-day window, from Jan. 2-16, during which college football players can enter the transfer portal, the organization announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7.

The new window applies to both undergraduate and graduate transfers, though must be approved by the administrative committee, which will wrap up meetings on Wednesday, Oct. 8, before it takes effect.

The move comes a few weeks after the NCAA eliminated the spring transfer portal window, meaning that the newly minted 15-day stretch in January will be the only time on the college football calendar during which players can transfer if the committee finalizes the recommendation.

There are some notable exceptions to that January window.

Players can enter the portal outside of those 15 days if there is a head-coaching change at their program, or if their team is competing in the championship game of the College Football Playoff, which falls next year on Jan. 19 — three days after the new January portal window closes. Players whose teams are in the title game get a five-day window, which starts the day after the championship.

Based on a separate decision from the NCAA this week, players whose teams undergo a coaching change now have 15 days to enter the transfer portal, beginning five days after the new head coach is hired or announced. Players previously had a 30-day window to enter the portal, which began the day after the previous coach was fired, stepped down or left for another job.

The alterations to the schedule came following a concerted push from college football coaches, particularly after more than 1,000 FBS players transferred during last year’s spring portal window. At the annual American Football Coaches Association convention in January, coaches unanimously advocated for there to be a single transfer window.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NCAA recommends 15-day college football transfer portal window in January

Reporting by Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect