"There's no opportunity to replace those guys": Ryan Day hits back at NCAA for latest decision on transfer portal window

This past offseason has been a busy one for the NCAA with a lot of landmark decisions and rulings. It started with the NIL booster abolishment, where the pay-by-play trend eventually came to an end and a new setup to regulate the NIL contracts was established.

A sports commission will be set up with various other watchdogs to oversee the dealings and brand endorsements for players.

The recent ruling for a single transfer portal window has raised many eyebrows. After multiple rounds of discussions, the NCAA Division I Administration Committee approved the proposal for a single transfer portal window in January.

This will prove vital and helpful for a lot of programs but coaches like Ryan Day are not happy with the decision.

While speaking to the reporters earlier this week, the Ohio State HC mentioned that a window in January could backfire on teams that play deep into the postseason.

During this time, playoff teams will be busy with their national championship pursuits and it is not feasible to strategize transfer portal moves. This will also leave top teams vulnerable.

“Well, I don’t think it’s bad for everybody. I think it’s actually good for a lot of teams, but the teams that are making it late into the playoffs are really up against the wall. "Because not only are they forced to make decisions while they’re still playing, but also a lot of them have already started school by the time their season’s over,” Day said to the reporters on Tuesday.

NCAA Football: Ohio State at Illinois - Source: Imagn

“Once the season is over, there’s a five-day window where the transfer portal is open. And then there’s no opportunity to replace those guys for the teams who are in that situation,” he added.

Ryan Day and Ohio State has challenging games ahead

The defending national champs are unbeaten this season and are looking to repeat in a dominating fashion. So far they have impressed on both offense and defense, with QB Julian Sayin justifying his role as Will Howard’s successor.

This coming weekend they will face Wisconsin on the road, followed by Penn State after a week break. Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers and Michigan are some of the remaining matchups for Ohio State in consecutive weeks.

It is crucial they win the final matchup against archrivals Michigan and finally break the long-standing curse of back-to-back losses. Expect nothing less than a 10+ winning-game season from Ohio State in 2025.

Edited by Deepesh Nair