If you recall the Xavier Lucas saga from a year ago, it's clear what the NCAA is trying to prevent moving forward
By Chris Hummer Mar 20, 2026 at 3:44 pm ET • 3 min read 
Getty Images The NCAA FBS Oversight Committee on Friday zeroed in on a recommendation meant to aggressively penalize teams for adding players outside of the transfer portal window.
Adjusting a proposal initially formed in February, the oversight committee settled on a pair of actions that would occur if a team added a player who wasn't entered into the transfer portal during the January window:
- The head coach would be prohibited from all football (recruiting and on-field coaching) and administrative duties (team meetings) for six contests.
- The school would be fined 20% of its football budget.
The committee had previously proposed that a school would also lose five scholarships for adding a player not in the portal outside of the portal window. But that's since been removed from the proposal.
The committee left arguably the two most punishing penalties in its proposal, however. Losing five scholarships isn't crippling in an era where teams can carry 105 scholarship players. A head coach losing his ability to recruit and literally do his job in-season is very stringent. So is a team being fined 20% of its football budget.
The proposal still must be adopted by the Division I cabinet, but it's clear the NCAA is taking aim at a transfer loophole that athletes have taken advantage of over the past year and could have had a major impact this spring.
NCAA trying to prevent another Xavier Lucas situation
When the NCAA moved from winter and spring transfer portal windows to a single window in January, it did so with the intent that all player movement happens in a single period immediately following the season.
But … there was a way for teams to get around that: A player unenrolling from their school and reenrolling elsewhere. It's a loophole in NCAA rules that allows players to get around the portal windows.
It's happened a few times in recent years -- Louisville wide receiver Ahmari Huggins-Bruce did it in 2024, transferring to South Carolina before returning to the Cardinals just ahead of the season -- but the most notable example of it is Lucas.
Wisconsin refused to enter Lucas in the transfer portal following the 2024 season, contending that Lucas had signed a binding contract with the school. Lucas departed Wisconsin anyway, unenrolling and then later enrolling at Miami.
The Badgers sued the Hurricanes for tampering. But Lucas participated in the 2025 season for with the Hurricanes, playing a big role in their march to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
That created a blueprint of sorts for players to transfer outside of the portal windows. It's what BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff did in the face of a suspension last summer. He withdrew from BYU, enrolled at Tulane and then led the Green Wave to the playoff.
Lucas and Retzlaff's routes are uncommon, but it's a path sources considered a possibility for some following spring practice.
With no spring portal window, teams lack an avenue to improve their roster. So, if a contender suffers a key injury or just isn't happy with the status of a position room, they have no way to fill the hole with proven portal production.
That's why several industry sources this winter speculated we could see a rash of players taking Lucas' path post-spring.
One player agent went as far as telling CBS Sports that they saw that maneuver as a smart strategy. Teams would be desperate to fill an obvious roster weakness, and his players could fill that gap -- and make plenty of money, given a desperate market.
The NCAA's penalties are designed to be stringent enough to prevent teams from taking advantage of that loophole.
Yes, a post-spring add could help a team's depth. But it's probably not worth losing your head coach's ability to meet with his team for half a season over it.
Next steps
The proposal is just that -- a proposal
It needs to be approved in April. At that point, it's up to players -- and their legal representation -- if they want to test the legality of preventing a player from enrolling at another academic institution.
Either way, it's a move by the NCAA Oversight Committee to create roster stability for teams coming out of the spring.
"We felt this was appropriate to place an emphasis on this rule with where we are in Division I football," said FBS Oversight Committee chair Mark Alnutt in February. "We have a window for student-athletes to notify their school when they would like to enter the Transfer Portal. If there is movement without going through the process as it is legislated, the committee felt there needed to be significant penalties."
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