Dangers of the transfer portal in collegiate sports
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What if Georgia legend Herschel Walker rushed for 1,616 yard with 15 touchdowns his freshman year, then hit the transfer portal? What if Tennessee legend Peyton Manning threw for a combined 4,095 yards and 33 touchdowns in his first two years at Rocky Top, then hit the transfer portal?
These scenarios are seemingly endless.
The difference between the pre-transfer portal era and today in college sports is a loss of pride. Why would a college sports fan want to be a fan of a certain player when, at the drop of a hat, they can hit the transfer portal and go play somewhere else?
There is also a loss in pride in rivalries. One example is Trevor Etienne, who played two seasons for Florida before transferring to its biggest rival, Georgia. Gators fans surely chomped a little harder out of frustration when one of their former top players came on the field in Jacksonville, Fla., last season.
Some 10 or 20 years ago, the idea of transferring from one rival team to another was absurd. However, student-athletes can do that today with no repercussions.
Another example outside of football is with the Baylor men’s basketball team.
The Baylor Bears entered the 2025 March Madness tournament as the No. 9 seed. They defeated No. 8 seed Mississippi State 75-72 in the first round to advance. In the second round, they took on Cooper Flagg and the Duke Blue Devils, where the Bears lost 89-66.
In the weeks following their second-round loss, something unheard of happened – the entire team entered the transfer portal. They left Baylor for teams like Ohio State, Michigan and Boston College; none of them were staying at Baylor.
The Bears are not an unsuccessful team. They have made the March Madness tournament in the last five years and won the national title in 2021.
Baylor is now – in the purest form – in full rebuild mode. They got transfers from Rice, Cincinnati and Oregon State as they start over fresh with hopes of extending their streak making the tournament.
In a shining light of hope – or shining pot of honey – for the Bears, they have done well in the 2025 World University Games. They had big wins over India, Latvia, Romania, Finland and Lithuania before losing in overtime to Brazil in the finals.
Taking home the silver medals in a world tournament with a fully brand new team is not too bad. They earned Team U.S.A. one of its 27 silver medals, adding to the total of 84 medals for the most in the event.
It is almost like when a new professional sports team is added to a league and they have an expansion draft where they get the pick of the litter. With no one on the roster, they can get almost anyone.
The transfer portal is a real mixed bag in the NCAA. Like NiL, it is a double-edged sword.
It is a great resource for players who want to start at a small Division I school to work on their development then make their way to a bigger program. But at the same time, you have players moving from big school to big school like with what Etienne did.
While moving from big school to big school isn’t inherently bad, the biggest negative is that it feels like you can’t have a favorite player anymore because they could up and leave at the end of the season to go to another team.
With NiL in full effect, you can buy a jersey with a players name on it instead of the generic option in the past. Why would you spend hard-earned money on a jersey when that player could leave?
Having a favorite player isn’t a bad thing and it’s important to support these student-athletes in their athletic careers.
Fans’ pride could take a big hit when a star player hits the transfer portal. And this will only keep happening if players don’t take pride in the teams that they themselves play for.
Cannon Crompton is sports editor of the Cherokee Scout. Call him at 828-837-5122 or email sports@cherokeescout.com.