D3 Football: Has the Transfer Portal Gone Too Far?

Inside College Football’s Tangled Ecosystem 

Spencer points to a growing circle around these decisions: agents, advisors, trainers and coaches who, in his view, increasingly have a say before an individual formally kicks off the transfer portal process.

The NCAA rulebook prohibits contact with student-athletes at other programs before they enter the portal, classifying it as tampering, yet enforcement depends on compliance reporting. Coaches acknowledge that communication often happens indirectly — through third parties or existing relationships.

“You have people illegally recruiting kids off of rosters while teams are still playing in the national playoffs,” Spencer said.

He’s heard similar concerns among Power Four coaching staffs, where roster building has accelerated, tightening timelines across the board.

An apparent upgrade can just as easily mean less playing time or a scout-team role, a trade-off Spencer says some players overlook. The stakes go beyond a player’s snap count. Fewer than one in four individuals who entered the Division III transfer portal last year found a new program.

“When you have some extra in your bank account, and you’re going to get a little bit of a signing bonus, it looks like a lot of money,” he said. “Are you going there to play and win a championship, or are you going there just to get a dollar?

“College is hard. College sports are hard. You’ve got to try and stay somewhere for a bit, get some footing, make some friends, make some relationships and connections.”

Elsewhere, Bethel (Minn.) head coach McElroy spent seven seasons as the team’s defensive coordinator before taking over in 2024 and steering the Royals to consecutive NCAA quarterfinal appearances. McElroy echoed Spencer’s sentiment, noting the portal has created some ambiguity, especially when student-athletes struggle to understand what comes next.

I think so much of it is educating these guys. For most [vying to transfer], it’s, ‘It didn’t go my way,’ ‘I picked a school on a whim,’ or ‘I didn’t do enough research.’

Gosh, we’ve created a bit of chaos for ourselves. How do you educate these guys so we don’t get to that?

A Domino Effect on D3 Football

Amid the concerns surrounding the transfer portal, North Central has seen firsthand how it can drive positive change.

After spending his freshman season at Division I Oklahoma State, Garret Wilson (‘28) found a home with the Cardinals and took over as their starting quarterback. Last season, he delivered 42 touchdown passes, earned Associated Press Second Team All-America honors and led NCC to the Division III national championship game.

Adding to that, Brian Polian, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Bill Polian, has spent his career navigating the sport from nearly every angle. After playing at perennial North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) contender John Carroll, he moved into coaching, with stops at Notre Dame, Stanford, Nevada, Texas A&M and LSU before returning to his alma mater in May 2023.

Now John Carroll’s head coach and vice president for athletics, Polian has taken a front-row seat to how Division I’s new 105-player roster cap, coupled with increased reliance on the portal, has pushed student-athletes into D3 football.

Some of the guys we’re recruiting right now would, 10 years ago, most certainly have had scholarships in the MAC. But the problem is the MAC isn’t giving 25 high school scholarships. They’re giving five, and they’re taking 20 guys out of the portal. So it has created this trickle-down of really high-level D3 athletics.

— Polian said in a conversation with yd3

Looking ahead, Spencer admits he doesn’t have all the answers to shore up the portal’s shortcomings. Still, he points to stricter tampering rules and a fixed transfer structure as possible fixes, arguing college football has changed too quickly for consistent regulation.

The debate has hit the nation’s capital, where the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act has cleared the Senate and awaits House consideration. If passed, it would establish national standards for student-athlete compensation, transfer eligibility and enforcement.

Much of the bill addresses the NIL and revenue-sharing landscape, but its proposed transfer rules could affect D3 football if those provisions impact all three NCAA divisions.

For Spencer, after more than two decades in the same program as the sport evolves around it, the question isn’t about accessing new opportunities — it’s about what kind of system governs them.