Last week, the NCAA voted to eliminate the spring football transfer portal. Players will be limited to transferring during a single, 10-day winter window — unless a team changes head coaches, in which case there will be a 30-day transfer window for their players.

The current proposed transfer window is Jan. 2-11, despite ongoing bowl games.

The quarterfinal round of the College Football Playoff (CFP) is set to take place on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The semifinals are scheduled for Jan. 8-9, and the national championship is on Jan. 19.

Aside from the CFP, the final four non-CFP bowl games finish up on Jan. 2.

If the current proposal stands, there will be exceptions for players in the CFP, who will be given five days following the end of their season to enter the portal.

These dates offer a nice change for schools participating in non-playoff bowl games. Of the 35 bowl games, 31 will be done by the time the portal opens.

The exceptions serve the players well, giving them the opportunity to finish their season, then transfer. However, from a coach’s perspective, it’s awful to have to play the biggest game of the season, potentially of your life, while worried that your star players are going to leave when it’s over.

Many bowl games each year have been affected by players opting to enter the portal, rather than finish out their season in a bowl game. Last year, Fresno State was one of many schools that lost key players to the portal.

With this change, every single player would be able to play out their games, then enter the portal. Previously, due to the timing of the window, some players were forced to choose between transferring and finishing the year out with their teammates.

It’s great that players are able to finish the year out with the people they’re close with. Players shouldn’t have to sacrifice spending time with the people they committed to for the year to prepare for their future.

However, the change in timing raises a new problem.

The four teams still alive in the CFP suddenly find themselves working to win a championship, while still needing to look to the future. This puts them at a disadvantage for recruiting the top players, as their resources and attention is split.

Top teams shouldn’t have a disadvantage in the following season as a result of doing well in the current season. As college football currently stands, there is a lack of parity that goes far beyond playoffs, and this is not the way to start pruning top programs.

Aside from the timing conflict, removing the spring transfer portal also restricts players’ options. The transfer portal will effectively go from being open 30 days during the year to just 10 days.

With the changing Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) landscape in college football, there is some concern that players can use multiple portals in order to renegotiate NIL deals, using the threat of leaving for another team as leverage.

Restricting players is not the way to go. If college football is going to operate as a business, the players are the employees, and should have the right to leave and take their talents elsewhere if they are unhappy with their treatment or their compensation.

The one-time portal allows coaches to focus less on recruiting and more on developing a team. Coaches will also have a simpler time organizing their roster as spring ball plays out, as they won’t have to worry about players leaving.

There are always two sides to every change, though.

While coaches get more time to develop a team, and have a better sense of their roster, they also do not get a second chance to fill any trouble spots they have identified. Instead, they have to just fill them to the best of their abilities.

Players will also suffer under a singular transfer portal.

Without the spring transfer portal, some players might find themselves far deeper down the depth chart than they expected to be. Before, they could simply transfer. Now, that option is gone, leaving them stuck on a team where they may never see the field.

Ultimately, having a spring transfer portal offers more options for both players and coaches, as well as granting players greater autonomy and control over their future. Removing the transfer portal is a step in the wrong direction.