Ben Deihl | sports editor

Since its introduction in late 2018, the transfer portal has completely changed the landscape of collegiate sports. It created a unified area for student-athletes to search for new schools to use their remaining NCAA eligibility, while making it easier for universities and coaches to communicate with players seeking a new home.

According to ESPN, over 3,400 FBS scholarship players entered the transfer portal this season. Verbalcommits.com reports that in 2025, over 2,600 men’s basketball players entered the transfer portal. Duquesne has been active in the portal, snagging starters Tarence Guinyard and John Hugley IV, who have already proven their impact to the team in practice.

With so many names in the portal at once, coaches have their pick of the litter on who they want to contact to generate interest in their team. But there are almost as many coaches looking to contact as there are players in the portal, creating a hectic media frenzy that some athletes can get swallowed up in.

“As soon as I had transferred, it was very busy,” Guinyard said. “A lot of calls, and I had to trickle down who you wanted to talk to, where you wanted to go. I didn’t want to waste the coaches’ time, so I let them know from the jump.”

Comparing these metrics to the 957 men’s basketball players who transferred in 2019 when the portal was new gives perspective of how common transferring has become in college sports, but many view it as a positive.

“I think the transfer portal is giving guys the opportunity to explore different options,” Hugley said. “It’s giving guys the opportunity to look at different places they might want to go to. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

The introduction of name, image and likeness (NIL) to college sports have certainly made an impact on the popularity of the transfer portal. NIL gives student-athletes the capability of profiting off of their name or image.

This gives athletes an incentive to move to bigger market schools for more potential deals and sales, or pushing harder for playing time so their name becomes more well-known.

Some players have been known to abuse the transfer portal, entering every year without giving a team or coach a chance to know them and utilize them correctly. Many are starting to question the current structure of the transfer portal, with others calling for restrictions.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Guinyard said. “I feel like players should be able to transfer. I think there should be a limit on how many times you transfer.”

Many teams also deal with droves of players leaving due to external factors like NIL evaluations. Colorado football had 45 athletes transfer out of their program in 2025, while other top schools like Miami saw 35 players leave.

These abrupt changes can significantly influence a team’s trajectory for the coming season and years moving forward. Losing talent, especially upperclassmen or multiple year starters can be detrimental to a team and its coaches.

UCLA just fired football head coach DeShaun Foster after an 0-3 start. While this firing isn’t directly because of the transfer portal, the Bruins picked up a brand new starting quarterback and 19 other players who haven’t had a good start to their season.

A head coach firing also gives players a 30-day window to transfer from that program, creating even more uncertainty for any disheveled program.

Duquesne has been a very active team in the transfer portal recently, both gaining and losing key players to the ever-shifting climate. The Dukes have added their starting quarterback, running back, linebackers and one starting defensive back.

Both basketball teams have also been incredibly active in the portal, with the men’s team recently recruiting players like Guinyard, Hugley IV and junior Jimmie Williams. The women’s team consists of four transfers, including key forwards Harriet Ford and Dunja Zecevic.

The men’s cross country team has had the opposite effect, losing three leading seniors right before the season started. The departures have made head coach Jeff Gibson lean on his underclassmen, with 10 of his 17 runners being freshmen or sophomores.

Still, the transfer portal gives student athletes the chance to live their dreams anywhere it’s possible. The portal is still new, and will be changed or modified to prevent abuse or misuse, but the positives outweigh the negatives and gives all athletes a fair shot.

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu