The landscape of NCAA sports has fundamentally changed. With the NCAA Transfer Portal granting athletes more mobility and NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) providing powerful new incentives, college athletes are no longer tied to tradition or loyalty alone. In 2021 alone, more than 10,000 NCAA student-athletes entered the transfer portal, with that number continuing to rise each year [NCAA Research, 2023]. While some coaches view this as a recruitment threat, the savviest see it as a cultural challenge that requires deeper reflection with new strategies to benefit your program.
These changes are here to stay. Managing the changes and their impact is where energy must be directed. You can even benefit from it—by investing in what truly drives an athlete’s decision to stay in your program, long term.
Athletes are now asking deeper questions:
What is my value? Who values me? Do I even feel valued? Am I able to grow? Fundamentally, do I feel cared for here?
And amid this shift, one reality becomes clear:
At a certain point, everyone will leave if the conditions for staying are not conducive or the opportunities elsewhere are perceivably better.
The challenge—and opportunity—for coaches lies in understanding why athletes detach in the first place and what can be done to strengthen connection, extend commitment, and positively shape how they leave.
