College football is in the midst of a hectic period, with Conference championship games and selection days for the play-offs on the agenda.
The big games will spark a flurry of activity on sportsbooks, with some of the match-ups likely to generate as much interest as National Football League fixtures.
American football fans inclined towards sports betting on college games at Betway will undoubtedly be in their element over the next few weeks.
While the on-field action continues apace, many people in the college football system will be firmly focused on the opening of the transfer portal.
College football’s version of free agency begins on December 9, although some players have already announced their intentions to move for the 2025 season.
The winter window for undergraduate football players runs for 20 days until December 28, while the spring window runs from April 16-25, 2025.
There are some exceptions to the system, such as if a football programme changes its head coach. Players then have an additional 30-day window that begins the day after the head coach’s departure.
For players participating in the expanded play-offs, NCAA rules allow a further five-day window to enter the portal beginning the day after their last game of the season.
Players can change their mind about transferring, although there is no guarantee their original academic institution will welcome them back with open arms.
Some coaches stubbornly take the stance that a player who enters the portal is no longer welcome to return, which can cause controversy in some circumstances.
Changes to the NCAA rules in 2021 which allowed players to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL) for the first time have impacted how the portal operated.
NIL deals have been used to entice players to move, although this practice is supposedly barred by NCAA rules. Despite this, some colleges have spent vast sums on their teams.
Federal judges have come down on the side of the players by ruling that the NCAA’s stance is a violation of anti-trust law and their rules are unenforceable.
A new revenue sharing scheme between colleges and athletes is scheduled to start in July 2025, but the system is already causing plenty of issues.
Some colleges have signed players to revenue sharing agreements that will start next July, effectively bringing the scheme forwards by several months.
South Carolina linebacker Bangally Kamara agreed this type of transfer deal with Kansas in October and the move cause outrage in college football circles.
Southeastern Conference (SEC) commissioner Greg Sankey recently refused to shed much light on what he called an ‘ongoing process’ regarding the college football transfer system.
“It’s an attorney-client privilege conversation, so we’ll keep it at that,” he said. “We have a set of working groups that are fully engaged. It is a learning process for everyone right now.
“I think there’s a desire to have some standardisation. I think that’s healthy for young people so they’re not trying to evaluate language, but there’s work to be done to see if that can be achieved.”
