College football’s Wild West just got called out—loudly. And the man swinging the hammer is none other than Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork, who’s had enough of the madness surrounding the NCAA’s chaotic transfer portal system.
With the portal now functioning more like a revolving door on overdrive, the sport has entered an era of unprecedented mobility—and unrelenting mayhem. But while many have danced around the topic, Bjork came out swinging with a refreshingly brutal and unfiltered opinion: the December transfer portal window needs to go.
“It’s just not sustainable,” Bjork suggested, speaking candidly via Eleven Warriors. “You’ve got teams trying to compete for bowl games, some for national championships, and at the same time, they’re scrambling to re-recruit their own players—or find new ones.”
Let’s call it what it is: college football’s version of juggling chainsaws while sprinting up a mountain. And Bjork isn’t wrong.
Right now, the NCAA has two portal windows—December and April. The winter window opens just as teams are preparing for bowl games, the College Football Playoff, or trying to navigate chaotic coaching changes. It’s a time that should be focused on winning and legacy—but instead, staffs are forced to play musical chairs with their rosters while trying to save their seasons.
It’s a scheduling nightmare. And it’s pushing coaches, athletes, and administrators to the edge.
Imagine prepping for a New Year’s Six showdown while fielding late-night calls from agents, tracking who’s leaving, and trying to land a future QB1—all in a span of days. That’s not just stressful—it’s unfair. And that’s precisely the point Bjork is making.
“Let’s consolidate it,” he urged. “Let’s make it more manageable for everyone involved—players, coaches, fans, everyone.”
Now, here’s the irony: Ohio State has absolutely thrived in the portal game. They don’t just adapt—they dominate. Last season’s national championship team doesn’t hang a banner without the portal’s gold rush: Will Howard, a veteran quarterback who brought grit and leadership to the huddle. Quinshon Judkins, a thunderous running back who shattered defenses. Caleb Downs, a heat-seeking missile at safety who anchored the secondary. All were portal additions. All were critical pieces to a championship puzzle.
So for Bjork to push back against the very mechanism that helped catapult Ohio State to glory? That’s not bitterness. That’s vision.
He sees the forest through the transfer trees. Yes, the portal creates opportunity. Yes, it gives players the freedom they deserve. But it’s become unhinged, and the current two-window system is starting to feel more like a college football arms race with no off-season.
The solution? Bjork and others are calling for a single, unified portal window—preferably in the spring, after the dust of bowl season has settled. This would allow programs to evaluate rosters, let players make thoughtful decisions, and bring some long-lost sanity back to the sport.
Of course, such a shift would rattle the current structure, raise new questions about scholarship limits, spring practice timing, and NIL negotiations. But Bjork’s stance is clear: evolve or be consumed by chaos.
And his timing couldn’t be better. With the NCAA’s power structure under intense scrutiny and calls for reform growing louder, influential voices like Bjork’s could spark the kind of structural overhaul that actually helps stabilize the future of the game.
Because at this point, the portal isn’t just a tool—it’s a wildfire. And unless the NCAA takes action, even the mightiest programs could find themselves burned.
Ohio State may be surfing the transfer tsunami today—but if Ross Bjork gets his way, the waves of tomorrow could finally start to calm.
