This is the final piece of a four-part series examining the effects of the transfer portal from a non-FBS perspective. Find the other three parts at these links: Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.

A coach must successfully manage their roster and the transfer portal to win in college football today.

“If you want to maintain a competitive advantage and play at a high level to stay in the top 25 rankings, win championships, and make the playoffs, then you have to embrace the portal,” one FCS head coach said.

But embracing the portal is with potential land mines. Many coaches contacted for this series expressed one of their main frustrations with the portal: Nothing binds the athlete to the program or school. There are no National Letters of Intent (NLI) for transfers.

“Nothing is binding these guys until they’re on campus. There is no letter for a transfer,” one FCS head coach said. “Only a financial aid agreement binds the school to the kid.”

One Division II coach presented a possible situation that sounded more like an experience.

“We could sign a guy tomorrow, and three weeks later, he can tell us he’s going somewhere else because he signed another grant of aid at a different school,” he said. “It puts us in a bind because we did the recruiting work, and an FCS comes along and presents an offer, and we’re back to square one.

The NCAA has conducted yearly studies examining its coaches' well-being since 2021. One common theme throughout the last three surveys is that most coaches are concerned about preventing athletes on their roster from entering the transfer portal. Interestingly, the highest percentage of coaches expressed concern in 2022 (72.7 percent), with that number dropping to the lowest measurement in 2023 (63.5 percent). 

Undoubtedly, coaches discuss the transfer portal during team meetings, right?

“We only talk about two things in our program: graduating and winning ballgames every Saturday,” one FCS head coach said.

“I don’t talk to the team about the portal because I want to make this a destination place, and the only way you do that is when the people in your program are happy where they’re at and not thinking about where they should go,” another FCS head coach added. “Our job as coaches and administrators is to make this a great experience for college kids. We need to give them a great game day atmosphere, improve the facilities, get them better gear, and help them get NIL opportunities.”

Maybe all coaches don’t discuss the transfer portal with their team, but some coaches ensure their players understand the statistics.

“I’ll lay out the NCAA's statistics on the transfer portal at our team meetings. Our compliance department explains all that in fall camp and again in January,” one Division II coach said. “We try to teach life through football and help our guys navigate some of the tough times they face. The hardest challenge for them is often athletically, and we try to coach them through that.”

One phrase commonly heard throughout the collegiate coaching ranks in 2024 is about “recruiting the roster.”

“I’ve recruited my roster every day since I’ve been a head coach because you can’t win if you’re holding guys hostage,” another Division II head coach said. “You start to win when they’re here because they want to be here.”

For some coaches, recruiting the roster isn’t anything new.

“We already know you have to recruit your players. That’s the Divison III model,” said one current FCS coach with DIII experience. “You must recruit those guys daily and make football fun for them.”

So, how does a coach recruit the roster daily?

“You cannot fool these kids. They have the best antenna of any age group out there. They smell a rat in a hurry, so it’s important that we are consistent, tell them the truth, work hard to have a real relationship, and care for them,” one FCS head coach said. “When you do those things, they know they can trust you. They also know if you’re not trustworthy and just a guy who talks a lot.”

“Players are looking for authenticity and honesty. They’re looking for coaches who, if it’s not their time to start, want you to tell them it’s not their time,” another FCS head coach said. “Sometimes, in the recruiting process, promises are made. When the player arrives on campus, the promise isn’t upheld. We understand that’s how recruiting works, but that doesn’t have to be the norm.”

Many coaches point out that honesty does not mean they’re being soft on the athletes. To them, honesty means having difficult conversations when necessary.

“We strive to make sure they understand where we’re coming from. We let them know where we see they need to improve and what they do great,” one DII head coach said. “We have honest conversations about things they can improve, and I think kids are looking for that.”

One FCS head coach, whose team has seen a handful of players enter the transfer portal over the last few years, explained what’s made them successful.

“It all starts with the evaluation process. We do a good job of bringing guys in (who) fit our program. If your evaluation process is solid, you will match up consistently, which helps keep players,” he said. “The main reason that we’ve been successful (in) keeping guys hooked in our program is because our coaching staff have worked hard at building relationships with these guys. It is hard to leave if you have an honest-to-goodness, healthy, and positive relationship. We work hard and try to invest in these guys, but we are far from perfect.”

No one is perfect, but his method might increase the number of athletes earning a degree. After all, that is the main reason non-FBS athletics exist.