Overview
- The NCAA set this spring’s dates at April 6–20 for women’s basketball and April 7–21 for men’s basketball.
- A separate 15-day portal window will open five days after a school hires a new head coach, with a fallback window if no hire is made within 30 days and the 31st day falls after the championship.
- Players and teams must now wait until their NCAA tournaments end before entering the transfer portal.
- Other sports saw changes: men’s wrestling moves to a 30-day window starting April 1, men’s ice hockey adopts a 15-day post-championship window, and track and field keeps a 30-day post-selection window plus a fall window.
- The move replaces the 30-day period that had opened after the tournaments’ second round and continues the NCAA’s step-by-step narrowing of portal access since 2022.