College football’s transfer portal has created unprecedented player movement, and former Texas and North Carolina head coach Mack Brown believes the current system is fundamentally broken. The veteran coach argues that frequent transfers harm student-athletes more than help them succeed.
Brown’s concerns extend beyond football strategy to genuine worry about academic progress and mental health outcomes. With players now able to transfer multiple times without sitting out, he sees a generation losing the ability to persevere through challenges.
Mack Brown Takes Aim at Transfer Culture in Social Media Discussion
A recent social media post from “College Sports on SiriusXM” highlighted Brown’s passionate stance on reforming transfer rules. The former coach called for significant changes to protect student-athletes from making impulsive decisions.
Mack Brown has some ideas on how he would fix college football and it starts with the transfer portal.@CoachMackBrown spoke with @DustyDvoracek & @dannykanell about why kids should be staying at least 2 years before transferring. pic.twitter.com/FhIW3Sesjo
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) May 21, 2025
Brown’s proposal centers on a prerequisite- players to remain at their initial school for two years before becoming transfer-eligible. He believes this timeframe allows athletes to mature academically and athletically while completing foundational coursework before considering a move.
On SiriusXM, Brown explained, “I really think kids should stay two years at a school when they get there because they get mad as a freshman. They want to transfer. And that’s not right. We’re allowing kids not to have to work for something anymore.”
The statistics Brown cited paint a concerning picture of transfer consequences. According to data he referenced, students who transfer once have only a 63% graduation rate, primarily because credits often don’t transfer seamlessly between institutions.
“We’ve got kids transferring four or five times. They’re not going to graduate. And then they’re not going to get jobs. And then there could be mental health tied to it at the end,” Brown continued, highlighting the long-term ramifications of frequent transfers.
Brown acknowledges that implementing such changes would face significant hurdles, noting, “This would be hard. You’ve got to look at it through.” To enact his proposed reforms, the legal and regulatory landscape of college athletics would require a substantial overhaul.
The former coach isn’t completely inflexible about transfer opportunities. He suggested exceptions for situations where coaches make poor recruiting decisions, such as allowing players who can’t get playing time to transfer after demonstrating commitment for two years.
“So if we made a poor decision, the kid couldn’t play, he should have a right to transfer. But you’d like to think after two years, he’s getting ready to go into his major. He’s gotten rid of all the basic studies,” Brown explained.
His timing for these comments coincides with major changes at UNC following his departure in November 2024. Under new head coach Bill Belichick, the university has dramatically increased its NIL budget and brought in over 60 transfers, representing exactly the kind of roster overhaul Brown criticizes.
Brown believes the current environment, with increased financial incentives and loosened academic standards, contributes to the transfer chaos he wants to address.
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His proposed two-year requirement would force both players and programs to make more thoughtful, long-term commitments rather than chasing immediate gratification through constant movement.
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