John Rothstein, a CBS Sports college basketball insider, recently revealed his thoughts on how the transfer portal window is causing madness in the NCAA Tournament—and it’s not the good kind.
What did the basketball analyst say about the availability window for the transfer portal occurring during March Madness?
Jon Rothstein Criticizes Spring Transfer Portal Timing Amid March Madness
As we all enjoy March Madness, the NCAA has decided to throw a wrench in the cogs by opening the spring window of the transfer portal while It is in full swing.
Jon Rothstein, a CBS Sports basketball insider, took umbrage to the move. He emphasized that since the spring transfer portal opens right before the NCAA Tournament, players can jump on and off tournament teams’ future rosters while they prepare for the tournament.
Without any regard that the season is not even over yet, the NCAA undermines what teams try to accomplish in the spring. Rothstein criticized the NCAA.
The transfer portal opening in the middle of the NCAA Tournament is terrible for college basketball. pic.twitter.com/5AlMpGYGlV
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 27, 2025
“The transfer portal right now in college basketball being open in the guts of the NCAA tournament is a terrible thing for the sport. Tom Izzo went off about it a couple of days ago, and I completely agree with his sentiments,” Rothstein said.
“It is the greatest postseason and the greatest event that we have in sports. And putting the transfer portal and the opening of the transfer portal in the middle of all that takes attention from the showcasing of the event that everybody looks forward to,” he continued.
“It is cannibalization at a Hannibal Lecter-caliber level when we do this to the sport,” he concluded passionately.
Now, equating the transfer portal opening this early doesn’t quite align with the fictional serial Killer, but Rothstein makes a decent point. To intentionally take the headlines away from your most popular postseason tournament in any sport makes no sense.
Imagine that you’re playing in the tournament, sharing a locker room with your basketball family. For months, as a team, you sweat, bled, and cried as a group. Your only goal was the get to the tournament and maybe make waves. Yet, in the middle of the tournament, your phone buzzes with notifications that a teammate hopped into the portal.
How do you go about completing that season as a group? Players’ minds wander, wondering who the next teammate will be to leave the program. As a result, that strong bond forged during summer becomes tenuous.
Coaches, regardless of outward demeanor, reside in a realm of stress and uneasiness. Modern coaches not only need to recruit a player but re-recruit that player after the end of every season.
Division 1 coaches age like milk in the summer sun: fast and brutal. When you add in the immediate roster turnover, that exacerbates the process. As a veteran writer, Rothstein can attest to the rigors of the job.
Rothstein offers a solution that works for everyone. If the NCAA’s focus during March Madness is to highlight the games, then move the games. The CBS insider provides his own take on what sounds like the most logical step.
“If you want to move it to the Tuesday after the national title game, that would be ideal. But we can’t continue to just drop the transfer portal opening in the middle of the NCAA tournament. I would agree that it would be fine if we did it after their Elite Eight Sunday, but we can’t continue like we are right now,” Rothstein suggested.
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It seems the NCAA can’t get out of its own way regarding transfer portal rules. March Madness generates millions in revenue and more attention. The transfer portal, now a member of the status quo, can be moved around to alleviate headaches and stress.
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