Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork is pushing for big changes to the college football calendar. He wants a clear line between the playing season and the roster-building period.
With the new 15-day January transfer portal window, things have gotten messy. Now, transfer portal activity overlaps with the College Football Playoff (CFP), and it’s causing chaos for teams and coaches.
Current Challenges in the College Football Calendar
The calendar right now is, honestly, a mess. The January transfer portal window runs smack into the CFP, and it’s a headache for everyone involved.
Teams are losing players to the portal while still fighting for a championship. That’s disruptive, stressful, and just doesn’t seem fair to anyone.
Ohio State lost several players to the portal just hours after their season-ending loss in the CFP quarterfinals. It’s not just them—it’s happening to all teams, whether they’re in the playoffs or not.
Coaches and players are stuck trying to win now while also scrambling to build next year’s roster. That’s a lot to juggle.
Proposed Solutions by Ross Bjork
Bjork thinks the answer is to split the season and roster-building into separate chunks. He’s suggesting the season ends earlier, and the transfer portal opens later.
Here’s what he’s laying out for the college football calendar:
- End the CFP earlier: Wrap up the CFP in December or early January, not late January. That means less time between playoff games.
- Start the season earlier: Kick things off in late August, so there’s still a 12-game regular season with two bye weeks.
- Move the transfer portal window: Open the portal at the end of the spring semester, like April or May.
Benefits of the Proposed Calendar Changes
If these ideas take off, college football could see some real improvements. Ending the CFP earlier and starting in August would condense the season and help avoid the overlap that’s causing so many headaches.
This separation should make things more organized and maybe a bit less stressful for coaches and players. And moving the transfer portal window to the end of spring lines up with athletes’ revenue-sharing contracts, which run July to June.
Players would get a little more time to weigh their options, which might keep more of them around. It just feels like a cleaner approach.
Impact on Spring Practices
One hiccup: teams wouldn’t have their full rosters for spring practices if the portal window moves. Bjork thinks that’s fixable.
He suggests swapping out traditional spring practices for offseason team activities in May or June. That way, teams can train and evaluate players after transfers settle in.
He figures this would take some pressure off coaches, letting them focus on player development instead of roster drama. It’s not perfect, but it could work.
Challenges to Implementing Calendar Changes
Of course, making these changes isn’t simple. The NCAA runs the rules, but the College Football Playoff is its own thing, so coordinating isn’t easy.
There are also competing interests among schools and conferences. Sometimes, it feels like everyone’s pulling in a different direction, and common sense gets lost.
Bjork knows the sport’s competitive nature can make consensus tough. Still, he’s holding out hope that leaders can work together on something that actually makes sense.
Future of College Football Calendar
No one really knows when—or if—the calendar will get a real overhaul. Bjork’s ideas are at least sparking some needed conversation.
He’s picturing a future with an expanded CFP, maybe up to 24 teams, no more conference championship games if the playoff gets big enough, and a transfer portal window at the end of spring. Pulling that off would take some real teamwork across the sport.
Conclusion
Ross Bjork wants to shake up the college football calendar. He thinks ending the CFP earlier and starting the season in late August would make things less hectic for coaches and players.
He’s also suggesting the transfer portal window should move to the end of the spring semester. That way, there’s less overlap between games and all the roster chaos.
Of course, making these changes won’t be simple. But honestly, just having this conversation feels overdue. Maybe it’s time for leaders in the sport to put their heads together and actually fix the calendar—something that works for coaches, players, and, yeah, even the fans.
If you want to dive deeper into Ross Bjork’s ideas, check out the full article over at Eleven Warriors.
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