Head coach Kirby Smart is one of, if not the most impactful voice in the sport. When he speaks, people listen. Yes, it’s his wins, his dominance in this decade, but in highly-debated issues, it’s his opinion. It is one of the highest valued opinions in college athletics, and his words in Destin, Florida at the SEC Spring Meetings rang out loud and clear across college football.

As college football is forever-changing, the transfer portal grabs headlines daily. Smart gave his piece on the matter at hand.

“The biggest decision that has to be made in college football right now, by far to me, is when is the portal window and is there one or two?” said Smart. “That’s not being decided by us today [at the SEC Spring Meetings]. A lot of people don’t even know how it’s getting decided.” 

Everyone asked Smart about the College Football Playoff format, the SEC schedule and whether they should play eight or nine conference games or even play the SEC Championship Game. The people wanted to know about Smart’s thoughts on the NCAA v. House settlement. But, when he was asked about the portal by Dawg Nation’s Mike Griffith, Smart jumped to respond, noting he was so glad he got asked about it because of its importance to the game. 

“We had an AFCA [American Football Coaches Association] meeting,” said Smart. “We unanimously decided that there really needed to be one portal window. Whenever that is, it is when it is, and it needs to happen some time in January.” 

Smart previously said many things regarding the portal, the portal windows, etc. In the spring, he repeatedly talked about the lack of depth that the transfer portal causes. As more and more players enter the portal each year, the less able-bodied game contributors there are at each position. Those previous talks accompanied how he feels the portal has affected his Bulldogs. Now, he gives us an opinion on the grand scheme of the portal and what will work for the entire nation.

Smart said among the AFCA discussions, there was pushback on when the portal window should be. Should it be post spring? Should it be in January? Why are these the options? 

For starters it all coincides with the academic schedule, student-athletes must transfer to different schools at the breaks in the academic year and prior to the start of semesters. Unfortunately for football, this January portal window falls during the College Football Playoff, so how can these teams practice for championship-setting games with transfer recruits on campus? 

“When I brought that up [at the AFCA meeting] as a complaint or a problem, it was told to me, ‘There’s no crying from the yacht,’” said Smart. 

With the settlement, it has been ruled that there is a cap on revenue sharing among every team within a school’s athletic department. For instance, football is capped to a certain dollar figure, basketball, to a certain dollar figure, baseball, to a certain dollar figure, and so on. These athletic departments, as a whole, must stay within the governed cap that each school must follow, and it is measured annually. 

In respect to the “cap year,” which fiscally begins in July and ends the following June, it cannot change despite some requesting the change as Smart said. College athletics must stay on the same fiscal cycle of July-June as fall sports begin in late July and early August and spring sports don’t end until late June. 

A school might rebut, “Well, how are we supposed to manage our money when we have new players join our teams in the middle of the fiscal year?” Smart’s simple answer: “That’s an accounting method you have to take into account.” 

There is no perfect portal window. One school or even one conference might disagree with the January date, but as this decision is closely approaching, the positives for the January window far outweigh those of another time period. 

“I want to develop my team,” said Smart. “I think it’s really important in football to have your team at whatever date in January, whenever that date is. Then, you work those guys out, you train those guys, you lift, you prepare, you do meetings. You do all this preparation, and then, that’s your team… I’m great with them making money. I’m great with them going to the portal. If you ask kids when they would like to be able to go in the portal, they’re going to say in January, so they can get started where? At their new place.” 

Despite arguments against the January date that plead they can’t get their student-athletes academically ready in January, Smart has another simple response: “Well, they’re getting high school kids in that same academic window [as early enrollees].” 

As others push for an April or May window, Smart made his point clear last week… January is the best time for every party: the coaches, players, athletic departments, etc. The college football world took notice, and it seems Coach Smart’s preference is the target decision.
Follow along on Instagram @wearebulldawgs to catch more of Kirby Smart’s thoughts from the SEC Spring Meetings.