The Transfer Portal is a very interesting thing. Not only do I know a lot about it, I have also been through it. It is a lot more complicated and riskier than what you are thinking. Here is a rundown of what the portal is and what it does for a student athlete, like me. “The NCAA’s transfer portal policy has transformed the landscape for student athletes seeking greener pastures. It works like this: Student athletes can now enter the portal and ask to change colleges. When they do that, their school has the right to rescind or reduce their scholarship, even if they don’t leave.It’s the ultimate leap of faith, and not everyone sticks the landing”(https://www.npr.org/2023/05/19/1173134544/college-football-transfer-portal-ncaa-student-athlete). From personal experience, when I decided to enter the transfer portal, it was frightening.When you tell your former coach you want to and have decided to transfer to another school, firstly, your coach (from the current school you are at) has to okay you and sign a paper. If you are at a bigger school, sometimes your coach can sign a paper to let you transfer to another school in the same conference, which I think is sickening. We, student athletes , should definitely have the option on where we want to continue our studies and athletics. It is our life and should be our decision, not anyone else’s. Another thing is that when you decided to put your name in the portal, you cannot reach out to any other schools you are interested in until the NCAA emails you saying your name is in the portal and you are allowed to reach out to any potential schools you are interested in,“The best time to start the transfer process is when you realize you’d like to transfer. However, you should begin the process only when you’re 100% sure. After you initiate the transfer process, your current scholarship should remain intact. Your scholarship for the following academic term, however, is not guaranteed. If you end up rescinding the transfer and decide to stay at your current school, your scholarship could be in jeopardy. Once your current school knows you intend to transfer, they can rescind any scholarship offers for the next semester, quarter, or trimester. They may even give it to another student-athlete. This won’t matter if you transfer” (https://www.ncsasports.org/recruiting/ncaa-transfer-rules).
I talked to my mom before I made my final decision, but I knew she and my other family members would support whatever I chose because ultimately, they want me to be happy and my mental state to be good. I knew 100% I wanted to transfer before I even talked to her, but I wanted to get her on the same page. I wanted to come home. I had recently committed to the University of Evansville my freshman year of highschool but then committed to go to Indiana University for soccer. My hope was that I could come home to play soccer, so hopefully University of Southern Indiana or the University of Evansville. I really wanted to come to UE since I had already had a connection with the coach here and they previously wanted me. As soon as I got the email my name was in the portal, I texted the soccer coach here at UE and asked to talk with him. I drove home from Bloomington, about an hour and 45 minutes after my classes that day and came to UE with my parents to talk with the coach. It all went well and I was very excited and blessed to have an opportunity so quickly. I didn’t even want to go look at USI for soccer because I knew UE was going to be my next home. I finished out the semester at IU, just for the schooling, so I had a little bit of soccer which sucked, but I kept working on my own.
The summer of 2022 when I arrived at UE I was excited, but nervous. I did not know if the team was going to like me or what they would think of me. I already knew some of the players from a few former visits, but I had to get to know most of them as they were new faces, just like me. I ended up falling in love with the school and all the girls here but schooling was a lot harder here. A big reason why I am happy here is because of all my teammates that are my best friends. They always know how to put a smile on my face.