Tommy Tuberville introduces ‘Student Athlete Act Of 2026,’ plan for addressing transfer portal chaos
By Ethan Stone
Published:
Former Auburn and Ole Miss football coach-turned-senator Tommy Tuberville, like many others, holds the belief that the transfer portal has firmly screwed up college football and collegiate athletics.
He said as much, point blank, on Tuesday while explaining his new bill, which aims to curtail the abuse of the transfer portal. The Senator proposed that college athletes should get 5 consecutive years to play 5 seasons, with one transfer allowed per player. If a player wishes to transfer more than once, they’ll have to sit out a year of competition.
This, he postures, would fix “80% of the issues in NIL today.”
Senator Tuberville’s main argument is that the constant movement of players between schools has completely thrown off the stability of the college game and, by extension, the developmental process of college athletes. Transferring for fit or necessity has turned into transferring to the highest bidder, which only compounds problems when you take high school athletes into consideration.
“Sixty to seventy percent of (college programs) don’t even look at high school athletes, they look at the portal and say ‘How can we win now? How can we bring players in?’ It’s going to bring the price down on a lot of these players in which to me, it’s ok because they’re going to be making money anyway. I’m all for them making money,” he said on OutKick’s Hot Mic Tuesday.
One addition that many commentors on social media suggested was the adoption of a coaching change exemption, allowing for a free transfer without the penalty of sitting out a year.
Tuberville’s proposal is certainly intriguing.
Ethan Stone is a Tennessee graduate and loves all things college football and college basketball. Firm believer in fouling while up 3.
