The final bowl bids for the 2024 postseason had barely made the rounds last December, and Army was faced with having no foe to complete its historic football season.<\/p>\n
The American Conference champion Black Knights<\/a> were slated to face Sun Belt champion Marshall in the Independence Bowl. But the Thundering Herd underwent a head coaching change on the same day as the announcement and suddenly dozens of players entered the NCAA transfer portal. Citing insufficient numbers to field a bowl team, Marshall withdrew \u2015 the Sun Belt later fined Marshall $100,000 for withdrawing.<\/p>\n Fortunately for Army, days later the Independence Bowl turned to local favorite Louisiana Tech for the Dec. 28 game in Shreveport, the committee settling for a sub-.500 team to fill the ledger. The Black Knights went on to prevail 27-6.<\/p>\n Eight months later, several parties are still seething over the fiasco, the product of an ill-timed transfer portal schedule. For 2024-25, the winter filing window was Dec. 9-28 and spring window was April 16-25 \u2015 the first period landed right between the end of the regular season and bowl games, and the latter came right after most college spring games were held.<\/p>\n \u201cA transfer portal window between the end of the season and bowl games?\u2019\u2019 a question posed by American Conference commissioner Tim Pernetti. \u201cWhat are we doing?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe current structure is a threat to the game, to team culture, to coaches building programs and student-athletes as constant motion de-emphasizes commitment and the true benefits of collegiate athletics.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need one portal window at the appropriate time of the year,\u2019\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n Ironically, Army lost star running back Kanye Udoh to the portal (he signed with Arizona State<\/a>) less than two weeks after the bowl announcement and a week before the I-Bowl.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the Football Bowl Subdivision coaches voted in favor of a proposal that would allow for a single 10-day period in January.<\/p>\n Pernetti said he fully believes student-athletes should be able to transfer one time freely, like the old rules.<\/p>\n \u201cCoaches change, family situations change, it\u2019s reasonable,\u2019\u2019 he said. \u201cBut any transfer beyond that should perhaps require a year in waiting.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n The explosion of the transfer portal has radically changed the football landscape, forcing coaches to recruit their own players for a second time and scouring the wires for potential replacements and step-ups.<\/p>\n \u201cI can assure you,\u2019\u2019 Army coach Jeff Monken quipped, \u201cnot being able to sign a guy to an extended contract forces you to change every year.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Academies like Army, Navy and Air Force cannot play on the same recruiting field, more likely to lose a player to the portal than receiving one since candidates need Congressional appointments, not to mention stringent academic standards.<\/p>\n \u201cGuys have always been able to leave West Point before their junior year \u2026 that hasn\u2019t changed,\u2019\u2019 said Monken. Army also lost Elo Modozie to Georgia; wide receiver Isaiah Alston to Iowa State<\/a> in 2024 and running back Anthony Adkins to UCLA in 2023. Rising junior cornerback Jaydan Mayes entered the portal but withdrew later and has been reinstated to the Army roster. \u201cWhat\u2019s changed is now they can leave for money, and so it makes it a little bit more enticing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n