Editor’s Note: HoosDay is a biweekly sports column that explores the Virginia sports fan experience. Casey Reims is the HoosDay Columnist for the 2026 spring semester.
Since the inception and implementation of the transfer portal in 2018 and NIL in 2021, NCAA fans have been feverishly debating their effects. Have they irreparably damaged college sports? Or has it added a unique new level of opportunity and equity to a century-old system? Today, the prevailing opinion seems to err on the latter side of the discussion.
Many pundits and fans feared that having a depth chart filled with players spending only one year at an institution would derail the community's ties to the team. By the time the fans connected with the new roster, there would only be so many games left until they were replaced by a new group of unknowns. Fans were concerned the cycle would then repeat endlessly, until all passion for the program was eventually lost.
This has turned out to be far from the truth — in fact, in many ways the transfer portal and NIL has created more intrigue and excitement, as much as some may hate to admit it.
Even amongst the negative discourse surrounding the constant shuffle and chaos of the new NCAA, the statistics show that collegiate sports fandoms have not been diluted or lost. The 2025 College Football Playoffs Quarterfinals received a 14 percent TV ratings boost year over year, while the Rose Bowl Game was the most watched game of the 12-team CFP era. It is not just ratings that support this sentiment — with constant flux of players in and out every year from rosters, the new transfer process can also serve to make each team feel unique and fleeting in their own way, perhaps giving longtime fans fresh rosters to engage with and root for.
For one, a sub-par season is no longer indicative of a long-term regression for a team. In 2024, after a 4-1 start, Virginia football skidded and crumbled, winning just one more game the rest of the season. The student body turned from passionate, to luke-warm, to outright ignorant and dismissive of the football program. Prior to the NIL and transfer portal era of college football, this 5-7 team would have been essentially the same one to suit up the next year. On the heels of a disappointing season, it is likely the fanbase and community would have struggled to rally around the team.
Instead, thanks to Coach Tony Elliot and the program’s work in the portal, the program retooled and reloaded, welcoming 54 new players, and instilling a new sense of hope in those surrounding and supporting the team. The improvement from a five-win, non-bowl competing team, to an unprecedented 11-win team that was a fourth-down stop away from making the playoff likely would not be possible for Virginia without the transfer portal. This turnaround enabled fans to go from relatively apathetic to heavily invested in the blink of an eye.
Many considered this year to be a resurgence for Virginia football, not just in quality of play, but also in terms of the excitement surrounding it. Football Saturdays felt like events, like days built around the core spectacle of watching the team play. In victory, the excitement around Grounds was palpable. In defeat, the community mourned together. Just one year prior, a Cavalier football game felt like mere background noise or a way to fill an hour and a half before leaving at halftime. The transfer portal facilitated such a sudden increase in passion.
Yes, there is a lot of imbalance and inequality in NIL and the transfer portal, from sponsorship opportunities to portal deals, particularly for smaller schools with less funding. The system is very far from perfect and likely never will be.
But, with these defects also comes agency and hope. Fans and teams no longer must sit in mediocrity for years — if they have the resources, they can take active steps towards trying to rebuild a roster at any point. Fans can hope the next portal pickup is the one that changes a program, that the next roster built will be one that changes the tide. In fact, the National Championship this year featured two transfer quarterbacks in Miami’s Carson Beck and Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
The Cavaliers benefitted from that same trend. While it appears Chandler Morris’ time has likely come to a close at Virginia, he became an embodiment of this new phenomenon. As an impactful one-year transfer, his one season will forever be remembered as record-breaking and expectation-shattering, either a beautiful blip of success or a turning point that sparked a Cavalier surge towards the upper echelon of college football. His head-scratching turnovers will be lost to time, instead replaced by highlights of him diving at the pylon for the lead versus Florida State in overtime or his potentially season-saving toss to Eli Wood in the ACC championship game.
Such a benefit from the portal extends beyond football as well –– Virginia Men’s basketball is experiencing an eerily similar turnaround. Despite experiencing near-total roster and staff turnover, a strong transfer class driven by NIL efforts has lifted the Cavaliers back into contention at the top of the ACC.
If the team was not wearing roughly the same jerseys as last year, there would be no way to recognize that it was the same school on the court. From the head coach to the first four off of the bench, everything is different, including the success of the program thus far. With 16 wins by mid-January, the team has already eclipsed last year's season win total. And, with this success, once again comes renewed commitment to the team from the student body and fans at large.
It only took two weeks for Jacari White, graduate guard and North Dakota State transfer, to build a dedicated fanbase, the now well-renowned “Jacarmy.” Point guard Chance Mallory, while not a transfer but rather a true freshman, has been embraced by the community as well. The St. Anne’s-Belfield alumni is now referred to as the “Prince of Charlottesville,” and has quickly burrowed his way into the hearts of many Cavalier fans. The community is connected and committed to the team, and that fact is unlikely to change, particularly thanks to the consistent talent available through the portal.
NIL and the true advent of the transfer portal were valid reasons for fans to fear losing touch with treasured teams. Such celebration of new faces dispels this fear. In fact, there is an odd sense of romanticism in this new era. There may be more change and more turnover — but that also leads to more stories, more history and more hope. Programs may be down, but never out, thanks to the rebuilding opportunities available to them through the transfer portal. Teams may not retain players as frequently, but they also get to experience a broader variety of play styles, more unique characters and more parity around the country.
It is easy to see the new wave of college sports as a far cry from the nostalgic, perhaps simpler days of years past. But with some thought and effort, there is also much to appreciate and be optimistic about regarding the future of NCAA athletics. The transfer portal may take your favorite player, but it should never take your fandom.
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