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The amateur aspect of college football is dying. College football vs the NFL has been debated for years. When an argument in favor of college football is brought up, several staples seem to always get mentioned.
They want it more. They don’t act like millionaires. They play for the love of the game. Many of those factors have become diminished with the introduction of NIL and transfer portal. The biggest trend being opting out.
Initially, opting out was specific to an individual player. In the beginning, players might opt out of a bowl game to avoid a possible injury and preparing for the NFL draft. Those cases were few and far between early on.
In 2016 and 2017 Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette respectively opted out of bowl games. Chris Olave (Ohio State), Jared Verse (Florida State), Braelon Allen (Wisconsin) and Jayden Daniels (LSU) all eventually followed suit.
Draft prep is not the only example. In the transfer portal era, many players have chosen to opt out of their current team’s bowl game so they can enter the portal and join a different team.
According to the NY Post, over a hundred players opted out of a bowl game in 2024 for various reasons. That largest of which was players who planned to enter that transfer portal window for greener pastures elsewhere.
Whether the intended reason for opting out is preparing for the NFL Draft or entering the transfer portal, one thing remains true. Players opting out of bowl games is not a “good” thing for the sport. When it was few and far between it wasn’t a huge concern. When hundreds of players are opting out, it diminishes the importance of bowl games.
Losing a high-profile player from time to time who has their attention elsewhere is one thing. Entire teams opting out is a completely different concern. The initial example of a team opting out came as the negative result of the transfer portal. In 2024, almost the entire Marshall University team entered the transfer portal after head coach Charles Huff opted to take the Southern Miss job.
Even the Marshall example could be understood. It wasn’t a good turn of events, but it was logical. The head coach leaves, players decide to not stay, so many jump into the portal that it makes fielding a team virtually impossible. However, a much more alarming trend is taking place in 2025.
After winning the Sun Belt Championship, Marshall has withdrawn from the Independence Bowl vs Army due to a substantial amount of players in the transfer portal
A sad end to a terrific season pic.twitter.com/0dhRUn6oll
The most notable team opting out is Notre Dame. Viewed by many as a petulant tantrum in reaction to not making the college football playoff. The official Notre Dame twitter account has not done much to dispel that sentiment. “As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the statement claims. “We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring a 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”
Had Notre Dame opted out before the college football playoff bracket was set, this might play differently in the minds of viewers. Based on the timeline of events, it is difficult to not see the Notre Dame decision as the tantrum of a team that did not get their desired result. If that is the case, it signals a disappointing evolution in thinking for college football teams. Football analyst Emmanuel Acho took to social media to address the Notre Dame decision.
Absolutely unacceptable by Notre Dame. I feel bad for the fans. pic.twitter.com/A7ZTMj67oR
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) December 7, 2025Notre Dame is just the very noteworthy tip of the iceberg. While Notre Dame’s reasoning seems somewhat misguided, there are other teams with different reasoning that still present a preventable concern. According to Yahoo Sports by way of On3, ten different teams have opted out of bowl games. Notre Dame, Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, Rutgers, Florida State, Auburn, Temple, UCF, and Kansas.
Kansas State and Iowa State are losing their head coaches. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell is taking the Penn State job and Chris Kliemann at Kansas State opted to retire. The Birmingham Bowl provided a completely different concern. The NCAA had enough 6-win teams to fill bowl games. Until teams started opting out. Then they were forced to reach out to 5-7 teams. An opportunity you might think teams would jump at. A bowl game after failing to become bowl eligible.
According to Sports Illustrated, Florida State, Auburn, UCF, Baylor, Rutgers, Temple and Kansas were all offered a spot in the Birmingham Bowl game, and all declined. With teams opting out and then backup options also opting out, the outlook was becoming bleak for the Birmingham Bowl. Until Appalachian State said yes. The Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill recently posted this via Twitter.
— Sun Belt (@SunBelt) December 8, 2025Just like a number of concerns college football faces, much of this can be tied to one glaring issue. College football has a calendar or scheduling problem. By placing the only transfer portal window in January and having early signing day in December, it almost guarantees issues like opting out will continue. The benefit of having those two recruiting factors scheduled where they are creates an unbalanced dynamic. The benefit of high school recruits signing in December and the portal window opening in January is outweighed by the detriment it causes.
By simply rearranging the college football calendar, its possible there isn’t a coaching game of musical chairs before the college football playoff. By moving the early signing period and the transfer portal window, it would dramatically alter how many players are compelled to opt out of bowl games due to an impending transfer.
The Notre Dame decision plays like a ‘put us in or else’ move. The Kansas State and Iowa State opt outs are somewhat understandable. Seven significant programs declining a bowl opportunity after failing to reach six wins seems rather troubling. College football could fix most of the opt out issues it faces, by simply fixing the college football calendar.
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