Seven-time national champion head coach Nick Saban appears to be fed up with the college football calendar, and the former Alabama coach spoke his mind on Friday’s edition of “College GameDay.”
The ESPN pregame show aired from Notre Dame’s campus ahead of the first-round College Football Playoff matchup between the No. 7 Irish and the No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers.
The crew, including Saban, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Kirk Herbstreit, debated how the current calendar is causing issues for programs across the country. Especially for those participating in the 12-team playoff.
Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula entered the portal just six days before the No. 6 Nittany Lions were set to face No. 11 SMU. His decision came on the heels of a return announcement from starter Drew Allar.
Focusing on the situation for Penn State, Saban went on a fiery rant, saying that college football currently has “no rules.”
“You really can’t blame the players, because, if you’re going to have integrity, you got to have integrity to a set of rules,” he said. “I mean, we have a Constitution. We have a Bill of Rights. That’s what this country was built on. We have no rules in college football.”
Saban’s issue appears to be with how the winter transfer portal window forces players to make decisions on their futures, despite the postseason taking place at the same time.
“The academic calendar and the football calendar do not matchup relative to the season,” he continued. “It should never be that a player can leave his team before the end of the football season. You don’t need to be a free agent twice a year. You could be a free agent once a year.”
The winter window ranges from Dec. 9-28, with the second and final window taking place in the spring (April 16-25). Saban proposed that the sport should limit the transfer portal to one window per year in May.
“So I don’t know the answers, but right now, we have no rules and no guidelines in college football,” he said. “And I’m not trying to take away any options from the players, but you shouldn’t be able to leave your team before the end of the season. I don’t think that’s good for the player, and it’s certainly not good for your team and your teammates.”