Despite their increasing numbers, athletes who go through the transfer process feel they are commonly misrepresented. Athletes like Destinee Oberg, a women’s basketball player and graduate student transfer from the University of Arkansas and the University of Minnesota.  

 “I think people who transfer get a bad rap,” Oberg said. “Everyone has different situations … What you can see isn’t always what’s all there.” 

 The NCAA transfer portal, introduced in 2018, created a streamlined platform for coaches to recruit out of and for athletes to directly put their intention to transfer in. Prior to the portal, players were required to get permission from their coaches or high-level administrators if they wanted to transfer. There was a chance that they would have to sit out a year before they could play for their new school. 

2022 marked the highest number of athletes entering the transfer portal at 20,911, according to the NCAA. This year UND football and hockey teams have the most transfer players they have ever had on their rosters at 14 and seven, respectively. With the number of transfer athletes increasing, college sports fans must accept that players will be transferring out of and to their favorite teams.  

 The transfer profile series will be a three-part series that shares the transfer experiences of three athletes, Ben McNaboe, football, Keaton Pehrson, hockey, and Oberg, basketball.  

Maeve Hushman is a Dakota Student Sports Reporter. She can be reached at [email protected].