Beyond the Money: The Hidden Drivers of Transfer Portal Decisions and Employee Departures

If you follow college athletics on social media or the news, you've likely heard about the NCAA Transfer Portal (TP) - an online database where student-athletes who want to transfer to different colleges can enter their names, making themselves available for recruitment by other programs. 

It effectively allows athletes to "hit the open market" and seek new opportunities.When discussed, the Transfer Portal typically carries negative connotations, suggesting the move is primarily about money:

“Kids just want to get paid”

“The athlete thinks they're worth more”

“They have zero commitment to team”

“All about the athlete, not the team”

“Most kids in the portal aren't good enough to play for us anyway”

While I don't completely disagree with several of these perspectives, I'd like to share a different view - one that I believe represents a larger part of the equation than our immediate bias that it's all about money.

Let's examine Generation Z (born 1997-2012), currently aged 17-24, who populate both college athletics and our workforce.

Key characteristics of this generation:

- Desire for connection

- Focus on growth and development

- Preference for collaboration and dialogue

- Emphasis on relationships

- Enjoyment of learning

- Interest in career advancement

- Seeking coaching and mentorship

- Desire for feedback and meaningful recognition

- Importance of work-life balance

When this generation joins a college program that feels primarily transactional - where they're just a number playing a position, simply there to help win games, with minimal personal connection - it fails to fulfill their needs. 

They quickly become disengaged and enter the Transfer Portal hoping to find what they truly desire: Connection!

Without it, they'll leave both the locker room and your organizational chart seeking it elsewhere.

This pattern mirrors what we see in today's workplace, with record levels of disengagement, turnover, and "quiet quitting." Those in the workforce within Generation Z want the same thing as college athletes - genuine connection that fosters growth and development.

Questions we should ask ourselves, our coaches, leaders, players, managers, and employees:

- How are we engaging our teams?

- What's our level of dialogue?

- How curious are we?

- What does meaningful dialogue look and feel like?

- Are we creating feedback loops? Feedback givers and receivers.

- Are we developing the whole person or just the employee/athlete?

In closing, I'd like to respectfully challenge both athletic and corporate spaces as we face this challenge together.

Is it truly just about money and position on the depth chart or org chart? Or is it about connection and engagement within the break room and the locker room? 

Do we value growth and development and make it a point, breathing into the whole person?

Lean in and see what happens when your players and employees trust their leaders and believe their best interest is top of mind.

Stay connected and stay confident!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

#leadership #developoment #growth #engagement