Building a Better Transfer Bio

As teams and conferences began to announce a cancellation or delay of the 2020 football season, I received many messages asking how to craft an effective transfer bio. After consulting with 25 DI head and assistant coaches, I’ve developed tips to help an athlete catch a new team’s eye.

Image – We all know you play football. We can read that in the bio. When possible, use a profile image that clearly shows your face. It helps all stakeholders trying to engage with you confirm who you are.

Name – Don’t forget to have your full name and any nickname you go by in your bio! Neglecting to do so makes finding you tedious for coaches, scouts, media, etc.

Playing Stats and Eligibility – Every coach agreed that including how many reps you’ve taken and your remaining eligibility helps speed up the decision-making process. Many players may feel reluctant to share this info because they fear it may disqualify them, but many coaches agreed that’s not entirely true.

Academics – Every coach agreed that seeing where you stand academically saves everyone a lot of time and energy. If your grades or ACT/SAT scores are lower than desired, it’s best a team know that upfront. Transparency doesn’t always mean disqualification.

Miscellaneous – Use the remaining characters in your bio to give viewers a glimpse into who you are as a person, i.e. other hobbies, awards, your hometown. Emojis are acceptable to use.

Video – Don’t forget to include a link to most of your recent highlight reel. If you’re a freshman or haven’t seen much playing time, using your Hudl account is also acceptable.

Pro Tip #1: Before declaring your intent to transfer, audit your accounts to ensure you don’t have any unflattering images or messages that might hurt your chances to play with a new team.

Pro Tip #2: Work with a professional or have someone review any farewell messages you post to ensure there’s no grammatical errors. If working with a graphic designer, make sure your text is readable, i.e. font is a decent size, text color isn’t too light for the background, and the files are sized correctly for the platform.

Pro Tip #3: If interviewed by the media, take your time and be thoughtful with your responses. Also, make sure the journalist has your social media handles. Finally, share the article across all your social media platforms when it goes live or is published.