The NCAA's new one-time transfer policy has fundamentally altered college sports. And while football has garnered most of the headlines, basketball has been impacted just as much, if not more.

What they're saying: The Athletic spoke to 17 college hoops coaches about the transfer portal, which has "transformed the notion of roster building into a wild flea market of back-channel dealings."

The NCAA approved a new policy Wednesday for transgender athletes, calling for each sport's national governing body to determine its own eligibility requirements for participation.

Why it matters: The policy change comes amid a national debate on the issue of inclusion of transgender athletes in collegiate sports, which has dovetailed the introduction of Republican-sponsored anti-trans legislation across the U.S.

Lia Thomas, a 22-year-old transgender woman who swims for the University of Pennsylvania, is dominating in the pool this season.

Why it matters: Thomas' record-breaking campaign comes amid a debate over transgender inclusion in sport — one that has become increasingly politicized as anti-trans legislation sweeps across the U.S.

Georgia fans are buying championship gear at a historic rate. 41 years of waiting will do that to you.

Driving the news: Fanatics says it sold more Georgia championship merchandise in the first 24 hours after the Bulldogs' victory than the previous best-selling school (2021 Alabama) sold in the first 30 days.

Alabama and Georgia will play for a championship Monday night — five weeks after their SEC title game matchup, and four years after their national title game thriller.

State of play: The Bulldogs are slight favorites to win their first championship in 41 years, but they've lost seven straight to the Crimson Tide, who have won a casual six national titles in 14 years.

Call it whatever you want, but free agency has come to college football.

By the numbers: More than 3,000 football players across all NCAA divisions have entered the transfer portal since Aug. 1. That includes over 1,400 FBS players — an average of 11 per team.

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey is perhaps the most powerful figure in college sports, leading a conference that takes center stage Monday night in Indianapolis.

State of play: Sankey has helped solidify the SEC as the cream of the Power Five crop — a league so lucrative it could soon generate more revenue than the NCAA, itself.

Alabama and Georgia will meet in next week's CFP national championship — the second such meeting in four years, and the second game between the SEC rivals in five weeks.

CFP semifinals: While three of the seven CFP title games have been classics, the semifinals have been horrible. That trend continued this year, increasing the average margin of victory in CFP semifinals to 21 points.

Ferris State (Mich.) completed a perfect season Saturday (14-0), winning its first-ever D-II football championship behind conference player of the year Jared Bernhard.

Driving the news: The triple-option QB, a fifth-year senior and graduate transfer, rushed for 349 yards and 8 TD in his final two games alone.

National Signing Day provided a stunner when the nation's No. 1 recruit, cornerback Travis Hunter, de-committed from Florida State in favor of Jackson State, an FCS program and HBCU.

Why it matters: Hunter is the first five-star high school prospect to sign with an FCS team (or HBCU) since ESPN began its rankings in 2006.