The NCAA transfer portal became a thing in 2018, though its impact was turbo charged in 2021 when the requirement of sitting out a year was eliminated and then again not long after with the introduction of NIL.
Since then there has been a healthy debate of whether or not any of it is good for the sport, or if that should even matter because the players deserve the kind of freedom and opportunity both the portal and NIL provide.
Wherever you land in the debate, the truth is it doesn’t matter. This is the game now, and everyone — including Arizona — must play it.