Name, image, and likeness (NIL), conference realignment, and, most recently, the transfer portal.
These are all things that the NCAA has been criticized for over the years, due to their handling of these circumstances.
And, I’m all about college players earning money, conferences getting makeovers, and players exercising their free will to choose their next collegiate destination.
But, as the saying goes, “even good things can become bad if they are excessive.”
The NCAA has failed to realize that these “benefits” for players and schools need regulations and committees to oversee them. You can’t just bring about big changes and not see movement in the actual association.
When COVID-19 first broke out in the U.S. we saw a difference in how we lived our lives (e.g. wearing masks, social distancing, etc.). We saw committees and subcommittees form in the U.S. government, and regulations be enforced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With the NCAA however, they rely on their board of directors for every issue that arises and don’t strictly impose their regulations.
I will say, with NCAA President Mark Emmert stepping down next year, it could help with all of this. However, it’s not guaranteed.
NCAA Board of Governors Chair John J. DeGioia seems to agree, as well.
“With the significant transitions underway within college sports, the timing of this decision provides the Association with consistent leadership during the coming months plus the opportunity to consider what will be the future role of the president,” DeGioia said, after Emmert announced he’d be resigning.
But, it doesn’t make up all that has happened, and all that will happen, until then.
I took a deep dive into two copies of the “Summary of NCAA Regulations” and compared the difference, or should I say lack thereof, from the 2011-12 and 2022-23 academic years.
One difference I noticed right off the bat was that there was color in the most recent copy, which helped brighten my mood some. And, under the “Amateurism-All Sports” category, the NCAA added a summarized paragraph explaining how NIL deals and state-laws work work together.
But, ask me about many other differences after that and I’d be mute.
The categories are the exact same in both versions and both copies are just about the same length somehow.
How can that be with 10 plus years of athletic innovations?
NIL deals
NIL deals have become a hot topic, due to the amount of money and valuable items offered to high-profiled athletes, luxurious sports cars being one of the most offered.
The real problem however, is when coaches try to take a player away from a university because of a better monetary opportunity.
Granted, a lot of people do this in everyday life with job offers. But, in college, it’s something that is looked at as “a line crossed.”
Recently, rumors swirled about North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye potentially being lured away by other coaches due to NIL money.
UNC head coach Mack Brown believes it’s a “real issue.”
“One of the real issues we’ve got in college football is people that are tampering with guys on your team and paying them money to leave,” Brown said via Brad Crawford of 247Sports. “It’s an issue that needs to get stopped. You’ve got agents, you’ve got third parties, you’ve got high school coaches. I’ve told our players, ‘If somebody is calling you and trying to get you to go, let me know. Let me know who they are.’”
Transfer portal
Transfer rules changed to debut the NCAA transfer portal in 2018; eliminating the rule where an athlete must sit out a year after transferring. While it wasn’t much of a problem then, it’s beginning to become a serious one.
High school athletes are being recruited less and more scholarships are being given to those in the portal, with college coaches want to win sooner rather than later.
In his article “Clemson football: Transfer culture,” Marty Coleman reaffirms this.
“The issue is for the high school athlete. High school athletes are receiving less offers than ever before. The transfer portal has created a situation where college coaches save scholarships for transfers that might have otherwise gone to high school players they can develop.”
The problem isn’t just in high school though; it’s also an issue for the athletes in the portal.
Nearly half of the Power Five athletes that do enter the transfer portal, end up dropping to lower levels, according to 247Sports’ Chris Hummer.
“We did a study after the 2019-2020 cycle, looking at FBS players on scholarship, and 47.25% of (Power Five) scholarship players to enter the portal ended up dropping down to FCS, not getting signed, or going to junior college,” Hummer said.
Conference realignment
Conferences realigning is now a big topic after seldom moves in recent years. But, colleges and universities have made more impactful moves this year; the biggest being the University of Southern California and UCLA moving to the Big Ten Conference.
Money plays a pivotal part in this, but what does this mean for the athletes?
Let’s say UCLA has to play a road game at Rutgers University. The time to fly from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J. (where Rutgers is located) is over five hours. The time difference will cause jet lag, let alone hurt athletes’ studies.
“Super” conferences have also been discussed, as conferences, such as the Big 12 and Pac-12, are being left high-and-dry by their powerhouse teams.
With little cost to do so, why wouldn’t more teams leave for “better” conferences?
David Kenyon of Bleacher Report, wrote an example of this in his article “College Football Problems and Ways to Fix Them: Conference Realignment.”
“If Oklahoma and Texas bolt for the SEC with a minimal financial penalty, what happens next? Why wouldn’t the SEC immediately place calls to major ACC brands Clemson, Florida State and Miami, for instance? Conversely, a ruling more favorable to the Big 12’s grant of rights could be a victory for stability.”
Yes, conferences have committees, but the rules must change for the NCAA. If it’s supposedly about the athletes, why are so many problems arising that are hurting athletes?
Fix it, NCAA.
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