The landscape of college sports has drastically changed in the past couple of years, in large part due to the lifted restrictions on transfers and the addition of NIL. While these have allowed college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness and receive endorsements, it has raised many concerns and controversies about the integrity of the current state of the NCAA.
NIL in particular has been an issue, as now colleges are allowed to directly pay their athletes, just like professional leagues. It has gotten to the point where some college athletes are making more money than if they went pro. This has raised concerns about the integrity of these sports, with Football, Baseball, and Basketball being the main subjects. Many fear these sports in particular will eat up the athletic funds of colleges, leading to many sports programs getting cut. The transfer portal isn’t much better, as now athletes are allowed to transfer an unlimited number of times, allowing them to transfer to a new school each year with no penalties. These issues have struck an outcry among college sports fans, many demanding a change to the “corrupt” and “pay to win” system.” Many of the coaches also reflect their disdain for this system, and recently, Arkansas Basketball Head Coach John Calipari has voiced his opinion about it. In a postgame press conference, he stated, “You can’t be 30,” said Calipari. “You’ve got five years. Clock is ticking. If you go pro, I don’t care what country you’re from. You leave your name in, you cannot play college basketball. If you transfer midseason, you can’t play. You got to sit out.” This came in response to the controversy of Alabama Basketball player James Nnaji, who has been under fire recently, due to his returning to college basketball after getting drafted by the Pistons, playing in the G-League, and playing stints in overseas leagues.
When asked about how he feels about the current system of college sports, Senior Chapman Ogles cited the transfer portal as a major flaw. “The transfer portal takes thousands of high school kids’ chances away by forcing them to go to smaller schools. It gives older kids who have extra years better opportunities.” Ogles thinks the best way to resolve this issue is by setting transfer limits. “Give athletes one free transfer, and other than that, you have to sit out when you transfer. This will give more high school kids chances.” Senior Jathan Spain has similar concerns, but is also bothered by NIL, stating, “While I don’t think there needs to be limits on endorsements, there definitely does need to be a limit for how much colleges themselves can pay their athletes.” When interviewed, they both believe that non-moneymaking and women’s sports are at major risk due to this system. Ogles said he doesn’t think the current system will last much longer, as he thinks teams will leave the NCAA if the rules aren’t changed soon.
In my opinion, it is critical for the NCAA to make some changes, as college sports are in an extremely bad state right now. If nothing is changed, this pay-to-win system will not only eliminate many of the less-viewed college sports programs but will drastically reduce the opportunities all high school athletes have across the country.
