The arrival of name, image and likeness deals and looser rules for athletes using the transfer portal in 2021 have transformed college sports so thoroughly that a coach's ability to land good players now has almost everything to do with how much money is available.
The Associated Press approached more than a dozen coaches in the leadup to March Madness to ask them simple questions: How is your job different? Do you like your job as much? Is college sports better or worse since transferring has become easier for athletes?
One of those coaches, who spoke only on condition of anonymity in order to speak candidly, said everything had gotten worse but 鈥渁s long as we have sufficient NIL money, we can be competitive.鈥�
What other coaches are saying about the current state of the game:
鈥� 鈥淵ou become more of a CEO than a coach,. I probably spend less time on out-of-bounds plays than 10 years ago. You have to evolve and embrace the change.鈥� 鈥� Wisconsin coach Greg Gard.
鈥� "I鈥檝e always been in favor of taking care of players and helping them. I don鈥檛 think any of us could ever imagine in our wildest imagination it would be where it is in terms of the number of money that鈥檚 being offered at this time. But I don鈥檛 even think we thought there would be a day where kids could transfer one right after the other, but that鈥檚 where it is.鈥� 鈥� Tennessee coach Rick Barnes.
鈥� "We鈥檙e still trying to recruit young players that want to come, want to be developed, want to be coached hard, want to reach their potential and none of that has changed. Obviously, the landscape of being able to recruit older players out of the portal and things like that, that has changed, But our reason for being has not.鈥� 鈥擟olorado women's coach JR Payne.
鈥� 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great that our players have the opportunity to make money off of their name, image and likeness. That鈥檚 something that they deserve to have. I think we鈥檙e just trying to figure out how to navigate that, and how all of these changes are going to play out. So we鈥檙e in a period of change and you know, in life, you have to change or it鈥檚 gonna pass you by.鈥� 鈥擬ichigan women's coach Kim Barnes Arico.
鈥� 鈥淢y job has doubled in the last four years from my fundraising capabilities to my CEO responsibilities to CEO-GM-fundraiser and, oh yes, I鈥檓 supposed to be a coach, too." 鈥擴CLA women's coach Cori Close.
鈥� 鈥淥ne thing I enjoy is seeing the players' families at the games and seeing them travel on road trips and being more part of this. And so before NIL, that wasn鈥檛 an option. And then, also to see guys have a nest egg when they鈥檙e done with college.鈥� 鈥擬ichigan coach Dusty May.
鈥� 鈥淲ho did the research on what psychological effect it has where you can have 40% of the kids making poor decisions? How well thought-out was this?鈥� 鈥擣ormer Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton on the hundreds of players who enter the transfer portal and end up not finding another place to play.
鈥� 鈥淚'm shocked at the guys I'm calling right now who are saying, 鈥榃e鈥檙e hoping to go Division I and maybe get some NIL.' I'm thinking, 鈥楾hey鈥檙e not that good.'鈥� 鈥擩im Crutchfield, on the impact NIL has had on his program.
鈥� 鈥淲hen you鈥檙e a college head coach, you鈥檙e almost the CEO times 10 compared to what you are in the NBA. That part intrigued me as well.鈥� 鈥擝YU coach Kevin Young on his jump from an assistant coach in the NBA to college.
鈥� 鈥淵ou have to change. You have to adapt. If you鈥檙e not willing to to adapt and change, this business will eat you up.鈥� 鈥擟olorado coach Tad Boyle.
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AP March Madness: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
The Associated Press
