Under a 2021 Congressional law, still being tweaked regularly by the NCAA and individual states- student-athletes can earn compensation for their “name, image and likeness” (NIL), which has opened up Pandora’s Box. The rich get richer (Big Ten, ACC, SEC, Big 12) while mid-majors (like UH in the Mountain West and Big West) ponder an uncertain future competing in the now wild, wild west world of transfers, poachers, and increased funding opportunities. On3 estimates that more than 20 college athletes will make more than a million dollars in 2025.
Historically, coaches bolted schools for greater money/opportunity in a nanosecond, leaving stunned recruits behind. Nowadays, sponsors fund athletes (via NIL deals) and then might cut out funding athletic departments they used to contribute to. Coaches don’t have years to develop strategies involving teamwork, cohesion, or situational analysis, while they also appease an increasingly, results-oriented fan base. Home is not where the heart is in Division I college athletics, but rather where the money is.
Ahhh… to be a Division I coach today. Dan Hurley, head coach of 2023 and 2024 men’s basketball champion UConn, lamented on “60 Minutes” that as UConn entered the 2025 NCAA basketball tournament (seeking a rare threepeat) “…50% or more” of his roster were already primed to enter the NCAA transfer portal. And UConn was two-time defending champs!
While one can counsel 20-year-olds that the grass isn’t always greener and things that look too good to be true just might be, Div. I athletes today have opportunities to make more money during their college year(s) than they might earn throughout much of their adult careers. Adding to this confusion, revenue-sharing between schools and athletes will become a reality in 2026!
If a 20-year-old, promising engineering student gets a contract offer at Google/Alphabet Inc., we say “good on him.” But its murkier when we talk about beloved college sports- our alma mater, age-old loyalties, the student-athlete model, etc. You might well be rooting for a mercenary in your school’s colors, knowing that he/she might be one-and-done- off to greener pa$ture$ next season.
UH, offering the unique opportunity to play/live in Hawai`i, has reaped transfer rewards; other mid-majors might not have those opportunities in the crazy, morphing NIL world. A player unhappy with playing time, limited endorsement opportunities, and/or an alluring chance elsewhere is likely gone after one year. ‘Tis the new reality of DI college athletics.
Think about it…