Is this year’s March Madness the worst ever? For the second time since the tournament’s expansion in 1985, there are four No. 1 seeds in the Final Four. Although it is anecdotal to draw any conclusions, its uncharacteristic predictability is likely because of the devastating effects of NIL and the transfer portal.
Of course, college sports have never been “perfect”. Greedy coaches have paid players under the table and forced athletes to endure inhumane practice schedules. And before NIL, student-athletes were banned from monetization, even though they worked tirelessly to build a brand revolving around their image and work ethic. However, we have never seen the foundation of college sports being destroyed as it is today. In this new landscape, schools with wealthy alumni will thrive, and less prosperous schools will have little incentive to field costly programs.
The major problem with the new laws isn’t their spirit but rather the way they are being implemented. It is completely logical to let individuals accept brand deals, but many tycoons have flooded the NIL markets, and effectively bought rosters with their deep wallets. The contributions from wealthy alumni have created a stratified Division I of “Haves” and “Have-nots”.
The implications of NIL and the transfer portal will be detrimental to Fairfield, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), and all Mid-Major programs. Unfortunately, it will be nearly impossible to compete with bigger schools, and sustained success will be impossible. If Fairfield were to have a miraculous season, then its subsequent offseason would feature all of its star players leaving, and thevy program would be back to square one.
A strong supporter of the Stag’s Men’s Basketball team, Luke Dipre ’28’ is worried about the team’s future. He stated, “NIL is killing the Cinderella story in college basketball, and I don’t see a way for Fairfield to climb the ranks”.
Fans are not the only ones worried; the former football coach for the University of Alabama, Nick Saban, was deified for his illustrious career, but left because of the changing landscape. To explain his departure, he said, “So I’m saying to myself, ‘Maybe this doesn’t work anymore, that the goals and aspirations are just different and that it’s all about how much money… I’m not saying that’s bad. I’m not saying it’s wrong, I’m just saying that’s never been what we were all about, and it’s not why we had success through the years.”
Saban is not alone. Basketball coaches Jay Wright (Villanova) and Tony Bennett (University of Virginia) also retired mid-way through their reigns as coaching icons. Sadly, it’s because part of their “purpose” as coaches has been stripped from them. Since team rosters are a revolving door, it is impossible to build a sustainable culture, and being a leader doesn’t matter as much as it used to. We are approaching a world where coaches are just general managers and student-athletes are just minor-league ball players.
The main problem with this new world of college athletics is that they are no longer upholding the qualities that made them popular. College sports have embedded themselves into American culture because they create tight-knit communities and foster traditions that would not be present in the profit-motivated professional leagues. Unfortunately, the NCAA is abandoning its history and instead fostering a transition into becoming a de facto minor league. If college sports continue to uproot their life source, then America can say goodbye to a pastime that has helped shape its history.