If NIL is the great separator, the transfer portal is the great equalizer.
College athletics has been very confusing the last few years, thanks to the implementation of Name-Image-Likeness allowing certain amateur athletes to be paid like pros. That only applies to a small percentage of elite jocks who make the big bucks from their NILs.
But while the transfer portal allows athletes to jump schools without having to sit out a year, more of them do it for playing time than the possible NIL money some of them could make. Most coaches don’t like NIL being used as an inducement to sign a scholarship or transfer, and so far it has only made the rich programs get richer.
Since no one seems to be in charge of regulating and policing, we are left with the results on the field to ponder. And so far, in a very short sample size, it looks like the portal is making more of an impact than the money that is being paid to some athletes.
Look at the Sun Belt Conference, for example.
That league seems to be benefiting by having more older players – four-, five- and six-year guys – some from staying in school and bulking up, some from redshirting and some from the extra year of COVID eligibility, all of which could come from the transfer portal.
Football and basketball players learn quickly where they stand among their teammates and opponents, regarding their pro potential. A lack of playing time is causing a lot of movement, and much of it is resulting in players leaving Power 5 schools for mid-majors. Maybe they realize the NFL or NBA isn’t in their futures, or maybe they think that with more minutes the pro scouts will finally know their names.
The Sun Belt has only two schools with losing records after two weeks of playing Power 5 opponents. One of them is Georgia State, which has lost close games to South Carolina and North Carolina. App State is 1-1, barely losing to UNC before stunning then sixth-ranked Texas A&M in College Station.
Old Dominion opened the season by upsetting Virginia Tech, which seemed to indicate the Hokies are in a rebuilding year under a new head coach. Then they began ACC play by whipping Boston College.
The net result is that Power 5s may welcome league play more than ever, where there is less depth and experience across the lines of scrimmage than with these hungry mid-majors one level down.
Featured image via Associated Press/Sam Craft
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