NCAA Football Transfer Portal: Coach v.s. Player Option(s).

The Transfer Portal

With the institution of the transfer portal, college sports have been infused with more controversy. There is already a hot debate to whether college athletes should be paid- with how much money they make for their respective university. The NCAA implemented the portal to help aid with a more streamlined transfer process for student-athletes.

The NCAA didn't create the portal to be "free-agent signing", but to more easily assess a potential transfers eligibility. What it has become may be something different. Thus begins the debate.

Student-Athlete Options

Athletes are now able to have themselves listed on the transfer portal if they wish to attend a different university that may offer them more playing time. This has sparked a heated debate among coaches, players, and fans. Coaches hate to lose players, players want to play, and fans want to see loyalty. Is it wrong for a player, who has worked countless hours, to want to have more playing time? Absolutely not!

These athletes have dedicated their life to a sport in hopes of showcasing their talent. They have overcome countless hurdles to be noticed by a collegiate program to further their dream. Their parents have likely invested time and money to help meet this end. It is more than understandable that a competitive athlete will not be content with riding the bench.

Coaches do not want to lose depth on their teams. Injuries happen and your bench depth becomes very important. Coaches must also realize that not all players are happy in a supporting role. I personally know of an athlete that chose to stay in his hometown and run the practice squad for the local mid-major division 1 football team. His decision was to keep him planted in the community he loved so much. Not all athletes have this desire, they want to play and are willing to move hundreds or thousands of miles away from home to accomplish their goal.

Coaches Options

I will use a recent event to illustrate coaches options. Recently, Michigan State University had their head football coach resign, later than normally would happen; just one day ahead of national signing day. This sent them into a frenzy searching for a new head coach. They were met with rejection at every turn. Their number one target rejected them in humiliating fashion.

Ultimately, they circled back to someone on their initial target list- someone that had already turned down the opportunity. MSU ended up making an offer to this coach he could not refuse- they doubled his salary and gave him more money to hire a coaching staff than even the previous head coach at MSU had. 

Making things even more interesting, the coach who turned down a job, came around to accept the new position- making many call him a liar. This coach had also made critical remarks of the NCAA transfer portal, roughly stating that student-athletes need to understand that there is no transfer portal in "real-life." Except, hadn't he just proved this statement is factually untrue?

What now?

Why do coaches have the ability to spurn a contract, yet student-athletes don't seem to enjoy the same flexibility? I believe that if an athlete is not playing or getting the playing time they feel they deserve, there should be options for them- to a degree. The NCAA cannot just let every player switch every year they want, but why? Simply put, parody. If a student-athlete starts every game for a losing team- they should not be able to transfer just to join a winning team. This would absolutely destroy the small amount of parody college sports enjoy.

However, an athlete that rarely plays should be able to list themselves on the portal to see if another school can offer them more opportunity to play. Coaches have to understand the competitive nature of their athletes and allow them to make decisions about their future. Student-athletes should enjoy the ability to change their mind and find a new school that will put them on the field of play and live out their dream. It may not always be fun for a coach or fan, but imagine the agony an athlete feels when they feel trapped in a program that is not fulfilling their dream to play the sport they love!