The NCAA will now "allow" multiple "free" transfers. Only time you can't transfer, and be eligible, is during the season. Who knows if this is good or bad for us. It does mean that if we get a transfer from a higher level team, who then has a great season, he can then move back up a level after he has "rehabilitated" himself. Maybe we should just be satisfied to get that one great season. On the other hand, a player who moves "up" and doesn't get much playing time, can then move back down the next season (we may be "in on" one such player). Regardless, the days of roster stability and watching young players develop from freshman to seniors is over. I guess as a fan I might as well accept this or move on to some other hobby.

There has to be some sort of penalty on the players for accepting a scholarship and then transferring. I never have bought into this "it's all about the players" argument. If there is going to be any stability in the sport, then there has to be some sort of inertia applied to what has become a constant anthill of movement in the sport. Do the schools not matter - at all? Do the fans not matter? Who is paying the bill in all this? Is there no vested interest anywhere in some sort of stability in the sport?

Just for the record, I think the new NCAA President is a total train wreck.

(04-18-2024 01:24 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  There has to be some sort of penalty on the players for accepting a scholarship and then transferring. I never have bought into this "it's all about the players" argument. If there is going to be any stability in the sport, then there has to be some sort of inertia applied to what has become a constant anthill of movement in the sport. Do the schools not matter - at all? Do the fans not matter? Who is paying the bill in all this? Is there no vested interest anywhere in some sort of stability in the sport?

Pappy, I obviously agree with your point of view. But, the reality is that the NCAA loses every time they go to court. From a strictly legal point of view, you can't stop a player from jumping from one school to another, anymore than you can stop an employee from switching to a higher paying job at a "better" company. Maybe "student" athletes will eventually have to sign contracts, like NBA players, that tie them to a school for 2 years (or whatever). Eventually, the pendulum will swing back in the other direction, but at this point there seems to be no ceiling on how much Power schools will pay star athletes.

I have just about dumped D1 in favor of D3 and NAIA, where the kids still play for the fun of it.

(04-18-2024 07:31 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  I have just about dumped D1 in favor of D3 and NAIA, where the kids still play for the fun of it.

I certainly can understand why you feel that way. I will continue to support UALR as long as I live in Little Rock. While I believe we are trying to get some NIL money for our players, their checks will likely be in the range that players probably should have been getting for years. They won't be checks anywhere near the 500K to a million or more players at the Power schools are apparently getting. I slowly moved away from being a pro sports fan because of the money athletes were getting paid and constant movement of star players. Eventually, it might drive me away from DI college sports as well.