John Calipari is head coach for the University of Arkansas men’s basketball team and former president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
A few years ago, producers of the Showtime program “Billions” asked me to make a cameo. The script called for me to address a hedge fund staff at the center of the series — and provide guidance for making responsible decisions in a world of ruthless competition and reshuffled priorities. Looking back, their world seems simple compared to the one college athletes and coaches navigate now.
For nearly five decades, I’ve been privileged to watch college athletics change lives. My focus has always been on my team and being transformational to my players.
Though that remains the mission of many coaches, we are confronting a new model of college athletics that seems less focused on providing young people with educational opportunities and more concerned with running from conflict and criticism. Student-athletes received the long-deserved opportunity in 2021 to make money off their name, image and likeness, but why have we let everything else turn to chaos since? Coaches, athletes and fans no longer know what the rules are because they seem to change every time someone challenges the leadership at the NCAA. Everyone seems to get amateur eligibility, can come and go from schools as they please, and stay in college as many years as they’d like.
There are current college basketball players who have played professionally or have been selected in the NBA draft. There are student-athletes who are at their fourth and fifth college and several who are older than NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who played his last college game for me eight years ago. While this plays out, college students are transferring so frequently that they’re not staying on track to earn a degree.
We must fix this so it maximizes the earning potential of young athletes and underscores the impact education has on their lives. Coaches have been transformational for families for years, but we have recently become too transactional.
There is no sustainable path in college athletics that doesn’t address these three things: First, student-athletes should have their opportunities for scholarships protected and get to compete against players who are their age. Second, transfer rules, which now allow players to leave one school for another as often as they’d like, need stability. This will help education remain the heart of colleges and universities. Third, protect the free market and rights of young people to fairly earn what their local markets can offer, which will require more revenue from teams.
But can the NCAA implement a model that accomplishes this? If it can lobby Congress to provide antitrust protection and give it the ability to create effective rules, then probably yes. But is that a reasonable expectation? No.
If a legislative solution isn’t possible, the athletic conferences should take the lead by forming an alliance. This could require collective bargaining with athletes as a special class of nonemployees. They should be provided concessions as part of this negotiation: health care, retirement accounts, scholarships for up to four years after their athletic eligibility ends.
This new alliance should ask for uniform athlete contracts for schools, professional certification for agents representing players, clear transfer rules and eligibility criteria that don’t hurt 17-, 18- and 19-year-olds by allowing professionals to return to college or athletes to stay in school for six, seven and eight years.
If the conferences are not able to lead, there’s another option: creating sport-specific entities that govern themselves and oversee rules creating the best environment for student-athletes. What works for football doesn’t always work for swimming. These entities could negotiate broadcast deals similar to professional leagues. This would generate more revenue and keep conferences intact.
Three rule changes can bring stability and clarity to college athletics while protecting players’ rights.
One-time transfer without penalty: Coaches generally support allowing athletes to transfer once without penalty and allowing a second transfer without penalty if their coach leaves the program. This allows movement with some stability. Federal courts have ruled that such restrictions on transferring violate antitrust law. However, Congress could create a carve-out to address this legal obstacle.
Clear eligibility guidelines: The old rule of giving student-athletes the chance to compete for four seasons in a five-year period worked great, but it’s no longer being enforced. A new model could still allow athletes to transfer at least twice and play four years of college sports, but their athletic eligibility clock should start ticking as soon as they graduate high school. If you don’t decide to come to college until you’re 21, your athletic eligibility shouldn’t be on the same timeline as a 17-year-old high school graduate. Additionally, student-athletes who stay at a school for four years should receive a fifth year of eligibility.
Reward athletes for staying at their school: To avoid “pay for play” contracts with athletes from on-campus NIL collectives (booster-funded groups paying players for marketing arrangements), the NCAA requires all contracts a player receives to go through an NIL review process by an independent body for approval as a true marketing deal. This has sparked confusion and lawsuits as NIL collectives have their contracts denied for not having a “true business purpose.”
Instead of fighting these collectives, can we use them to keep young people on track for graduation? Can we keep these collectives out of recruiting high school players and college transfers but allow them to work with athletes who have been on campus for at least two semesters and have brand value in their local market? NIL collective deals with current or returning athletes should not be subject to an outside review process. The school’s athletic department should monitor the deals. This change could result in the free market dictating that an athlete’s value is often highest at their current school. This could keep more athletes on a graduation track by not changing schools every spring.
I don’t have all the answers, but we are at a critical moment that doesn’t allow us to sit on our hands. Let’s start a dialogue. Let’s move fast. Let’s include all stakeholders in the conversation. Let’s do it for our young people and the sports that have changed so many lives.
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