The NCAA men’s basketball tournament experienced much less “madness” than we have become accustomed to seeing in previous years. (Nathan Rich) Remember during March Madness when it actually felt like anything could happen? When underdogs shocked the world and players became campus legends? When Cinderella teams squeaked through round after round and into our hearts? […]
Remember during March Madness when it actually felt like anything could happen? When underdogs shocked the world and players became campus legends? When Cinderella teams squeaked through round after round and into our hearts? Well, this is no longer the reality. The clock has struck twelve, and that glass slipper has been replaced by a designer shoe with a hefty price tag.
Name, Image and Likeness transformed college basketball faster than anyone predicted. While it has been evident in college football for a while, the adverse effects of NIL might be more apparent in basketball. Although, please do not get me wrong — players deserve compensation. However, as we near the conclusion of the month of college basketball, it’s clear that NIL has fundamentally altered the madness, and not for the better.
Today’s college basketball landscape looks more like a game of musical chairs. The transfer portal has become college basketball’s auction, where teams bid with NIL packages rather than culture, merit or chemistry. Over the past six seasons, 4,360 men’s basketball student-athletes have transferred to or from a Division I basketball program. Teams now spend more time recruiting from other college rosters than high schools. The days of watching a freshman grow into a senior leader are nearly extinct.
Schools in major markets or with wealthy donor collectives can offer seven-figure deals to five-star recruits before they’ve dribbled a single basketball on campus. Meanwhile, mid-major programs — the traditional breeding ground for those magical Cinderella stories — couldn’t compete with the level of the significant teams with the major recruits, at least during this March Madness. While the basketball talent gap was already vast, NIL has made that gap even more expansive, and unfortunately, until there is a change, I don’t see the landscape reverting back.
The NCAA exploited athletes for decades while administrators and coaches made millions. Again, I’m not against players getting paid, but there must be a middle ground between exploitation and the collegiate version of free agency we’re witnessing now.
What made college basketball special was its unpredictability, regional flavor and the genuine connection between schools and the players who represented them. When a player becomes so blinded by the highest bidder, something fundamental about college sports dies.
March Madness was once our national celebration of possibility — where David could slay Goliath with nothing but heart, hustle and a hot shooting night. Now, it’s becoming a showcase for which university boosters open their checkbooks widest.
Pour one out for the busted brackets and the magical runs that defined March Madness. When George Mason University made the Final Four in 2006, when Butler University came within inches of a national title in 2010 and when University of Maryland, Baltimore County shocked the University of Virginia — these moments etched themselves into college basketball lore because they weren’t supposed to happen. Will they ever happen again? Only time will tell.
