NIL
Tom Izzo calls transfer portal ‘way worse’ for college basketball than NIL
Since the NIL era began, Tom Izzo hasn’t been shy about his thoughts on the state of college sports. He has also been vocal about the transfer portal’s impact on college basketball and reiterated that this week.
Speaking with CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein, Izzo said the portal is “way worse” for college basketball because of the amount of tampering he sees. He called back to his comments in March when the transfer window opened ahead of the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament when he called out players getting messages during the season.
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Izzo also agreed with Arkansas coach John Calipari’s sentiment regarding a one-time transfer rule. That, he argued, would help cut down on concerns coaches have about tampering.
“I said the transfer portal is way worse than the NIL even though, who knows how much money you have to come up with?” Izzo said. “What the transfer portal does is it gives a lot of middlemen a chance to come in. And what I think is bothering me and my sport the most is the way people are tampering with people throughout the year. [A one-time transfer rule] would eliminate some of that.
“Even in the NFL, NBA, you don’t tamper with a guy who’s got a four-year contract. You don’t even think about it.”
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Tom Izzo calls out ‘dirtbags that are tampering’
Last year, the transfer portal opened as teams were making their preparations for the Sweet Sixteen. Michigan State was one of those teams, and Tom Izzo gave a passionate response about having college basketball’s version of “free agency” take place during the season.
But he also argued the portal doesn’t “close,” per se, during the year because of the interest players get while with their current program. Izzo said that’s what stands out the most about the state of college basketball and reiterated how a one-time transfer rule could play a role in settling things at least a bit.
“I went on that rant during the NCAA tournament last year about, why is all the interest now on the portal when it opened?” Izzo said. “I said, the portal has been open since September. The portal never closes because we have too many dirtbags that are tampering with people and players. I love when my guys have an NBA agent. It’s the other agents that kill you.
“I love when people are upfront. But I think the worst thing I see is the tampering, believe it or not, and I think one-time transfer would help that.”
The Athletic has live coverage of Oregon vs. Indiana in the 2025 College Football Playoff semifinals.
When David Pollack played linebacker at the University of Georgia from 2001-04, he was considered one of the best defenders in the country: a two-time consensus All-American and a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year.
But when he played the game in college, NIL (name, image and likeness) deals didn’t exist, and active players were not named in athletic video games. In the EA Sports College Football series, Pollack knew he was No. 47 for Georgia.
Pollack now sees the video game as more than entertainment or a fun way to pass the time. The game can also be a tool of instruction for coaches at all levels, particularly those coaching young children and adolescents. In addition to being a recognized college football analyst, Pollack is a defensive line coach at North Oconee High in Bogart, Ga.
Also on his resume: He’s one of the voices of EA Sports College Football 26 as an analyst.
Teaching players about schemes and how to react on the field has become reality for him as a coach with the help of video games such as EA Sports College Football 26 and Madden NFL 26. He’s a believer of the method and has seen the return on investment.
“I can’t tell you how many of my kids that I’ve coached (using video games) over these years,” Pollack said, “and they were really little, too — 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old.”
EA Sports College Football 26 includes more than 2,800 new plays and 45 new formations. Madden NFL 26 features a playbook expansion of more than 1,000 plays. Football video games have come a long way from the days of Tecmo Bowl, a 1980s-released game featuring only 12 pro teams and four offensive plays per team on the Nintendo 8-bit console.
Because of technology becoming so advanced, studying plays by way of video games can resemble studying in real life to football players of all ages. Coaches can talk football jargon with younger players who are familiar with it from the video games. Players are understanding what offensive schemes work best against certain defenses. Conversely, they are learning multiple defenses and what might be the best option to contain an offense.
“With Madden, with College Football, these kids learn what Cover 2 is, what Cover 3 is, what Cover 4 is,” Pollack said. “The games have gotten to be so detailed that it’s correct.”
David Pollack, now an assistant coach at North Oconee High in Georgia, was a star linebacker for the Georgia Bulldogs. On video games, he knew he was No. 47 for the Bulldogs. (Joshua L. Jones / USA Today)
Statistically, EA Sports College Football 26, released in July, is again among the best-selling games, ranking fifth and trailing only NBA 2K26 among sports games, according to GameStop. College football was brought back to video game consoles in July 2024 with EA Sports College Football 25, the first such game since 2013. EA Sports College Football 25 was the second-highest selling game of 2024, according to GameStop. There were 2.2 million unique players during early access in July 2024, per EA Sports.
Pollack said many young football players he’s worked with who have gravitated toward video games as an entry point to the sport show up with a deeper understanding of the game. And with the College Football Playoff now in full swing, there is a sample size of a fan base that learned about the significance of the tournament through gaming, despite having no connection to any of the 12 teams originally selected for competition. (Miami beat Ole Miss on Thursday to advance to the CFP Championship. The Hurricanes will face the winner of Friday’s semifinal between Indiana and Oregon.)
Young fans as gamers, however, are looking for realism down to the smallest detail. EA Sports creative director Scott O’Gallagher said a lot of the feedback the company receives from gamers goes beyond gameplay. With football video games, there are gamers who want to see players in the right helmet style, the right style of shoe, even the correct number of wristbands. That detail, O’Gallagher said, resonates particularly when young gamers are playing with the team that features certain athletes they admire.
Before becoming immersed in video games as a career, O’Gallagher was an NAIA basketball All-American at Warner Pacific University in Portland, Ore. He played professionally overseas in Europe and Australia. He learned as a professional athlete in Europe that passionate fans care about every aspect of their favorite team.
The details that go into making football video games as real as possible include keeping the playbook updated. EA Sports works throughout the season to add any wrinkles to the playbook that can be added to its games. A young player can follow a team they like and not only understand what plays are used, but also see the changes over the course of the season.
“We’re a live service, so if things are happening during the year, we’re definitely going out there and trying to add them,” O’Gallagher said. “I can talk to one of our playbook guys about what USC was doing and say, ‘Hey, did we get this? It’s a new wrinkle that Lincoln Riley’s put in. Let’s make sure we have it.’”
A more intricate game doesn’t just help Pollack’s young players, but also gives more for Pollack to discuss in his role as an in-game analyst. When recording for the game, it’s no longer about simply saying “first down.” Announcers will record game analysis in studios with tons of energy but without seeing an actual play. They will spend hours preparing to record for several scenarios.
“The technology’s getting so much better that we’re able to do so much more now and give layered concepts,” Pollack said. “It’s crazy how much they can learn about the game and are ahead of the curve on playing the real game.”
Football education by way of video games isn’t limited to a specific squad, either. Evan Dexter, EA Sports vice president of brand and marketing, said data shows football games make a strong connection with young fans who don’t have allegiance to a particular team.
“If you were to pull the analytics of (College Football) 25 and 26, I’m sure Colorado is being used far more than what you might think, based on the population of alumni or people geographically around the school,” Dexter said, referring to the popularity of Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and quarterback Shedeur Sanders, who led Colorado during the 2024 season.
“It’s certainly true that younger sports fans will abandon allegiance in favor of some form of hero worship, some form of individual superstar,” Dexter said. “As the sport becomes a little more superstar driven, the Travis Hunters move through it, and the Arch Mannings (of Texas) and those narratives start to transcend the old-school rivalries.”
Whether rivalries are traditional or budding, the evolution of football video games will continue to be an introduction to the sport for young gamers who ultimately want to become football players. They’ll now have a lot more than four plays to choose from to learn the game.
“It’s definitely raising the football intelligence of kids all around the world by playing the game and understanding what’s going on,” Pollack said.
SEATTLE — In this edition of Inside the Arena, Niko is back from the Seahawks’ huge win in Santa Clara and sounding off on the sudden departure of UW QB Demond Williams and what it means for the future of NIL.
Plus, Chris introduces us to the RailSpur development in Pioneer Square, which has been boosted by bonus Mariners and now Seahawks games in advance of the 2026 World Cup.
RELATED | Seahawks secure No. 1 seed in NFC and division title with dominant 13-3 win over 49ers
The Seahawks will play the lowest remaining seed in the NFC Divisional Round on either Jan. 17 or 18.
You can also watch previous episodes of Inside the Arena on the KOMO News YouTube page.
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Jan. 9, 2026, 1:23 p.m. ET
- Chris Wash has resigned from his position as UCF basketball’s general manager.
- The resignation is effective immediately and was made to prioritize pressing family health matters.
- Wash joined the UCF staff in June 2025 after working as a talent evaluator and NIL agent.
Chris Wash has resigned from his role as UCF basketball’s general manager and special assistant to head coach Johnny Dawkins, effective immediately, according to a press release from OG6 Sports Management.
Wash, who joined the staff in June 2025, made the decision prior to the team’s Jan. 6 game at Oklahoma State in order to “prioritize pressing family matters, including a recent health diagnosis within his immediate family that requires his time, focus and presence.”
Per the statement, Wash is “grateful for the opportunity to have been part of the UCF basketball program and appreciates the understanding and professionalism shown throughout this process. He looks forward to returning to the sport in the future when circumstances allow.”
A former national talent evaluator, Wash previously served as an NIL agent for college football and basketball athletes. He worked for more than a decade as a loan officer prior to entering the college athletics space.
UCF, currently ranked No. 25 in the AP poll, has a 12-2 record on the season and will host Cincinnati at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 11.
Jan. 9, 2026, 3:31 p.m. ET
GLENDALE, AZ — There was some strange symmetry to it all, a torch passing no one saw coming.
Miami, everyone, is built and playing like an SEC team.
The SEC, meanwhile, just polished off a postseason where it lost a conference-record eight games against other conferences.
“We line up, and we want to punish you on offense and defense,” said Miami defensive end Akheem Mesidor. “You’re going to have to play your absolute best game to beat us.”
Well, well. Now who does that sound like?
Here’s a hint: the bully on the block that has fallen, and can’t seem to figure out why or how to get back up.
From dominating college football with 14 national titles since 2003, to the fateful irony of the SEC brought back to the pack by its own greed.
The SEC wanted Texas and Oklahoma, wanted to drastically change the conference footprint of the sport, and then sat and watched while the Big Ten panicked and did the same, while the Pac-12 was eaten and eliminated (it ain’t the same now, people), and while the Big 12 and ACC were relegated to second citizens.
The SEC, along with the Big Ten, then grabbed control of the postseason and threatened to take their ball and go home unless everyone fell in line. They want more access to the postseason, and they’ll surely receive the lion’s share of revenue from what could be a near $2 billion annually expanded College Football Playoff. Like it or not.
They wanted unregulated NIL and free player movement, or at the very least, did next to nothing to stop it. They, along with every other FBS university, knew for 16 months that states of California and Florida had passed bills that would become law in June of 2021 — and did nothing about it.
They punted, and begged Congress for help. Imagine that, two self-interested and wildly dysfunctional entities trying to figure out a massively complex financial and structural problem.
What could go wrong?
The bigger question is, what did they think the rest of college football would do? Certainly not sit and take it.
There are millionaires and billionaires who love their universities and are obsessive about winning. Throw open the doors to NIL and free player movement — and legalized big booster involvement — and watch how quickly the SEC looks like the ACC.
Watch how quickly Alabama comes back to the pack, and Georgia can’t get out of the quarterfinals in the CFP. How quickly LSU and Florida and Texas A&M spend hundreds of millions of dollars to fire coaches and start over.
More to the point, watch how quickly the deep-pocket Cody Campbells of the world begin to simply play by the rules laid out by the SEC and Big Ten ― and build teams that look and play like SEC teams of the past.
Want to know why Texas Tech won the Big 12 for the first time in school history, and won a school-record 12 games? It had one of the best defensive lines in the nation, and a Top 5 scoring defense.
Want to know how Miami has finally found itself again after more than two decades of stumbling around like NC State? The Canes have the best defensive line in the nation, with two edge rushers who will be Top 15 NFL Draft picks.
Remember all of those nasty and dominating defensive lines at Alabama and Georgia, all of those NFL draft picks? Nothing defined SEC dominance, SEC national titles, quite like physical, game-changing defensive linemen.
Now they’re leaving high school and/or the transfer portal for the highest bidder. The idea of playing for the SEC, while certainly tempting, is quickly trumped by another zero at the end of a paycheck.
“More options for players, that’s the big thing,” said Miami safety Keionte Scott. “If it’s not working for whatever reason at another place, there are options.”
It wasn’t working for Scott at Auburn, which hasn’t found an answer since firing Gus Malzahn after the 2020 season. So Scott became one of six transfer starters on Miami’s defense — including the entire secondary — and is now a game away from a national championship.
Meanwhile, the SEC hasn’t looked further away from winning it all ― having gone three straight seasons without playing in the national championship game for the first time since 2000-2002.
Go ahead and expand the CFP to 16 or 20 or 24 teams. Go ahead and continue to declare players don’t want to be employees, and avoid the one thing that could deliver some semblance of control to a player procurement process with no guardrails — just because you don’t want to share more money when collectively bargaining.
And Indiana, with the largest alumni base in college football, will continue to spend its way out of the NCAA cellar. Will beat Georgia to sign Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza.
Miami, with its deep pocket boosters begging for a return to glory, will do the same.
So will Texas Tech and Utah and BYU and SMU and … see where this is headed?
Right to the end of SEC dominance.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB.
“Chance has built an outstanding resume of scouting, evaluating and recruiting experience at the FBS, Power Four and NFL levels,” Rodriguez said “His wide-spread experience and knowledge in these areas, along with being a West Virginia football legacy, will make an immediate impact in our program.”
Throughout his career, Trickett has experience leading player evaluation, roster construction and long-term talent strategy at the college and NFL levels. He has proven his ability to build multi-year roster plans, aligning evaluation with financial strategy, integrating and leveraging analytics and networks to identify top prospects and cultural long-term fits. He has a strong network across high school, college, financial and agency circles with a track record of identifying undervalued talent and maximizing roster efficiency.
Trickett joins the WVU football staff after spending almost 10 years as a college area scout in the Los Angeles Rams organization. He served one year as the director of football recruiting at Louisiana Tech and was at Florida State for two years as a recruiting assistant.
While with the Rams, he led comprehensive player evaluations integrating film, analytics, verified measurables and psychological/cognitive components to support draft board construction and roster strategy decisions. He also produced in-depth positional value assessments and roster impact reports for multi-year draft planning and contract strategy. He developed internal valuation reports and roster strategy that models and mirrors current NIL/college market structures. He also integrated advanced scouting technology to enhance accuracy in player projection and long-term roster planning.
Trickett was awarded the BART List Award for scouting excellence in 2025 and given the “inside the league” scout/agent organization’s Best Draft Award in 2024.
A native of Morgantown, he earned his bachelor’s degree from Florida State in 2011.
Trickett, and his wife, Ashley, have two children, Tristan and Matthew.
The decision to head to the NFL instead of returning to college can be a complicated choice. Massive NIL payouts, potential NFL landing spots, and the solidity of a returning team are several factors that go into the stay-or-go calculus.
But with the 2026 NFL Draft QB class looking a bit thin already, some are second-guessing one QB’s plan to return to school.
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss is in the middle of requesting another year of college eligibility from the NCAA. Chambliss is claiming that he missed the 2022 season due to respiratory health issues and is thus seeking one more year to play. His NIL value is likely to end up at several times the $665,000 estimate from On3sports.
ESPN broadcaster Chase Daniel second-guessed Chambliss’s decision to return to school. “Trinidad Chambliss should absolutely think abotu entering the draft after the way he’s played in the #CFBPlayoff,” Daniel Tweeted. “Light QB draft,” he also noted.
The 2026 NFL Draft class is highlighted by Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and, should he enter, Oregon’s Dante Moore. Many are projecting both of those quarterbacks at or near the top of the Draft. But after Mendoza and Moore, things get increasingly cloudy.
Alabama’s Ty Simpson has indicated his plan to enter the Draft. Other veteran QBs like Carson Beck and Cade Klubnik figure to be in the picture. But it’s entirely plausible that NFL teams could view Chambliss as the No. 3 or No. 4 QB prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft class.
Chambliss rose to prominence seemingly from nowhere in 2025. He sat for two years at Division II Ferris State and then played mostly as a reserve in 2023. In 2024, though, he passed for 2,901 yards and 26 scores while rushing for 1,019 yards and 25 scores on the ground while leading Ferris State to the national title.
He began 2025 as the backup for Ole Miss’s Austin Simmons. But an ankle injury in Week 2 gave Chambliss a chance to play and he didn’t relinquish the job. Chambliss wound up passing for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns against just three interceptions. He ran for an additional 527 yards and eight touchdowns.
Of course, an adverse NCAA ruling might leave Chambliss with no real choice but to go pro. He has inked a tentative NIL deal with Ole Miss based on the premise that he will be given eligibility. That deal has been indicated as likely worth several million dollars. But Daniel thinks even better NFL money could be in Chambliss’s future… if he seeks it.
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