Eli Drinkwitz Comments on Chaotic State of College Sports, Eligibility

There's few faces in college sports better to ask for an opinion than Eli Drinkwitz. So, you can imagine, that when prompted to give thoughts on the current state of eligibility, lawsuits and fluidity that's better suited to be described as a flood than fluid motion, he did so with great passion.

It began with a reminder not to believe everything you see on Twitter.

"Well, I was sent a text that says tweets by Ross Dellenger aren't considered to be facts — always factual — and I've had that lesson happen to me before too," Drinkwitz said Saturday. "So, you know, I I got a lot to say on the subject, but I've been saying this for three years now that college football, college athletics is not in a great place."

The seventh-year Missouri head coach is referring to the uncertainty around which players are eligible. Earlier in the summer, injunctions and temporary restraining orders allowed members of the high school class of 2022 to be eligible for a fifth year of college competition, attempting to grandfather in the class to the reshaped eligibility laws that provide every college athlete five seasons of competition to complete in five years, beginning on either their 19th birthday or their beginning of school, whichever occurs first.

More recently, the NCAA and its conferences have been in legal battles with players all summer, with the latest chapter being conferences opposing players who have signed professional contracts and are attempting to return to college. Events of such nature have caused mass confusion in who is eligible and who is not with the season just days away — five in Missouri's case.

"This stuff is not good for any student-athlete, and it's a direct reflection of our inability as leaders to come up with a plan," Drinkwitz said. "We spent all summer politicking the (Protect) College Sports Act, and then at the last moment, we all tried to get behind it. That's not how Washington D.C. works. We've been trying to do it for six years, and it took a while to get you know to even get on board. And now you see the results. You know if that if that bill has passed, this stuff is not happening right now because there's a framework for what the future of college athletics looks like."

Drinkwitz has repeatedly voiced support for the Protect College Sports Act this summer.

“This bill, while not perfect, does provide some clarity and some roadmap for success in the future, and I appreciate the very hard work that they have put in to try to create some sort of consensus and some sort of rules that will help move college athletics forward,” Drinkwitz said Aug. 2. “It is a long and hard road that we have been fighting for seven years. And so for there to be some sort of light at the end of the tunnel, I sure appreciate their hard work in trying to help make that happen.”

The bill would grant student-athletes one unrestricted transfer, with any subsequent transfer forcing the athlete to sit out an entire season. Currently, there are no restrictions on the quantity of transfers and the nature in which they occur — hundreds of players around the nation haven't spent more than one season at a school before joining another.

Circling back to the primary problem, though: nobody knows who's eligible to take the gridiron. Is the NCAA the law of the land? Is it individual conferences? Is it lawyers and courts?

"Mike Elko said it a couple days ago. The season's kicked off and we do not know what the rules are for eligibility? That's embarrassing, man. This is the second-biggest sport in the United States — most watched sport in the United States — and for us to be operating like this is a complete clown show, and it's disappointing. And coaches have been on the forefront of saying this, and it's been ignored. It's been ignored. A you know I would say now this is what they get. That's what that's what they've got, and so you know administrators and courtrooms have got to figure out what the rules are now, and we've been saying this for years and years and years."

In the meantime, it seems coaches and programs around the nation will add players to rosters unless enforced not to. LSU has a pledge from former Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Jack Pyburn, who spent the preseason with the Buccs and played four seasons of college football prior. Pyburn reportedly plans to re-join LSU if he does not make Tampa Bay's final roster.

If other programs are adding former professionals, Drinkwitz will do what he can to keep up, if he's told he can do so.

"I'm going to focus on my team," Drinkwitz said. "If I'm told that I can add players, then then I'll look to add players. I'm going to do whatever I'm supposed to do to help the University of Missouri win. That's my job. That's that's what the president, the board, and the fans expect out of me. So, whatever the rules are, we'll try to play by those rules. It would just be nice if those rules weren't adjusted by tweets on social media or by courtrooms or lawyers. But that's our fault because we didn't pass the bill to get it done."

Drinkwitz emphasized that there is, in fact, a way to solve the eligibility crisis.

"Yes, there's a way. It's called pass the (Protect) College Sports Act, sponsored by Ted Cruz, (Maria) Cantwell, and. by Eric Schmitt. Is it perfect? Nope. Nobody said it was perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than what we're doing right now, and that's what we've been saying. You know, the House of Representatives had an opportunity to pass a bill. They they couldn't get it done. The Senate took it on. They tried to work really hard to pass it. It was bipartisan, but it took forever for major conferences to get on board with it, and that that hurt us.

"Now, you know we're going to be subject to this, and we'll find out if the SEC's position is defensible and legal. I don't know, but any hope of us having breakaway, or whatever, I guess will depend on this court case because that threat's going to be going to avoid if it doesn't win. So we'll see. I mean, a lot's up in the air for college sports. Coach Saban said it best, so I'm sticking with what Coach Saban said."

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