Chris Collins Talks Northwestern's Future, NIL and Transfer Portal

The Wildcats have the groundwork in place to continue their recent run of successful seasons.

Jan 19, 2025; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Northwestern Wildcats head coach Chris Collins talks to his players during a time out in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines at Crisler Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

As the college sports world changes with the emergence of NIL and the transfer portal, Northwestern's approach to roster-building must adapt as well.

Across all sports, particularly football and men's and women's basketball, Wildcat teams have typically been programs built on age and experience. Athletes who come to Northwestern have done so to earn a degree from a top 10 university while they compete in the Big Ten, rather than receiving a wad of cash in a McDonald's bag to play elsewhere. Most NU teams are led by senior stars with a program emphasis on growth and development.

However, the ease of the transfer portal and legal pathway to pay athletes via NIL — combined with a lack of government and NCAA regulation — has put the Wildcats in a tough spot.

While a college degree from Northwestern still remains the primary selling point, it's difficult to tell a 19-year-old with a million dollars in front of them that the degree is more important.

Northwestern and its sports programs have already begun to adapt to the evolving NIL world, albeit at a slower pace than other schools around the country.

Women's basketball head coach Joe McKeown welcomed his first transfer to the team in 2023, then added three this past season. The school was also forced to change its enrollment rules in order to fit the first football transfer window, and the 'Cats added their most transfers in program history (11) this offseason.

Chris Collins' men's basketball rosters have largely contained the same experienced players over the last five years, with graduate transfers filling in the gaps and providing depth. However, with Ty Berry, Matthew Nicholson and Brooks Barnhizer graduating this year, Northwestern will have several gaping holes in its lineup.

Northwestern Wildcats On SI spoke with Collins on Thursday following his final Big Ten Tournament press conference. Collins was asked if the Cats had enough resources to navigate the roster-building aspects of NIL and the transfer portal this offseason.

"I think we're positioned," Collins said. "I love what [Athletic Director] Mark Jackson has brought. I love his experience being at USC, being at Villanova, he gets it. And I think we're all on the same page to want to be competitive with the best of the best. I feel good. It's going to be a big offseason."

Jackson, who joined Northwestern in August, appears to share the same goals with Collins. After seeing how successfully the Wildcats implemented a football transfer strategy in the first portal window, NU fans should feel optimistic about the future of their men's basketball team.

Northwestern is set to welcome the No. 21 basketball recruiting class in the nation, led by four-star and No. 89 ranked prospect Tre Singleton. The Wildcats will benefit greatly from the additions of the five talented freshmen, but Collins also seems eager to utilize the transfer portal to ensure NU is one of the top teams in the Big Ten next season, and not in another rebuild.

"It's kind of the end of an era," Collins said. "We have this group of guys that has been together. Obviously, Nick [Martinelli] will be leading the way, but we'll have a bunch of freshmen, and we're gonna have to attack the portal as well."

Since 2022-23, Northwestern basketball has experienced its winningest three-year stretch in team history. Behind a seasoned coach in Collins and an athletic director in Jackson, who has put his full faith in the 'Cats' leader, Northwestern is primed to continue its stretch of success into the foreseeable future.