Big Ten Daily (April 12): Tom Izzo 'Questioning' State of College Basketball
Add Tom Izzo to the growing list of coaches who is concerned about the state of college basketball. The longtime coach at Michigan State expressed some worries about the sport and his profession in an interview with The Jim Rome Show.
With the college basketball season now officially over, players are flocking to the NCAA transfer portal. Some are searching for more playing time and others are hoping to receive better NIL opportunities. Essentially, it's become free agency in college athletics.
While speaking with Rome, Izzo made it clear that he still enjoys his job and the chance to coach at a high level. But he does have some serious concerns about the current state of the sport.
"I love my job, I love the players, I love the practices, I love the games. I love my job," Izzo said. "I'm really questioning our profession right now. That would be the best way I could put it.
"I've always hoped players can make more money, we should have done more for them in some ways. I'm not big on the transfer portal. And I'm not big on — there's not a sport in America that has no salary cap, without contracts. Everybody says we have a one year deal. Technically, it's a one day deal. I mean, every day somebody can leave. ... That part of it is concerning."
Izzo's comments echo those made by Iowa coach Fran McCaffery just a few weeks ago. The leader of the Hawkeyes voiced frustration with the transfer portal opening during the NIT and NCAA tournaments, as well as a lack of guardrails from the NCAA.
"Just another ridiculous, idiotic move. You know, the portal was nuts, anyway. Somehow, some way, we have to figure out that mess, because it's an absolute mess. And it's created by the organization that's supposed to make sure that there isn't a mess — that's what's really disappointing McCaffery said.
"I think we can all agree, at some level — if you go back, all of the rules were written for one thing and one thing only, and that was to protect the institution. There were no rules that protected student-athletes. Now, it's completely the other way. I think we can all agree, they're no longer student-athletes. They're professional athletes. And that's OK. They deserve to be paid. NIL is a good thing. Everybody thinks it's a horrible thing, it's a good thing. "But until we have a two-way street which is, you get paid but you have a contract. You can't get paid and be a free agent at every point in time. Just completely idiotic to think that situation would work."
At some point, the NCAA is going to have to rethink its current situation. The best solution seems to be signing players to multi-year contracts to stop the frequent movement in the transfer portal. We'll see if it happens anytime in the near future.
Big Ten football spring games
On Saturday, three Big Ten teams will hit the field for their annual spring game, concluding the spring practice schedule. Ohio State, Purdue and Penn State will all be on the turf on Saturday and all three spring games will be televised.
Here's the schedule for Saturday's three Big Ten spring games:
- Ohio State Buckeyes — 12 p.m. ET (TV: FOX)
- Purdue Boilermakers — 12 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
- Penn State Nittany Lions — 2 p.m. ET (TV: Big Ten Network)
Related stories
- NORTHWESTERN FINDS HOME FIELD: Although Ryan Field is under construction for the next two seasons, the Northwestern football team has found a solution for home football games in 2024 and 2025. CLICK HERE
- BIG TEN DAILY: For the first time ever, the women's national championship had a larger audience than the men's national championship. Plus, a few way-too-early rankings have already been released for next college basketball season. CLICK HERE