Add Nevada head coach Steve Alford to the list of coaches who don’t like the new era of college basketball, specifically the current NIL and transfer portal models.
The 60-year-old Alford went off about those issues Thursday night following his team’s loss to Colorado State in the Mountain West Tournament. There, a media member mentioned a story from earlier this week suggesting Alford might be eyeing retirement. He disputed that report, but when asked about the current state of college basketball, he vented.
“Five years ago, I wasn’t having a conversation saying, ‘How much do you want to be paid?’ Never thought that would happen in college basketball,” Alford said. “And I’ve always been a big proponent of, as the game and money has evolved and changed, I’ve never been one that said I don’t believe student-athletes shouldn’t be paid, but the way it is now is ridiculous. It’s utterly ridiculous. And it’s changed our game.
“And so you’ve got to adapt. We’ve got to adapt. But every coach does. Every handshake I have now before games, that’s brought up. Every game. Me and the opposing coach are going to talk about portal issues and where’s academics at.
“I’ve talked to my compliance guys. What’s (Academic Progress Report) anymore? You can’t control APR? It’s a JuCo. You’re going to have to replace eight, nine guys to a roster every year. The travel time that is across the country in these leagues, it makes no sense for that to be our model. But that is our model.”
Several prominent college coaches who have retired the past couple of years have cited NIL and the transfer portal changes at least in part for their decision. Those coaches include basketball coaches Jay Wright of Villanova, Tony Bennett (Virginia), Jim Larranaga (Miami) and Alabama football legend Nick Saban.
Yet Alford says he’s trying to adapt to the new era, although he thinks it’s not only made life tougher for coaches, it’s also bad for players who aren’t superstars moving on to the next level.
“I’ve got five players now. NIL is done in two months,” Alford said. “What happens to them? Are they going to be able to handle the real world now after having NIL for a couple of years at Nevada or wherever they’ve been? Are they going to really be prepared to handle the things of, ‘Oh, I’m not getting that money? I have to go earn that money.’ We’re not really teaching them that.”
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.