UCLA’s Mick Cronin likens college basketball to MLB: ‘It’s a shame we don’t have a salary cap’

Mick Cronin is rarely one to bite his tongue.

And even after UCLA blew out Rutgers on Tuesday night, the Bruins head coach still found a way to complain.

Taking the podium following his team’s 98-66 victory over the Scarlet Knights, Cronin addressed the state of college basketball. And while he praised Rutgers head coach Steve Pikiell, he also made a telling comparison to highlight the difference between the two programs.

“I give Rutgers credit. They got a lot of young kids,” Cronin said. “There’s haves and have nots in the money world. And Coach Pikiell’s a great coach. He really is. It’s just a shame we don’t have a salary cap and everybody was playing even. But this is baseball, not the NFL. This is MLB.”

While Cronin didn’t offer specifics, it isn’t hard to read between the lines.

If recruiting rankings are any indication — and they usually are — then the discrepancy between UCLA and Rutgers’ rosters is clear. This past offseason, the Bruins brought in five players via the transfer portal, including 5-star point guard Donovan Dent. Meanwhile, Rutgers brought in three lower-profile prospects via the portal while also losing Jeremiah Williams and Lathan Sommerville to Georgetown and Washington, respectively, in addition to adding five high school prospects.

Although NIL contracts aren’t typically available for public consumption, it’s safe to assume the Bruins’ roster is significantly more expensive than the Scarlet Knights’ this season. As such, it’s perhaps not a surprise that UCLA lays claim to a 16-7 record, with an 8-4 mark in Big Ten play, while Rutgers fell to 9-13 and 1-10 in conference play following Tuesday night’s defeat.

Yet despite his program being one of the beneficiaries of college basketball’s system, Cronin sounds like a head coach who would like to see change. Then again, this isn’t the first time he’s publicly voiced concern with the NIL era.