The COVID pandemic prompted numerous changes in college sports. The most significant is student eligibility and the use of the transfer portal, giving student-athletes the ability to move to another school and play immediately. The eligibility rule was further watered down in 2023, paving the way for multiple transfers. The long-standing pre-pandemic rule that transfers sit out one year was effectively dead.

Then came the mechanism for student-athletes to earn money for their participation, attracting names, images and likeness (known as NIL) endorsement deals that puts money directly into their pockets. That change effectively ended amateur status amongst student athletes — something the NCAA had protected for many decades.

Individually, the transfer portal and NIL can be viewed as reasonable changes to how student-athletes function within college sports. For revenue sports like football and basketball, and to some degree hockey and baseball, college sports serve as the de facto minor league system for professional sports leagues. Given this role, providing greater flexibility and outlets for student athlete compensation makes sense.

However, the law of unintended consequences keeps imposing itself, as student athletes

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