Charlie Baker on the portal, NILs, etc
Mar 12, 2023 10:33:56 GMT -5
hc6774 and princetoncrusader like this
Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Mar 12, 2023 10:33:56 GMT -5
....Baker’s most immediate impact could be felt in the NIL space, which is as lawless and shady as the Russian economy following the fall of the Soviet Union.
The pol, who is not moving to NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, does not believe the NCAA should just punt to Congress or his former gubernatorial colleagues when it comes to crafting NIL regulation. He believes the NCAA can work in concert with those parties to create standardized NIL contracts, contract registration, and certification for agents, so student-athletes aren’t flying blind. He likened it to guidelines for any financial services contract, like a mortgage.
.....“I think the NCAA should work hard to create a protocol and policies to deal with this, but we do run into some complicated state issues with respect to that,” said Baker. “It doesn’t take a lot of states to go down a wildly different road from one another and from us to really screw up a conference.”
He’s not threatened by entities such as the NBA’s G League Ignite that have siphoned some of the best college basketball players from the NCAA’s marquee product.
Gender equity also is important to Baker. His wife, Lauren, was a college gymnast at Northwestern. He has a daughter, Caroline. He says he wants more measurables to ensure that women’s sports are treated equally.
One of the biggest changes in college sports has been the advent of the transfer portal, allowing athletes to transfer without having to sit out a season. The portal has brought about de facto unfettered free agency in major college football and basketball. Teams shop for players, and players shop for better opportunities — both in terms of playing time and NIL.
There’s also poaching. The most high-profile case, perhaps, came last year when Jordan Addison, the best wide receiver in college football, transferred from Pittsburgh to the University of Southern California.
The NCAA is trying to rein in the portal peripatetics. Undergraduates who transfer a second time won’t be automatically eligible immediately, starting next season.
Baker blamed COVID for the volume of player movement via the portal — athletes were extended an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
“So, I don’t think it looks quite like free agency. I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” Baker said. “I do think that the number of student-athletes, particularly given the issues with COVID and their eligibility, generally created a dynamic that was a little different than what you’re going to see going forward.”
Baker defended such freedom of movement and said it applies to all college students.
“Look, I know a lot of people, not for sports reasons, but for other reasons that transferred their first year to a different school because they concluded it was a bad fit,” he said. “You’re talking to one of those kids. I’ve never been shy about the fact that Harvard was probably not the right place for me, but I sucked it up because it was Harvard.” [He played hoops at Harvard]
The pol, who is not moving to NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, does not believe the NCAA should just punt to Congress or his former gubernatorial colleagues when it comes to crafting NIL regulation. He believes the NCAA can work in concert with those parties to create standardized NIL contracts, contract registration, and certification for agents, so student-athletes aren’t flying blind. He likened it to guidelines for any financial services contract, like a mortgage.
.....“I think the NCAA should work hard to create a protocol and policies to deal with this, but we do run into some complicated state issues with respect to that,” said Baker. “It doesn’t take a lot of states to go down a wildly different road from one another and from us to really screw up a conference.”
He’s not threatened by entities such as the NBA’s G League Ignite that have siphoned some of the best college basketball players from the NCAA’s marquee product.
Gender equity also is important to Baker. His wife, Lauren, was a college gymnast at Northwestern. He has a daughter, Caroline. He says he wants more measurables to ensure that women’s sports are treated equally.
One of the biggest changes in college sports has been the advent of the transfer portal, allowing athletes to transfer without having to sit out a season. The portal has brought about de facto unfettered free agency in major college football and basketball. Teams shop for players, and players shop for better opportunities — both in terms of playing time and NIL.
There’s also poaching. The most high-profile case, perhaps, came last year when Jordan Addison, the best wide receiver in college football, transferred from Pittsburgh to the University of Southern California.
The NCAA is trying to rein in the portal peripatetics. Undergraduates who transfer a second time won’t be automatically eligible immediately, starting next season.
Baker blamed COVID for the volume of player movement via the portal — athletes were extended an extra year of eligibility because of the pandemic.
“So, I don’t think it looks quite like free agency. I think that’s a little bit of an exaggeration,” Baker said. “I do think that the number of student-athletes, particularly given the issues with COVID and their eligibility, generally created a dynamic that was a little different than what you’re going to see going forward.”
Baker defended such freedom of movement and said it applies to all college students.
“Look, I know a lot of people, not for sports reasons, but for other reasons that transferred their first year to a different school because they concluded it was a bad fit,” he said. “You’re talking to one of those kids. I’ve never been shy about the fact that Harvard was probably not the right place for me, but I sucked it up because it was Harvard.” [He played hoops at Harvard]
Wasn't aware that some states are apparently considering regulating some aspects of college sports.