Hill: Stop complaining about the transfer portal

It’s once again that time of year when some narrow-minded college football fans, analysts and even some coaches lament the damage widespread player movement and the transfer portal are doing to the sport.

They’re not necessarily wrong. Not forcing kids to stay in one place even if their circumstances change of if they are miserable does take away a bit of the joy fans feel from following a kid for their whole career and keeps teams from developing until the key pieces are all upperclassmen together.

But it certainly beats the alternative, which was a system that made the student-athletes the product.

The so-called purists were just fine with a system that limited opportunities and locked young people into uncomfortable or unfavorable situations with few options and no compensation.

That seems almost villainous.

So long, old school

It’s understandable that some coaches hate it, particularly the old-school types who may have been ahead of the curve when there were really only 10 teams in the Big Ten but haven’t budged off their thought process since then.

Wait, you have to re-recruit kids every year and make sure you have a program that players actually want to continue being a part of each season?

That sounds like hard work.

And if there are kids who believe there is a better opportunity out there somewhere for them, it’s no longer acceptable to put up endless roadblocks and restrict their preferred path for pursuing their collegiate athletic and academic interests?

That sounds like shifting some of the power to the most important people in the equation. Oh, the horror.

And that’s what lies at the center of most of the fear. Between NIL (name, image and likeness licensing) and all the freedom of movement, college athletes have more opportunities than ever. They also have as much power as they ever have, and that is terrifying to those who have had their thumbs on the scales of the balance of power for so long.

Yet somehow it wasn’t so frightening for some of these same coaches and programs to seek out the money and opportunity of a new conference as the constant realignment of the last few years remade the landscape of college athletics. And it’s always been widely accepted for coaches to jump at the next big paycheck at every turn, leaving behind athletes — whom they vowed to look out for — with few options to get out.

Giving the players power to make their own decisions and have earning potential is a good thing. It’s also here to stay, so there’s no sense lamenting it.

There is a real opportunity now for coaches and programs who embrace the new world to make their mark. UNLV coach Barry Odom and his staff did a phenomenal job last season of identifying needs and filling them through the portal on short notice.

That’s the challenge again. Are they thrilled to lose a freshman quarterback they found and developed in Jayden Maiava? Of course not.

But while some other coaches around the country have complained about the system when they experience such departures, Odom and his staff have gone to work to replace him.

That hasn’t been the case for some in the fanbase, who have posted some pretty snarky and even borderline nasty things about the kid on social media.

That’s ridiculous. Be happy for a kid who believes he can find a better opportunity for himself somewhere else for whatever reason and have confidence in your staff to do the same for the program.

If you truly care about the kids, it’s the only way to view the situation.

All she does is win

The Lady Rebels won again Saturday, going on the road and beating Colorado State 83-78 to improve to 2-0 in Mountain West play and 12-1 on the season.

That’s on the heels of a 31-3 season that included an undefeated run in league play last year.

We’ve written a great deal about the story of coach Lindy La Rocque, but it needs to be repeated over and over.

She has done an absolutely amazing job with her hometown program and should be a celebrity in this town.

It’s difficult to overstate the wonders she has done at UNLV.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.