By Ed Piper
College and high school sports are a mess, and Dusty May (The Athletic, Aug. 13) jumped ship after winning the NCAA men's basketball title at Michigan to accept the Dallas Mavericks' coaching position because of it--only the second coach since Larry Brown in 1988 to win a national title, then coach another team the next season.
Said May, "I just spent so much more of my time doing everything but coaching."
Evidence of the "mess":
--Transfers between schools at both levels are unlimited.
--A college player filed suit and got a federal judge to declare the right for collegiate athletes to play five seasons in five years--changing the whole concept of "college sports". The term "hold-back"--for a high school student-athlete (I hesitate the use the term) is almost outdated. It used to identify an athlete whose parents held him back in school (I was primarily aware of boys who fit this term) a grade or two, so he could mature and play in high school at an older age.
--The House settlement a year ago establishing a commission to oversee NIL deals hasn't solved anything. NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) is becoming a growing monster. I know I keep referring to this example, but the case of Mikey Williams is a primary example: The San Ysidro High basketball player (without sufficient adult guidance) made enough money in high school to buy a million-dollar house, then didn't have the self-control to prevent himself from shooting four bullets into a Tesla over jealousy about a girl friend. He pleaded out the case, in time for him to play college basketball after all, at multiple colleges during his post-high school career.
College sports, and in turn, high school athletics, have become so professionalized in the recent handful of years, that (1) they're pretty hard to identify apart from pro sports, and (2) the whole basis on which prep sports were established--that the playing field "is an extension of the classroom", and valuable life and relationship issues can be learned in those venues--has begun to disappear.
You can see find sports and athletes and coaches that reflect the old way of operating. But:
--Paul Baranowski, the boys basketball coach at La Jolla High, has been an excellent coach at public and private schools for 47 years--the last 14 in the Big Gym on Westbourne St. He has gotten a couple of transfers over the past two years, and they've kind of worked out, and kind of not. The Vikings didn't win a single league game in 2024-2025, going 0-10 in the Eastern League, then similar this past school year (2025-2026).
Without receiving transfers, with local students meanwhile transferring out to other schools, you can't keep up.
--Tyler Roach, the Vikings' football coach now in his 10th season, has gotten a few transfers in recent years. With several key players graduating in May 2025, he had to restock. Guess who transferred away? Running back Aiden Farrell, a playmaker who gained over 1,000 yards last season, whom Roach helped develop. You can't keep up if you stand pat. It's a dog-eat-dog world.
Another college coach who hasn't left but who is vocal about fellow coaches' lack of spine in standing up for integrity and observing the established rules is Tom Izzo, the men's basketball coach at Michigan State. He periodically rails at the latest outrage over transfers, NIL, or whatever the issue is.
An individual can find a state or federal judge who will rule in his favor: for example, the five seasons in five years rule. That was just passed down in the recent yearly sports cycle.
CIF, the organization overseeing athletics in California high schools, gave up fighting transfers by declaring that anyone can transfer. Too many families were ready to find a lawyer, and CIF couldn't afford the money, time, or hassle. Now transfers can change among schools without moving residences, sitting out the first half-season, or move with their families to establish local residency and not sit out at all. This is the pride of the free choice movement. Unfortunately, the non-move transfer breaks down the traditional attending-your-local-school setup that lasted for so many years.
The worst illustration of the free-for-all in college came in June in the person of Brendan Sorsby, age 22. He was the quarterback who transferred after last season to Texas Tech. It was found that he had made thousands of bets on NCAA games, including his own team's at Indiana in 2022, which is illegal. He then spent a month in a rehab program for his gambling addiction in Arizona. Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec and Board of Regents chair Cody Campbell led a group of supposed "leaders" of the Red Raiders in strategizing how to make Sorsby their QB, after all, this fall, despite the gambling violations.
The other 15 schools in the Big 12 Conference united to threaten to boycott games with Texas Tech in all sports, including football.
The stalemate ended when Sorsby declared for the NFL Supplemental Draft. If he had tried to stay at
Texas Tech, his NIL deal was for more than $4 million. People become greedy and claim it's all for the betterment of the young athlete when sizeable money is attainable.
