College sports roster transactions have become a wild process since the NCAA ruled that its student-athletes could avoid losing their redshirt year despite playing in four games.
Former Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant was the first major athlete to use the rule after being replaced by future No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Trevor Lawrence due to an injury early on during the 2018 season.
He decided to enter the transfer portal after losing his starting job and visited Arkansas, coached by former Tigers offensive coordinator Chad Morris who recruited him to Clemson.
Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant (2) throws near quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) during the first day of practice at the Clemson Indoor Football facility at Clemson on Friday, August 3, 2018. / Ken Ruinard/ Staff
In this day, player movement has taken a front seat with money mostly being the driving force as NIL opportunities give players generational type of money to enter the transfer portal.
Just this week, Wisconsin sued Miami behind accusations of tampering over Badgers' cornerback Xavier Lucas during the 2024 season, who was under a revenue sharing contract with the Badgers' athletic department.
As a freshman, the Ft. Lauderdale native recorded 18 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack and an interception.
A source within the Big Ten told Ross Dellenger that the conference wholly supports Wisconsin's decision to sue Miami over the breach of contract.
Wisconsin cornerback Xavier Lucas (6) is shown during the first quarter of their game against South Dakota Saturday, September 7 , 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. / Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“We stand by our position that respecting and enforcing contractual obligations is essential to maintaining a level playing field. In addition to our legal action, we will continue to be proactive to protect the interests of our student-athletes, our program and the broader collegiate athletics community.”
- Ross Dellenger, Yahoo SportsCurrent Razorbacks basketball coach John Calipari spoke out against students seeking to transfer multiple times in their career having a negative impact on the school and college sports landscape.
Calipari believes rules must be enforced moving forward to protect all college athletic departments in the future.
“They should be able to go once, maybe twice, without penalty because the coach lied,” Calipari said Thursday during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. “Told them you’re shooting every ball, I’m gonna play you this way and he didn’t tell them the truth."
"Then, [the athlete] should be able to leave. But four times, that means the first sign of trouble, I’m out. If you’re a parent, wouldn’t you tell your son, you’re fighting this out? No, you’re staying, you’re going to do it."
This isn't Calipari telling the country that he is against player freedom but he doesn't agree they should attend four different schools over the course of a college career.
It puts an academic strain on each student-athlete and school which isn't healthy in the long run for college atheltics.
“Now, I understand once or twice without penalty. But after that, don’t tell me, ‘Well, we’d get sued.’ A kid transferring four times – one, it’s not good for him. Two, he has no chance academically to do anything. And I think we’re still academic institutions. Take it to court. You can win that.”
Not only did Calipari address tampering within his own sport but also spoke about the "Wild West" in college football where programs are offering life changing amounts for pay-to-play.
A pair of quarterbacks in the SEC, LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) and Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt) were reportedly offered $8 million and $4 million to transfer after both experienced breakout years last season.
Pavia told Bussin’ with the Boys that he could have signed a NIL deal north of $4 million if he entered the transfer portal following the season.
Despite the offers intraconference, Pavia never entered his name into the transfer portal because of his belief in the program Vanderbilt has built under coach Clark Lea.
With the new NCAA house settlement, there is a possibility that change is just around the corner as the NIL Go clearinghouse is put in motion with the hope that Deloitte can help determine fair market value.
Calipari acknowledged the changes coming forth but believes tampering to be a much larger issue than the amounts players are being paid just to switch schools.
“But if we get that in order, I think the NIL stuff would be fine because right now, you’ve got the quarterback from Vanderbilt … that’s tampering,” Calipari said. “Put your name in the portal, $4.5 million. We have to get away from that more than the NIL.”
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