In its zeal to retain non-profit quasi-antitrust status, the NCAA has bent over backwards the last several years to portray itself as student-friendly. We’ve seen hastily drafted NIL rules, grad transfer rules, cost of attendance rules, and now the omnipresent Transfer Portal completely revamp the landscape of roster development and retention.
But, it’s hard to say that the NCAA is actually doing anyone any favors here, aside from themselves. While the Portal has been a boon to several teams, as well as players languishing on depth charts or in bad situations, it’s hard to call it an unqualified success either.