Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
Wright State coach Clint Sargent’s job has gotten exponentially harder since the arrival of the transfer portal and the flow of NIL money. His peers are feeling the strain, too.
While the term student-athlete may still apply to current players, Sargent knows they’ve acquired another label that’s just as apropos: “They’re free agents,” he said.
Yes, free agency has come to college sports — without binding contracts or a salary cap. And even at the mid-major level, it’s no longer business as usual.
“You’re dealing with agents now. That’s what it’s become,” Sargent said.
“What college athletics is now is completely different. The landscape with revenue sharing and how these decisions are being made, this is a different ball game.”
That became abundantly clear in the last couple of weeks when five of Sargent’s 14 players decided to transfer, three of whom were thriving: Brandon Noel, Alex Huibregtse and Keaton Norris.
