Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the transfer portal was a new thing in college sports.

By mid-summer, multiple conferences had announced that the fall 2020 season had been canceled for multiple division one, two, and three conferences.

The initial reaction of the athletes was shock and heartbreak. After the initial reaction, many players started to plan their futures with athletes from the previous spring being granted an additional year upon graduation to continue playing athletics due to their season being canceled.

By April 2021, the NCAA announced that major college football and basketball players may transfer once before graduating without sitting out a year of competition.

By May, 1,500 players had declared for the transfer portal basketball alone. By July, the Supreme Court ruling had come down on Name Image and Likeness, or NIL, and college athletes had finally been given the ability to make money regarding their name, image, and likeness.

The little things in college sports, such as conference competitions and fan atmosphere, have become a lot more important because of NIL. This is seen in recent NFL draft pick Kayvon Thibodeaux who said, “Do you know the stigmatism of Alabama education? It ain’t the West Coast... It ain’t Harvard."

This shows that some college athletes are looking at more than just how good the football program is.

In Kayvon’s case he illustrated the amazing academics that the University of Oregon offered him when he committed to his alma matter. Thibodeaux stated that his college decision was about more than athletics.

The ripple effects of NIL are just beginning, not just for athletes but amongst the schools themselves. On June 30th, USC and UCLA both announced that they will be leaving the PAC 12 for the Big 10.

This move ultimately opens the door for realignment within college sports. For starters, Division One athletics currently has a large emphasis on power 5 teams. Many schools are switching to power 5 conferences for more TV and streaming revenue as well to convince recruits about the competition they play.

Schools like USC and UCLA moving to the Big 10 is not only better conference for athletics but should allow athletes to generate greater amounts of NIL money. This move will also generate more money for the school, as in 2021, the Pac 12 distributed $344 million in media rights compared to $680 million in the Big 10.