
The recent departure of Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett has certainly been a hot topic amongst the Cavalier faithful. Most of those who follow the Wahoos are thinking about how UVA’s basketball program will suffer; some may be excited to turn the page after the past few disappointing seasons, but nothing is more important than the circumstances under which Coach Tony Bennett retired. During his outgoing press conference, Bennett said of his decision to leave that “[t]he hardest thing to say is when I looked at myself and I realized I’m no longer the best coach to lead this program in this current environment.” The current environment to which the coach is referring is one that is troubling not just NCAA Basketball but the entire college sports ethos, and that is the world of NIL.
Name, image, and likeness, or NIL for short, is a new rule introduced in 2021 that now allows NCAA athletes to sign brand contracts, receive money for public appearances, and make money off of themselves as an athlete any way they choose. While NIL is putting some money into the hands of college athletes, it is also destroying college athletics as a whole. From the disappearance of the student athlete to the loss of the spirit of true athletic competition, and even the sacrifice of school pride, NIL has taken away the very bedrock that college athletics is built on.
The University of Virginia has long harkened itself as the protector of the true student athlete, a place where its Cavaliers lead lives of success in the classroom and in the heat of competition. The Virginia Athletics mission statement highlights this, saying its mission is to “enhance and support the intellectual purpose of the University and its exemplary academic standards and traditions.” It is clear that UVA takes pride in producing top-of-the-line athletes, who are also high-powered students. Just last year, Cavalier women’s swimmers Alex Walsh, Emma Weber, and Gretchen Walsh were all named to the ACC All-Academic team, with Gretchen highlighted as the ACC Women’s Swimming Scholar Athlete of the Year. The trio also competed in the 2024 Summer Olympic Games, taking home a variety of medals and setting new records in the pool. Walsh, Walsh, and Webber prove that Virginia’s ideology of a well-rounded student athlete is truly possible. These three women show their domination in athletic competition for the Cavaliers and a deep effort to their academic achievements.
Sadly, NIL is destroying the last of this dying breed of what student athletes should be. By providing a pathway for these athletes to earn huge sums of money, it is essentially converting NCAA athletes into semi-professional athletes instead of student athletes. It has moved the emphasis away from a balanced life to a strong focus on sports, because that is where the money is. While it is certainly important to take advantage of your opportunities, a singular focus on athletics over a dual objective to strengthen the mind and the body is not productive. Eventually, there comes a time when all athletes must retire, and if education is surrendered for NIL money and fame now, their futures will be hurt. While it is easy to sit and stress the importance of academics, when millions of dollars are on the table, how can anyone expect college athletes to spend time in the classroom over spending time promoting themselves? The NCAA must realize the dangerous incentive program they have allowed into the young minds of collegiate players.
Another one of the hallmarks of college athletics is the competitive spirit and school pride that is found among most college athletes. Prior to the introduction of NIL money, athletes chose to pursue their sports in college to better their skill set, continue doing something that they love, or for the academic opportunities that can come along with it. These reasons develop a strong sense of competition, a trait found amongst most good athletes, which makes college sports both entertaining for fans and fulfilling for players. However, the introduction of NIL money into the NCAA has created another reason to play college sports. A singular drive to play just to get paid can cause a loss in effort and care in athletic performance. This not only affects a single player’s performance but also creates an attitude that can poison a locker room, worsen a whole team’s performance, and make NCAA athletics less enjoyable for fans. School pride is also a driving factor for the quality of collegiate athletics. Prior to NIL, students were playing to win games and better themselves; for a lot of winning programs, this kind of outlook built a strong school spirit that is passionate about athletics. A robust athletic pride in a college will, in turn, positively feed the entire school culture, benefiting everyone on a given campus. NIL money once again takes away from that. The outlook on NCAA sports has gone from one focused on winning and culture to one immersed in trying to make money.
Finally, we draw all of this back to beloved Virginia men’s basketball coach, Tony Bennett. The departure of Tony Bennett has shown the consolidation of power in NCAA sports due to NIL. Over are the days of high school athletes going to schools because of a good coach, a winning culture, or great facilities. Now, they ask, “How much can you pay me?” This opens the door for all of the wealthiest schools in big markets to get all of the best players. It is most obviously seen in college football. The University of Texas is a big football market, along with the rest of the SEC, and they have all gotten significantly better since 2021 in comparison to any other Power Five school, save for Ohio State, Clemson, and UMiami. The SEC is the hotspot for football; therefore, all of the athletes who play there will get paid the most. Basketball is no different—Virginia was an attractive place to come play prior to NIL. Tony Bennett is a great coach with an unbelievable defensive mind and a solid talent for developing good basketball players like Malcom Brogdon and DeAndre Hunter. That used to be enough to attract high-level players to the UVA program. Now, Virginia cannot reel in the big names they used to because they cannot pay the players the same way that rivaling Duke will. It is truly sad to think that such a prolific basketball coach like Tony Bennett can no longer operate simply because high school recruits are only concerned about the paychecks they can receive.
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) has brought about a world where high school athletes care not for the quality of the coach, culture, or academics of the school they plan to play at, but rather the salary that comes with it. The worst part about it all is that athletes are not to blame; when millions of dollars are left on the table, there is no choice but to follow it. Conversely, the NCAA is entirely to blame. The organization never should have let students be completely influenced by money. The very entity that facilitates college sports is also overseeing its destruction. If the NIL system is not revised in some way to take away its heavy persuasive nature in collegiate athletes’ decision-making, then college sports will simply be a semi-professional track towards the next step that lacks the fire, compassion, and academic balance of old. NIL could be the end of all the beloved aspects of college athletics as they are today.
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