Syracuse Orange Fan Questions Whether NIL Is a Great or a Terrible Idea for College Athletics in 2024

Alan Ruthig is a passionate Syracuse Orange fan who enjoyed watching his team over the course of the 2023-24 season. He was among the fans who were heartbroken when the entire sophomore core that made the team fun to watch left for better opportunities.

In his open letter to Syracuse.com, he openly wondered if this spells the end of college basketball as he used to know it:

Now that virtually all of last season’s Syracuse University basketball team’s starters have entered the transfer portal and apparently opted for more lucrative name-image-likeness (NIL) deals, one has to ask if we have reached the end of an era.

The exciting sophomore class that recently completed this season will not return to excite us again next season. No longer will we see teams grow and develop over four years. Growth of players like Syracuse native Danny Schayes from a freshman center into an NBA star will not be on our stage.

Gone will be the days of Cinderella teams making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Relationships among players and between coaches and players will change. Coaches will have less time to devote to coaching basketball, football, lacrosse or skills in any other sport, as more time will be dedicated to recruiting and speculation about who will leave and available players to take their place. Coaches will have less pride in successful player development, and more frustration in “starting over” every year.

His frustrations are understandable. Judah Mintz’ departure is understandable as he’s too good for the Syracuse Orange to keep. No amount of NIL deals will keep him from trying to make real NBA money.

However, to lose JJ Starling, Chris Bell, and Quadir Copeland leaving the team for better opportunities is a tough pill to swallow for any fan. Since the NIL ruling is still in its infancy, it will be interesting to see how things would play out if cases like Syracuse’s become disruptive to the overall basketball experience as players chase a payday as much as they pursue basketball excellence.