Sep 7, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Northern Illinois Huskies head coach Thomas Hammock watches in the first quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Ex-Gophers assistant delivers heartfelt message about the state of college sports

Originally posted on Minnesota Golden Gophers on SI
By Tony Liebert | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 10:53 AM ET

Thomas Hammock was the Gophers' running backs coach 15 years ago under Tim Brewerster. He has since developed into a voice of reason in the ever-changing college sports landscape as the head coach at Northern Illinois since 2019.

The Huskies are getting ready to play their final season in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) before making a surprise move to the Mountain West, but Hammock was asked about the current state of college sports, and he gave a powerful message. The former NIU running back from 1999 to 2002 wouldn't change his college experience for anything.

"I would do it again for free — for free. Because of the things I learned. That’s why I’m standing here today: because of what I learned in college. Not because of how much somebody gave me," Hammock said.

As promised, here’s the full video of Thomas Hammock’s impassioned remarks on the state of the transfer portal.

Hammock briefly highlighted his own experience as college athlete, saying he considers the lessons he learned in college more valuable than any financial incentive.… https://t.co/hVdRaRMPCI pic.twitter.com/bkoAweblbs
— Skyler Kisellus (@skylerkisellus) August 13, 2025

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The transfer portal and introduction of payment directly to players have driven out some legendary head coaches like Nick Saban and Urban Meyer in football and Tonny Bennet and Jay Wright in basketball. Hammock embraces the challenges presented by the new era of college sports.

"To be honest with you, I love the challenge. It doesn't bother me one bit. In life, you're going to make decisions, sometimes it's going to work in your favor and sometimes it's not," he continued. "I told our team the other day, we lost all these guys, but let's see who plays."

Smaller programs like Northern Illinois are often hit hardest by the transfer portal rules, as players are often just looking for bigger opportunities elsewhere. The Huskies lost roughly 20 players to the portal in the offseason after a 2024 campaign that saw them knock off eventual national runner-ups, Notre Dame.

Many fans get frustrated with the current state of recruiting as commitments have become essentially meaningless, and players are able to change their minds whenever they feel like it. Hammock said the quiet part out loud.

Anyone who went to four years of college realizes how valuable the lessons they learned are, but that usually happens later in life. The current state of college sports has a lot of short-term benefits, but the decision makers have forgone the long-term outlook. Coaches and administrators have often kept quiet in hopes of protecting their bottom line, but Hammock took a different approach in a much-needed message.