Monday's New York Times devoted two pages - text and photos - to an article headlined: The Best Money Can Buy. Subhead: College Powerhouses Are Built With Tax-Exempt Cash From Fan 'Collectives'

Opening paragraphs: In late 2021, the once-mighty Texas Longhorns had just finished a 5-7 football season, losing six straight games for the first time since 1956. "We need bigger humans," said Steve Sarkisian, the team's coach.

That off-season, Texas found a new - or at least, newly legal - way to recruit them: cash.

A new tax-exempt charity called Horns With Heart, set up by Texas football fans, startled the sports world by promising to pay every Longhorn offensive lineman a salary of $50,000 per year.

It worked.

After reading the entire article, I found myself asking: Why call it college football? Why not Professional College Football?

It is sure not the sport I grew to love in the autumn of 1963, my freshman year at Ohio when the Bobcats won the MAC.

And here is a question: Why does the transfer portal open twice? Why not just once - after the last bowl game?

It doesn't work since the real payoff is a 500k+ sponsorship.

I don't think this is the last we've heard of conference re-alignments.

The further we get the more we get closer to the SUPERBIGTENSOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE. Top 20 teams in the same conference and the rest of us are left to pick at the bones. Maybe two 15-20 team conferences?

It's been talked about ad nauseam, but would the NCAA ever really allow a relegation league? Have to think even the lower-tier power five teams will fight this to the death, but I'm really having trouble imagining a world where Texas and Vanderbilt are in the same conference. Where the Ohio State and Michigans of the world are on the "same" playing level as Indiana.

The top 30-40 teams in two conferences, the other teams all compete for 4-5 relegation spots? At least allow the mid-tier power five and some G5 surprises like Liberty, Toledo, even OU the illusion of being in the big boy conferences for a year. To get a taste of that $40M a year in TV money. That would really help competitive balance and maintain some sort of integrity in the some 90% of FBS teams that don't turn a profit or use any profit they make to fund other sports.

Imagine what OU could do to improve it's station if they had even one year of that Big 10 money? The recruiting. The facilities. NIL competitiveness.

This is the big question and coaches are experiencing major burnout because of the portal windows and recruiting early signing day. The NIL thing is basically confirming that every football team is going to need a GM at some point in the future, too.

There are two transfer portal windows and two signing periods per year. Guys are coming and going all over the place.

If the portal was after the last bowl game the players would have to wait until next fall to start at their new school and would miss spring practice as school would be starting when the portal opened. It’s better for the student athletes to get enrolled to keep their eligibility and get adjust to the new environment. As why two? It’s what coaches wanted and was part of the deal that moved up the HS signing date from February to December

And what ensued were unintended consequences aka chaos.

I’m turned off and tuned out. Just follow the Bobcats now. Other than Bobcats I spend my sports watching time and $ on MLB/NFL/MLS/EPL now. Why follow the minor leagues when those entities offer a much better pro sport product than the NCAA? Not that it really matters as NCAA is doing just fine without me…

Yes it has been chaos, but bottom line you have to work around the school schedules, accommodate for spring practice, etc. as much as it’s been blurred, they still are student athletes.

I have strong doubts about this statement for the majority of football/basketball players at the highest level.

I won’t disagree, but they have to be enrolled in school to attend spring practice. What new player wants to miss competing for their spot at spring practice and learning the system? Not to mention they do have to earn credits to be eligible and credits that pertain to a degree after their sophomore year.