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Jim Nantz worries about future of college hoops: ‘It may not live another 15 years’
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Jim Nantz is concerned about the future of March Madness and college basketball.
Nantz expressed those worries in an interview with Dan Patrick on Thursday afternoon. He indicated an uneasiness about where the sport is headed with regards to the transfer portal, NIL and other sweeping changes.
Patrick asked Nantz if he was more concerned about the future of golf or college basketball. Nantz indicated little concern about golf, noting that it’s “been around for 500 years.” College basketball, though, is another story.
“[College basketball] may not live as we know it another 500 years. It may not live another 15 years,” Nantz told Patrick. “Because the portal and NIL, it’s difficult. And I don’t want to paint it doom and gloom, I don’t want to say it’s bound to be extinct, it’s not going to be. But what we knew it as, what we grew up with, that model doesn’t exist anymore, and some people have a real problem with that.”
Of course, college athletics has sustained significant changes in recent years. The product had not been noticeably-different until year, though, when the NCAA Tournament featured a historically-chalky string of results during the first 2 weekends. For just the 2nd time ever, all 4 No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four.
College basketball could see further changes as early as next season if the House settlement is finalized this spring as anticipated. The revenue-sharing era would likely lead to more significant changes for all college sports — not just men’s basketball.
In the meantime, not every program has fallen into a high-turnover roster-building style. In his interview with Patrick, Nantz took the opportunity to highlight how his alma mater, Houston, has managed to build a contender in a traditional fashion during the NIL era.
“I want to put a pitch for my school here, the University of Houston,” Nantz said. “As we go into this weekend, we represent college basketball the way we used to know it better than anybody, maybe in America. Our guys stay. We had everybody come back except Jamal Shead, who was [out of] eligibility …yeah, we have to play the NIL game. But our guys aren’t racing to the portal. They believe in their coach. There’s a family culture there. They’re all in. They love their school, they love their brotherhood and bonding with their teammates.”
Houston will take on Duke in the Final Four on Saturday evening.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
