In the ever-changing landscape that is college football, NIL and the transfer portal remain at the forefront heading into the 2025 season. With blurred lines and a lot of gray area surrounding the logistics of what can and can't be done, it's been quite the free-for-all over the last several years in the NCAA.
There's also an inherent advantage for schools with more money—and in turn more power—to poach the best players available and continue to build dominant programs.
During a press conference this week, Northern Illinois coach Thomas Hammock was asked whetherif he thinks the transfer portal should be made "more fair." His answer sparked quite a rant about the new age of college football:
"To be honest with you, I love the challenge," Hammock said. "It don't bother me one bit. Because you know what, in life, you are going to make decisions. Sometimes it is going to work in your favor and sometimes it is not. "I told our team the other day, you know we lost all these guys, 'Let's see who plays.' It's all good when people put it on Twitter, 'Hey, all glory to God, I'm going in the transfer portal.' Let's see if they play. How many of those guys are gonna play, or travel, or get snaps?"
The Huskies lost 19 players to the transfer portal following the 2024 season.
"... I enjoyed my college experience," Hammock continued. "I didn't get one dime. But the lessons I learned was more valuable than any money you can ever pay me. And I appreciate that. Because that is long-term. People are losing the fact that this is short-term ... don't lose focus of what the long-term [is]. Get your degree, learn valuable lessons that's going to help you in the long term of your life. This is a transition from being a kid to a grown-up. And I hope people don't lose focus of that ... If you're going to college to get a couple dollars, you might as well go get a job. This is too hard to go get a couple dollars. Learn the lessons that you need to learn to be successful in life for the next 40-50 years of your life. I would do it again for free ... that's why I'm standing here today, because of the things I learned in college. Not because of how much somebody gave me."
You can listen to the full rant here:
As promised, here’s the full video of Thomas Hammock’s impassioned remarks on the state of the transfer portal.
— Skyler Kisellus (@skylerkisellus) August 13, 2025
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
He definitely has a point.
Northern Illinois opens up the 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30, when they'll welcome the Holy Cross Crusaders to DeKalb, Ill.'s Huskie Stadium for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Northern Illinois Coach Goes on Pointed Rant About NIL, Transfer Portal.
