More than four years since its implementation, the NCAA transfer portal still gives Oklahoma State football coach
Mike Gundy pause. Gundy, who enters his 19th season at the helm in Stillwater, made it clear with reporters earlier in the week there's still a Wild West-like element with the portal that he's not fond of, and the emergence of name, image and likeness (NIL) isn't making problems any easier to solve. Gundy, in his spiel, made particular note of the challenges the portal brings with roster management, noting the desire for "contractual scholarships" to curb those issues.
"Well, you got several issues there,"
Gundy told reporters when asked about potential portal modifications. "One, you have federal lawmakers making decision, not the NCAA, and you know as well as I do — well I don’t know if you do, I read a lot of politics, but lobbyists and things happen for a reason. And that's just the way it is. You're not going to control them. They're going to control you. And until we get contractual scholarships in high school recruiting the portal is never going to settle down. For example, young men should be able to sign a one-, two-, three- or four-year scholarship. That's their choice. Whatever they sign, that's what they're committed to. That's what we're going to now. That's the only way that we are going to have a chance to manage rosters. So, let's just say that at the end of this year I've got 19 guys whose contracts are up. They may be a senior or a freshman. So, if you're a five-star guy, like you're a heavily recruited guy, you might just sign a one-year deal and then say, ‘Well, I'm good enough to sign another one-year deal, or I can leave if I want.'
"So, until they do that, we don't really know who's in and out for that upcoming year. So, it's hard for us to balance our numbers. So, I've suggested (modifications) . I don't know if anybody's listened or cares, but high school kids ought to have an opportunity. So, you want a four-year deal? Sign a four-year deal, but you're bound to that four-year contract unless your head coach says he'll sign off and let you go. And then that puts more pressure on the head coach, but at least it gives a young man a chance to leave if he comes in and says, ‘Coach, I'm not good enough to play here. I want to go to this school.’ I sign off and let him go. Or whatever reason. But that's the only way they're gonna be able to manage numbers in my opinion. That would slow the portal down."
