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“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – Coach John Wooden
In both investing and college athletics, trust is essential. A strong, long-term relationship—whether between a financial advisor and a client or a coach and a player—is built on transparency, shared goals, and a commitment to the bigger picture. But in the current era of NCAA men’s basketball, trust is eroding. Players are jumping ship for the next best NIL deal, coaches are left scrambling to rebuild rosters each offseason, and programs that once thrived on continuity now operate in a state of constant uncertainty.
Disciplined investors know that chasing short-term market trends often leads to instability and underperformance. Similarly, the current state of college basketball raises a critical question: Have we sacrificed long-term value for short-term gains?
To understand how we arrived at this crossroads, let’s take a step back and examine the evolution of college athletics and its shift toward a transactional model.
A Brief History of the NCAA
The NCAA was founded in 1906 to ensure that college sports prioritized education and player well-being over professional ambitions. For decades, scholarships served as the primary form of compensation, allowing student-athletes to compete at a high level while earning a degree. While the system had flaws—especially as TV revenue and coaching salaries exploded—it fostered team loyalty, development, and a sense of tradition.
However, as college sports became a billion-dollar industry, pressure mounted to compensate athletes. This led to seismic changes that, while seemingly fair, have fundamentally altered the foundation of college athletics.
The Rise of NIL and the Transfer Portal: How We Got Here
Two major changes have reshaped the landscape of college sports:
- NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) Rights: In 2021, the NCAA allowed athletes to profit from their brand, leading to a flood of endorsement deals, sponsorships, and wealthy boosters using NIL collectives to influence recruiting.
- The Transfer Portal: Previously, transferring required athletes to sit out a year, discouraging impulsive moves. Now, players can transfer freely with immediate eligibility, turning the system into college basketball’s version of free agency.
While these changes empower athletes, they have also created chaos. Instead of focusing on development, coaches must now spend each offseason—and in some cases, the middle of the season—re-recruiting their own players to keep them from leaving.
The Cost of Short-Term Thinking
In investing, constantly chasing short-term wins often leads to long-term instability. The same is happening in college basketball, where the emphasis on individual deals and immediate opportunities has weakened trust between coaches and players.
- Coach Burnout and Frustration: After a recent Arkansas win in the NCAA Tournament, Coach John Calipari was asked about the transfer portal opening in the middle of March Madness. Instead of celebrating his team’s Sweet 16 appearance, he had to address whether his own players were considering leaving. His frustration was clear: “If they put their name in the portal, they probably don’t have an option to come back.” Veterans like Jim Larrañaga, Tony Bennett, and Jay Wright have either retired or expressed frustration with the state of the game. Larrañaga, in particular, recently pointed to NIL and the transfer portal as exhausting factors that have fundamentally changed coaching. Managing rosters has become more about re-recruiting players each year than developing them over time. This moment underscores a critical issue—coaches can no longer assume players are committed to a program. Every season is now a battle not just to win games but to retain rosters.
- Lack of Team Loyalty: The transfer portal has turned team-building into a revolving door. The idea of players growing together, developing chemistry, and leaving a legacy is being replaced by a transactional mindset.
- A Distracted Focus: Instead of being laser-focused on winning a national championship, players and coaches must now navigate NIL negotiations and transfer rumors—sometimes in the middle of the NCAA Tournament itself. The fact that conversations about the portal are taking place during March Madness is a glaring sign of how priorities have shifted.
These issues highlight a fundamental truth: Trust, once a cornerstone of college athletics, is fading. And in both sports and investing, trust is the bedrock of long-term success.
Lessons from Investing: Trust, Transparency, and Long-Term Success
At Intelligent Investing, we believe that strong relationships—like strong investment strategies—are built on trust, transparency, and discipline. The parallels between wealth management and college athletics are striking:
- Chasing Trends vs. Sticking to a Plan: Just as investors who constantly chase the next big stock often underperform, athletes who bounce from school to school chasing the highest NIL offer may sacrifice long-term development. The most successful investment portfolios and college programs thrive on stability, not short-term volatility.
- Transparency Builds Strong Relationships: Just as a coach needs to know if a player is fully committed to a program, financial advisors need honest communication from clients. If a client is considering a major life change—retirement, a business venture, or a shift in financial goals—it’s crucial that they share those thoughts early so we can guide them effectively. A player secretly planning to transfer and an investor making impulsive, uncommunicated financial moves both create unnecessary risk.
- The Power of Long-Term Growth: Whether in sports or finance, long-term success comes from making disciplined choices. The best college programs invest in player development, team culture, and continuity. The best investors focus on fundamentals, diversification, and steady growth. Those who jump from one opportunity to the next often find themselves with fewer options over time.
Restoring Trust in College Basketball
To rebuild trust between players and coaches—just as in the advisor-client relationship—there must be structural changes that encourage transparency and long-term thinking.
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” ~John Wooden
Some potential solutions include:
- Structured NIL Contracts: Instead of one-year deals that encourage constant movement, multi-year NIL agreements could promote stability and commitment.
- Transfer Portal Timing Adjustments: Opening the transfer portal in the middle of the NCAA Tournament is disruptive. A designated offseason window—after the national championship—would allow teams to focus on competing rather than roster management during March Madness.
- Academically and Developmentally Linked NIL Bonuses: Incentivizing players to stay at a school for multiple years or maintain academic progress could reinforce the dual mission of education and athletics.
- Coach and Player Advisory Committees: Creating forums where both parties can voice concerns and propose reforms would help rebuild mutual trust.
Trust is the Foundation of Success
College basketball, like investing, is built on relationships. Trust between players and coaches is essential for team success, just as trust between advisors and clients is crucial for financial well-being. But in today’s NCAA, that trust is fading. Players are uncertain about their futures, coaches are exhausted from re-recruiting their own teams, and March Madness itself is being overshadowed by transfer discussions.
At Intelligent Investing, we know that successful partnerships require transparency. We want our clients to communicate openly about their goals, fears, and future plans so we can provide the best guidance possible. The best financial outcomes come from disciplined, long-term planning, just as the best college basketball teams thrive on loyalty, development, and trust.
If college basketball is to preserve what makes it great, it must move beyond the short-term NIL and transfer portal frenzy and refocus on trust, commitment, and the bigger picture. The best investors—and the best teams—understand that success isn’t built overnight. It’s built on the foundation of relationships that stand the test of time.
In both college basketball and investing, the most successful teams aren’t the ones chasing short-term wins—they’re the ones built on trust, discipline, and a long-term vision. As John Wooden wisely said, “The main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” At Intelligent Investing, we believe the same principle applies to your financial future.
You don’t have to navigate the complexities of wealth management alone—we’re here to coach you, guide you, and help you build a winning financial strategy. If you’re ready to join a team that prioritizes your long-term success, we’d love to connect. Click the link to schedule a complimentary call or coffee with us and take the first step toward a more confident financial future.
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