Since the dawn of time, college athletics have been seen as the ultimate pathway to the pros, with some of the nation's best amateur athletes dreaming to play for their dream school and become as good as they can in order to earn consideration for the next level.
But over the years, the landscape of college football, as well as all sports, have changed drastically, with the transfer portal era allowing players to freely switch schools whenever they see fit and the implementation of Name, Image and Likeness allowing players to earn good money as student-athletes.
But these changes have made college athletics almost like another version of pro sports, with the offseason nowadays feeling like free agency and many athletes opting to go where the money is. And because of that, some schools have started to hire general managers for their respective sports programs, such as what Stanford football did with the hiring of Andrew Luck as the program's general manager and what St. Bonaventure basketball did with former ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
In this revolutionary new role, the two sporting legends will essentially do what professional sports general managers do and that is take care of all things related to their sports. For Luck, his job is to handle anything and everything football related, from personnel decisions, helping with recruits, alumni relations to sponsorships.
A role that is very new to the world of college football, with Luck being the first noted person in NCAA football to be a football-centered general manager, his hiring represents the new reality that we are in.
The fact of the matter is that college athletics have indirectly become a professional endeavor for student-athletes. Prior to the NIL agreement, college athletes earning compensation was strictly prohibited, with many players receiving significant punishments if they were found to have received any money.
But now, many players will choose a school based on the money that they are offered and will base their decisions on how they can maximize their earnings. In many cases, players may also transfer if they feel that they will earn more at another school, with some even opting to stay in school and not go pro if it means they can earn more money.
General managers allow for schools to now treat their programs as if they are pro teams. The hiring of Luck takes some pressure of Stanford head coach, Troy Taylor, to allow him more time to focus on pure coaching while making sure that someone is there to essentially solely focus on bringing in the best talent and making sure that their teams are able to keep up with the times of the NIL.
It has been evident that some schools have struggled since the NIL opportunities began, with the Cardinal finishing with four straight 3-9 seasons after experiencing a run of dominance throughout the 2010s.
It is fair to say that college sports will never be how they once were and in an era where it is as important as ever to make sure that programs land top talent in order to stay competitive, it is very likely that general managers will become the new normal in today's college sports scene.
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