College sports are changing daily. It oftentimes happens too fast for not only the casual fan to keep track, but also the most seasoned journalists in the field.
The most recent issue to hit the scene is the eligibility requirements for basketball players, especially those who have already graduated. Two players have headlined this new eligibility crisis — James Nnaji and Charles Bediako.
Nnaji was the first controversial entry. On Dec. 24, Nnaji signed with Baylor men’s basketball mid-season, becoming the first player drafted into the NBA to ever return to college. Before ending up at Baylor, Nnaji played professionally in Europe. After he was drafted No. 31 in 2023 by the Detroit Pistons, he had multiple short stints with the NBA during the summer league but never signed a full NBA contract. Nnaji is still within the five-year window of what would have been his high school graduation, which meant Nnaji still met the NCAA’s eligibility requirements.
Since signing with Baylor, Nnaji has not played significant minutes and is averaging less than two points a game in four games. What he did, however, was open the proverbial floodgates for others.
Bediako signed with Alabama basketball earlier this week. Bediako is a former Alabama basketball player who went undrafted after the 2022-23 season. He has not appeared in an NBA game but has signed multiple NBA two-way contracts. His move was blocked, but a local Tuscaloosa judge put a 10-day restraining order on the deal, which will allow Bediako to play for Alabama during that time. The judge, interestingly enough, is a major donor to Alabama’s athletic program, presenting a major conflict of interest. Bediako cited Nnaji in his case for NCAA reinstatement.
Basketball is not the only sport facing eligibility issues. Former Duke quarterback Darian Mensah signed a two-year contract that was supposedly binding ahead of the 2025 season, but he found himself entering the transfer portal at season’s end. Miami was quickly named a suitor, and Duke decided to sue Mensah on the enforcement of his contract, refusing to enter his name into the portal. The judge ruled in favor of Mensah, and he is slated as the starting quarterback for Miami next season.
It seems that college sports as a whole are barreling towards the removal of eligibility. If anyone can sue for their eligibility regardless of extenuating circumstances, it seems likely that they will disappear. The limited time that athletes get to play in college is part of what makes college sports what they are, and these recent developments turn college into a quasi-professional game.
The lack of accountability from both sides has allowed the game to continuously move towards a wasteland of nothingness that will help the rich get richer. This will then continue to push away casual fans and regular people interested in seeing athletes represent their college and local communities.
With most youth sports skyrocketing in popularity, it seems the logical conclusion is that these concerns will spread to all collegiate sports, and it will completely take over the college game, not just the revenue-generating ones.
If the college game has little difference from the professional ranks, it calls into question why people should care, and that question will ring in the ears of many in the near future.
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