WATCH: Nick Saban calls for parity to return to college football
Alabama head coach Nick Saban has been open and forthright about his views on the state of college football and where it is headed. Saban has not been a fan of the rapid expansion in NIL or the transfer portal within college sports. And on Friday, during a sit-down interview on the Paul Finebaum Show, the Crimson Tide headman opened on his view on the state of college football.
The NCAA is working on ways to level out the playing field again regarding college recruiting. Many coaches have openly spoken out against what they believe is a negative impact, thanks to NIL and the transfer portal. For them, expanding NIL deals for players creates an unfair advantage in recruiting for some schools. And with little regulation on players’ ability to transfer and where they move to, unlike in the past, athletes have the ability to opt-out of a program at a moment’s notice.
“One of the things I’d like to be able to see us work back to is, everything in college football has always had parity,” Saban said. “Same with scholarship, same with academic support, health care, whatever it is. I don’t think we have that balance right now, which could affect the parity of college football and college athletics as a whole. I know we got a lot of good people working on it, and I’m sure they’ll come up with a good solution for us.”
As Saban said in the video above, there are “a lot of good people working on it.” and with everybody’s attention on college sports as a whole, a solution should be on the horizon soon. But only time will tell if veteran coaches like Saban agree with the new system or are unresponsive to the change that is here.
Nick Saban, Jim Furyk talk about golf, SEC rivalries at Regions Pro-Am
Alabama head coach Nick Saban participated in this week’s Regions Tradition Pro-Am tournament at the Greystone Golf and Country Club in Birmingham, Alabama which raises money for charity. Alongside some of the biggest names in the state, he got a chance to pair up with a pro on the course and have some fun.
Nick Saban joined forces with Jim Furyk, who won the U.S. Open in 2003 and has finished inside the top five of every major tournament throughout his career. The two appeared to have a good time talking golf, football and more in front of the cameras.
“I have a great respect for these guys who can do this consistently, because I think it’s one of the most challenging games out there,” said Saban. “So it’s always fun to see somebody do it as well as he does.”