Wisconsin Basketball Adapting to NIL and Transfer Portal Landscape

Wisconsin Badgers head basketball coach Greg Gard is among the growing number of individuals who desire some form of regulation to be implemented in this ever-changing NIL and transfer portal landscape. 

That said, immediate assistance isn’t on the way. Gard has emphasized support for players receiving compensation in the lucrative world of college basketball, but the absence of regulations has led to a myriad of issues. With the transfer portal predating NIL, the concept of a level playing field has evaporated, paving the way to tampering and pay-for-play schemes, which complicate matters for programs like the Badgers.

“It’s not gonna happen right now,” Gard said on Wilde and Tausch. “We’re gonna have to operate as we have been in this world.”

Since the end of the season, Gard has seen four Wisconsin basketball players depart for the transfer portal, with second-team All-Big Ten wing AJ Storr and multi-year starting point guard Chucky Hepburn seemingly defecting from the program for more lucrative offers elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, the challenge lies not only in losing core pieces but also in the inability to win recruiting battles in this open market. NIL and pay-for-play have become synonymous in recent years, erasing traditional selling points in recruiting like winning culture and academics. Now, whoever has the up-front cash to land a player in the portal will likely get them. 

“We can complain about it, but that’s not gonna solve the issue,” Gard said. “We just have to continue to fight every day and put ourselves in the best position to become a good team going forward.”

Gard emphasized the complexity of the current college landscape, where financial incentives drive most decisions, making it challenging for programs like Wisconsin basketball to compete. The unexpected departure of Hepburn helps underscore the financial dynamics at play, although Gard was careful not to suggest anyone has tampered. 

“I wouldn’t say anybody is not following the rules,” Gard said. “There’s so many avenues to this that people on the outside don’t understand. It’s really driven by the market of the players. Yeah, there are programs that maybe color outside the lines. At the end of the day, it’s about the money and where the money goes to.

“When it gets to a point where there’s astronomical amounts of money involved, I don’t blame the players for making sure they are in a position where they can financially really take care of themselves and their families. Anybody that’s in any type of job and offered an opportunity in a one-year window to double or triple your current salary, you’d likely do it in a heartbeat.”

While Gard acknowledged the financial allure of other schools, he stressed the need for fiscal responsibility. Conversations about player movement and compensation often involve numerous parties beyond just the head coach, reflecting the financial-driven nature of the business. In short, everything fans once knew is a thing of the past. This is pro sports. 

In navigating this new reality, Wisconsin basketball must adapt and work to retain as many players as possible while acknowledging the inevitability of annual turnover. While losing top contributors has gutted the Badgers this offseason, they have primarily benefitted from the portal up to this point and will need to pillage smaller programs moving forward.

Fortunately, the cupboards are not completely bare. The Badgers will bring back starters Max Klesmit and Steven Crowl, along with John Blackwell, Nolan Winter, and Kamari McGee, while also welcoming four-star point guard Daniel Freitag into the fold. The goal now will be to find complimentary pieces from the portal to compete again in 2024-25. 

Regardless, the path to competitiveness in this landscape relies heavily on support from fans and donors to bolster NIL initiatives. Until regulatory guardrails are established, programs like Wisconsin basketball must navigate the turbulent waters of turnover and financial compensation, all while hoping for future reforms that will re-level the playing field.

“You continue to do what we’ve done over the last year,” said Gard. “My staff and I have been extremely active in terms of raising NIL dollars and having people impact what we’ve been able to do.

“We’ll continue to be competitive in the NIL world, but there is no ceiling. That’s where it just becomes an arms race.”