Can college sports be fixed or has the ship already hit the iceberg and there is no saving it? That is a question I ask myself almost every day. More and more of my friends and family have given up following and being fans of their favorite college team. The reasons they give are many. I recently asked followers on my social media pages for feedback about how they feel about college sports to see if they are experiencing the same apathy I am. I found out that I am not alone.

Before revealing the results, I will provide a bit of background as to why this is important to me. I have been a college sports fan ever since I can remember. As a little kid, I remember watching Wisconsin Badger and Notre Dame games on Saturday afternoons. Sorry Notre Dame haters, my Dad is as big a Notre Dame fan as Rudy’s Dad from the movie “Rudy.” Because of that, every Notre Dame game was an event at our house growing up. To this day, the ringtone on my Dad’s phone is the Notre Dame fight song. My Dad was born in Aurora, Illinois. Back then, that made you an automatic Bears fan and a Fighting Irish fan. Especially if you are Catholic!

With my Dad being a big sports fan and sports always being on in our house, I became a sports fan as well. While college football was my favorite sport, and still is, I became a fan of college basketball, too. I watched all the NFL, NBA, and MLB games I could, but I couldn’t get enough college sports. I believe I was nine years old when my parents got me a subscription to Sports Illustrated. The magazine used to have a printed bracket in the issue that came out the week of the NCAA tournament selections. I used to run to the mailbox that Thursday to get the issue, tear the bracket out of the magazine, and fill it out. With each round that went by, I would highlight the picks I got right and cross out the picks I got wrong. After the tournament, I would keep the bracket in a folder so I had it to reference when next year’s bracket came out and I would do the same thing all over again. I watched every game. Not just the tournament games. Every game that was on television. It was easier to do back then with only three channels! While I was obviously too young to gamble at the time, I always liked to see how I did on my bracket picks. And I usually did pretty well. Filling out the NCAA tournament bracket is something that I still enjoy doing to this day.

Fast forward to my freshman year in college in 1991. As a big sports fan, I purchased football and basketball season tickets. K-State had general admission tickets for basketball and if you were the first in line, you could sit courtside. There were two rows for students on the court sideline. The first game I went to and got those seats, I was hooked. I was always one of the first in line, most of the time I would get there days in advance, to make sure I could sit courtside. It was fantastic being that close to the action and seeing some of the best coaches in the Big 8, and quite frankly, in college basketball history, do their thing. Roy Williams, Norm Stewart, Johnny Orr, Danny Nee, Billy Tubbs, Eddie Sutton, Dana Altman, and Joe Harrington were the coaches in the Big 8 in 1991 and for the next several years. I still have fond memories of attending those Big 8 matchups.

Since my freshman year in college, I haven’t missed a K-State football or basketball game in person, on the radio, or television. Some might call me a glutton for punishment because of that fact. Recently I had friends who gave me grief because the football and basketball schedules were the background of my phone. It saved me time having to look it up.

I’ve still got plenty of interest in college football, but my interest in college basketball is waning. I almost feel like watching the games is a chore, or work, instead of entertainment. So why is college basketball losing one of its biggest fans? I asked my followers for help answering this question and was somewhat relieved that I was not alone. Here is what I asked.

“I used to consider myself the biggest college basketball fan. Over the last few years, the sport has lost me as a fan. Do you feel the same way? What do you see as the biggest contributing factor?”

I gave some multiple-choice options that people could choose from and also encouraged comments. Here are the most mentioned reasons for fans losing interest, from over 300 people that responded.

The transfer portal

The transfer portal was by far the most mentioned factor in waning interest in college basketball. 64% of respondents chose it. It used to be that one-and-dones were an issue for fans, but that has morphed into the transfer portal. The days of watching a player grow and develop over three or four years in your favorite college basketball program are long gone. College football and basketball have become the wild west of free agency with few rules governing the portal. Players come and go from season to season and show very little loyalty to their school and coaching staff anymore. Jerome Tang at K-State has had it worse than most. He’s had to replace up to 10 players on his roster the last two years. It is difficult to build a program with any continuity that way. He’s just putting together a roster of 12 mercenaries every year. From a fan’s perspective, it’s hard to care or get emotionally invested if the players you watch aren’t equally emotionally invested in the school or program. I have tried to follow the portal closely, but even someone who follows it closely like me can’t really keep up with a new roster every season. In the first few games, all I find myself doing is trying to figure out who the players are and what they might bring to the table. It is not a good viewing experience, especially if the team is struggling, which they normally are early in the season. I have had a lot of friends and family who have stopped watching the sport because of the portal. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

NIL

NIL was mentioned by 24% of respondents. I was never a fan of paying players, even though I knew the best players in the game were getting paid under the table, whether it was by the shoe companies or dirty athletic departments. There was something pure about the sport knowing that these were student-athletes on scholarship. Well, that’s all gone by the wayside. Players are now openly getting paid, but the game is getting worse and is losing fan support. My question is: will there always be enough fans to put money into a NIL organization to pay the players? I am skeptical that this model will last long-term, but there is probably no going back from this. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

Conference realignment

I mentioned my fond memories of the Big 8, and many people in my survey mentioned that conference realignment was lessening their enjoyment of the game. Realignment has destroyed a lot of great rivalries. Fans used to know the players and coaches. Now fans don’t know a lot of the players and if you are playing against a new school that you are unfamiliar with, it is difficult to get emotionally invested and charged up to beat them. Not only does this hurt the fans, but I bet the players don’t feel the emotion of rivalry games, either. Why would they if they are transferring from school to school every year? Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

The lack of fundamentals/Game has changed.

With a new band of mercenaries every season, it takes a long time for a team to come together and gel. They are learning new offense, new defense, and how to play together. This makes for some ugly basketball in October, November, and December. With Jerome Tang’s teams, the game looks like a pickup game of shirts and skins at your local gym. When you watch college basketball, do you see much passing anymore? Blocking out for a rebound? Are big men posting up? Offensive sets? I don’t. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

Pathetic Non-Conference Games

Tune-up games have always been a part of the non-conference in college basketball, but these non-conference schedules seem to be getting worse, not better. Who wants to see a Big 12 basketball school beat up on a Division 2 program? K-State has played Fort Hays State, New Orleans, Cleveland State, Mississippi Valley State, Longwood, and the University of Arkansas Pine-Bluff thus far in its non-conference schedule. Am I excited to see Jerome Tang’s latest band of 12 mercenaries lace up their shoes to play Longwood? Nope. Here is an example of a conversation I’ve had with numerous people (who used to be big college basketball fans) in the last couple of years:

“Are you watching the ‘Cats tonight?”

“Oh, they are playing tonight? Who are they playing?

“Longwood.”

“Oh, I might tune in, but I’ve got a lot to do, so I probably won’t catch much of it.”

Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

The season starts too early.

K-State’s basketball season started on October 29th this year. It used to be that programs had their preseason pep rally or first look at the team around Halloween. Now the season starts before Halloween. Most people are still in college football mode in October and not thinking much about basketball. For a product that is losing fans, perhaps it is time to shorten the non-conference schedule and start the season in late November. Give the programs more practice time before playing their first games. It might make for a better product on the court. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

ESPN Plus

I’ve gone back and forth with many people about ESPN Plus. I realize that streaming is the way of the future and at this point, there is no going back, but there are still people I know that refuse to pay for it. The product is not the easiest interface and it is sometimes difficult to set up on your television. Have you tried to explain to your Mom and Dad how to get ESPN Plus on their TV over the phone so they can watch the game? I’ve had to do it many times and sometimes it’s not worth the hassle to them. They’ve figured it out now, but how many people are in the same boat? Are these schools building a fan base by streaming on ESPN Plus, or are they losing fans because fewer people are watching? This is something I haven’t gotten the answer to. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

Are these experiences just the experience of K-State fans or other fans, too? I bet KU fans may not feel the same way since their school is highly ranked and has high expectations every season. But I have heard KU fans complain about ESPN Plus, the transfer portal, and NIL, too. I’d venture to guess that KU fans aren’t feeling nearly as apathetic about their team as K-State fans are. However, in my experience, the K-State fans I’ve talked to and interacted with about this have watched the team, both good and bad, over many, many years, and a lot of them simply no longer care. Do the NCAA basketball powers that be care?

Hopefully, I don’t sound like a curmudgeon, but I want to love this sport again. Can the powers that be get this ship turned around in the right direction? I sure hope so.