As the environment of college athletics continues to evolve, a coach is emphasizing to his team the true purpose of their education and challenging the notion of playing college football for financial gain.
Earlier this year, the ‘House settlement’ unlocked the possibility for colleges and universities to distribute a portion of athletic revenue to student-athletes annually.
This, on top of ‘name, image, and likeness’ (NIL) deals, means that athletes have greater earning potential in college than ever before.
Northern Illinois University (NIU), which is part of the Mid-America Conference (MAC), is one institution impacted by this change, with the Huskies seeing 19 football players enter the transfer portal after the last season.
In a passionate outburst, NIU head coach Thomas Hammock criticized the shifting dynamics in the sport and emphasized to his players that college should be about more than transferring schools for monetary reasons.
NIU coach Thomas Hammock railed against the evolving landscape of collegiate athletics
His football team (in white) lost 19 players to the transfer portal last offseason
‘Honestly, I enjoy the challenge,’ Hammock expressed to the media during a press conference. ‘It doesn’t trouble me at all because in life you have to make choices. Sometimes they play out well, and other times they don’t.
‘I told our team the other day, “We lost all these guys. Let’s see who plays.” So it’s all good when people put it on Twitter, Hey, all glory to God, I’m going on the transfer portal. Let’s see if they play. How many of them guys going to play or travel or get snaps?
‘I was going to tweet something the other day, a picture of me, and say, You know what? I enjoyed my college experience. I didn’t get one dime, but the lessons I learned was more valuable than any money you can ever pay me. And I appreciate that because that is long term. People are losing the fact that this is short term.
‘I coached in the National Football League for five years. Five years, right? Don’t lose focus of work the long term. Get your degree, learn valuable lessons that’s going to help you in the long term of your life. That’s the whole purpose.
‘This is a transition from being a kid to a grown up. And I hope people don’t lose focus of that. Everybody’s talking about everything else besides what is the most important thing for going to college. Because if you’re going to college to go get a couple of dollars, you might as well go get a job. This is too hard to go get a couple of dollars.
‘Learn the lesson that you need to learn to be successful in life for the next 40 to 50 years of your life. I would do it again for free, for free, because of the things I learned. That’s why I’m standing here today because of what I learned in college, not because of how much somebody gave me. That’s what I would tell people.
‘Parents, they need to learn that lesson, too. Stop trying to live through your kids. Go teach your kids what are the things they need to learn to be successful. That’s what I’m telling my kids.
‘I don’t care about no NIL, no revenue share. I can care less. You need to learn things in college to get you prepared for life, to be a father, a husband, to work, everything else.Those are the most important things. That’s what people are missing, in my opinion. Just my opinion.’
Last year, NIU went 8-5 and secured a program-defining win on the road at Notre Dame (above)
NIU opted-into the House settlement, paving the way for the school’s athletes to receive a revenue share from the university.
The Huskies went 8-5 last season – including a program-defining victory over eventual national runners-up Notre Dame in South Bend.
But the loss of those players could set the team back as they prepare for the upcoming season in just two weeks.
NIU opens their season at home on August 30, when they host Holy Cross.
