Feel like there were already too many things to keep track of during the ongoing March Madness tournament? Well, then it does not help that basketball enthusiasts will also now have to keep an eye on the recently opened NCAA transfer portal. For college players, the annual portal provides the chance to seek a better opportunity and fit for their athletic careers. Whether the players feel they can thrive with a better roster or are dissatisfied with any coaching or management changes unexpectedly dropped on their team, they have the option to change their team, and college, by April 22. Since its establishment in 2018, the portal has received praise from many. However, if there is one person who has been against it for a long time, it is Dick Vitale. Judging from his recent comments, he has not yet waivered from his belief.
The 85-year-old recently took to his official X account to once again speak out against the Transfer Portal. He got straight to the point by writing “Isn’t absurd that TRANSFER PORTAL opens during the heart of @MarchMadnessMBB? There is so much instability in college basketball yet the upper echelon from administrators r talking about messing with the one golden event MARCH MADNESS – talking about expanding. PATHETIC”. Yikes!
This isn’t the first time that the renowned ESPN sportscaster has chosen to criticize this NCAA policy. All one has to do is look at Vitale’s tweets from April 2022 onwards. They will find just how many times he has called out the issues with the Transfer Portal. In fact, Vitale used the same language, including words like ‘Pathetic’, in both his recent tweet and the one he had put out back in April 2022. The sportscaster legend may be old, but he is consistent with his strong belief.
Isn’t absurd that TRANSFER PORTAL opens during the heart of @MarchMadnessMBB ? There is so much instability in college basketball yet the upper echelon from administrators r talking about messing with the one golden event MARCH MADNESS – talking about expanding. PATHETIC
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) March 24, 2025
Dick Vitale’s criticism stems from the fact that elite programs allegedly use the transfer portal to poach the best players from the mid-major programs. In his earlier criticism, Vitale specified that the initiative creates an unfair competitive balance where the smaller programs simply cannot compete. Sure, players want to avail this opportunity to not only lock a college with whose team they can create a better stat standing, but also where they don’t face academic misalignment, and can also grow financially through better NIL deals. Unfortunately, by using this chance, players are indirectly affecting potential high school recruits, aka the next set of NCAA players. After all, rosters in a constant state of flux prevent schools from making formal offers to high school recruits at least years in advance. The delays in roster building can force top talents to make career decisions on extremely short notice.
“The bottom line is it’s not good for the game,” said Vitale in a video message back in April 2023. “It’s creating such instability. Don’t sleep on this NCAA, you have to check out what is going on.”
Despite Vitale spending years criticizing the Transfer Portal, college players still avail it to seek better opportunities. According to reports, more than 2,000 players hit the portal last year. The number can increase at a major rate this year. Therefore, it would be saddening for Vitale that his long-running criticism is not bearing any fruit. However, he can relish in the fact that he is not alone in the fight.
John Calipari and JJ Watt joined Dick Vitale in criticizing NCAA Transfer Portal: “We’re having individual meetings”
John Calipari has had quite an eventful 12 months. His former Kentucky Wildcats squad again failed to make it far in March Madness last year. He left the team despite a ‘lifetime’ contract and had to build an entire Arkansas squad from the ground up through a $5 million NIL budget provided to him. Despite this, he built a competitive Arkansas Razorbacks roster that has now made it to the ‘Sweet 16’. After such hard work, the last thing Calipari wants to see is for any of those players to make an immediate exit through the transfer portal.
During a recent presser, Calipari was reminded that the transfer portal opened on Monday, just as he began to practice for the ‘Sweet 16’. With a slight smile on his face, which can be perceived as sarcastic, the coach said “Welcome to my world. Monday, we’re really preparing for a game, and we’re having individual meetings about if they’re coming back. If they put their name in the portal, they probably don’t have an option to come back. You care about the kids—at the end of the year, it’s all about them—whatever they choose. It’s their choice, but it’s getting harder to be that way.”
John Calipari finding out that the transfer portal opens on Monday, just as he begins practice for the Sweet 16…#Insanity pic.twitter.com/DNw3NxjqWv
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) March 23, 2025
Along with John Calipari, NFL legend J.J. Watt also took aim at the NCAA’s transfer portal. While the 3× NFL Defensive Player of the Year represents another sport, he had to speak out after reportedly learning the portal opens before March Madness ends. Taking to X, he wrote “The NCAA transfer portal opening before March Madness ends (same as football portal opening before bowl season ends) is preposterous. Literally cannibalizing your own sport. Imagine NFL free agency starting the Monday after Wild Card Weekend…”
Do you stand with Dick Vitale and others regarding the NCAA Transfer Portal? Or do you believe the pros far outweigh the cons? Let us know in the comments.
The post “Pathetic”: ESPN’s Dick Vitale Advocates Against Strong NCAA Policy to Save March Madness appeared first on EssentiallySports.
