Mike Krzyzewski provides thoughts on conference realignment, NIL, transfer portal

Former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has a lot of thoughts about conference realignment, NIL and transfer portal movement now that he’s out.

The Blue Devils legend spoke freely about the topics on The Brotherhood Podcast. Safe to say, Coach K is uncertain about the future.

Will it improve in his mind? Only time will tell.

“It’s the most tumultuous time in the history of college sports, not just college basketball, and we really don’t have the leadership,” Krzyzewski said. “It’s hard for me to believe there’s not a Pac-12. That’s ridiculous. And the caretakers of college sports have been the conference commissioners … now there’s a Power Four. And in these last two years, last couple of years, they didn’t work as a team. They worked at developing their own TV and money. And so it’s hurt the sport. I think we’ve done a really good job here. 

“Because John (Scheyer) has continued to do it smart and it starts with recruiting. You know, we haven’t gone to the transfer portal except for grad transfers. So that means we are still that place to go if you’re the great high school player. 

NIL is where it gets really complicated. It’s a world Krzyzewski doesn’t pretend to understand.

In fact, the former Duke coach would rather not be involved in this type of college sports world.

“With NIL, that’s a world that I’m not sure anybody knows,” Krzyzewski said. “I don’t know if they’ll ever get a handle on it. But we have to do it to a level where, especially you guys, it doesn’t negatively impact the locker room. Because no one’s going to share what they do from other schools … It’s not like the NBA where you know the salary structure of everybody.

“And so it’ll be interesting if the NCAA or whoever runs college sports in the future will be able to create some type of template where everyone knows what’s going on, there’s more transparency. I’m a little bit disappointed that we, as a conference, haven’t come up with what does the ACC want to do? And be a leader in it. Not wait for Congress or anybody say no, and work together as the 30 or 40 schools. Now, we don’t have that many … (but) we’re proactive. Like and share ideas and say, for the good of our conference.”

Krzyzewski isn’t confident that the ACC in particular is doing what he feels it best.

“This is what all our membership should be doing and I don’t feel that that’s happening … So I don’t know,” he said. “You know, it’s a world that I didn’t live in. You know, it was just starting (with my) last year …  And you know what, I don’t want to be involved.”

Mike Krzyzewski concerned about future of college sports

Moving forward won’t be easy and it’ll be complicated, according to Krzyzewski.

“I don’t think it’s a player, I would accept that, so I don’t think that’ll ever happen, you know, like it does in the pros,” Krzyzewski said. “Because it’s none of your business if I’m making that, you know, so I don’t know how they do it, is what I’m saying. 

“The NCAA really has no oomph because they’ve lost every lawsuit that’s been taken against them. So their antitrust stuff is the weakest that there is in sport. And so people can do a bunch of stuff, we’re going to hold you accountable, I’m going to take you to court. And you know what I’m gonna win. And so it’s like a house of cards. It doesn’t have it doesn’t have oomph.”

Perhaps all of it will come together in a few years time or longer. But for now, Krzyzewski isn’t confident, so it seems, on how college athletics moves forward at this pace.