Skip to main content
Join Now

Dick Vitale puts NCAA on blast for NCAA Tournament, transfer portal overlap: 'It's ludicrous'

by:Alex Byington•about 18 hours•

_AlexByington

On3 image
(Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

The NCAA Transfer Portal officially opened for basketball players on Monday, in the midst of both the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments. And ESPN icon Dick Vitale is furious.

During a Tuesday appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, the 85-year-old broadcaster went on a lengthy rant against the transfer portal opening immediately following the first weekend of March Madness. The men’s Sweet Sixteen begins on Thursday and the Elite Eight starts on Saturday.

“We’ve got chaos … they just opened up the transfer portal, which I think is a joke. I think it’s absurd to have the transfer portal (open) during the heart of March Madness,” Vitale said Tuesday on The Pat McAfee Show. “I think that’s crazy, it’s ludicrous. … In only one day, about 1,000 kids are in the portal — 1,000! It is total whacky what’s going on.

“The question is, right away, the question is very simple when kids talk to coaches about transferring: ‘What about my cash? How much am I getting?’ Did you ever think you’d see this, Pat, going on?” Vitale continued. “It’s a better free agency than the pros have, because in this case, you’re free (to go wherever). At least in the pros you have a contract. I think they’ve got to think about a contract. … The kids deserve money, I have no problem with that, but the bottom line is this chaotic movement, there’s no stability.”

The men’s and women’s college basketball transfer portal will remain open through April 22. On3 insider Pete Nakos revealed more than 700 basketball players officially entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on Monday, with the total climbing to more than 1,200 by midday Tuesday. Last year, more than 2,100 players entered the portal.

“I just think there’s so much chaos, it’s the Wild West of intercollegiate sports. It really is. … There’s no rules and regulations, there’s none. Zero. (It’s just) do what you want, do anything you want,” Vitale added. “And with the big schools, I’ll tell you what else is happening: you don’t see any Cinderellas. You’re not going to see many Cinderellas any more because it’s all the schools that can pay the big dollars. The SEC has seven teams in the (Sweet Sixteen). Why? Because the SEC has gotten with the times, and the ACC hasn’t gotten with the times. So they’ve got one team, Duke. … Something has to be done, because you have to see the little guy rubbed out.”

Vitale might be onto something, especially with regard to the SEC’s dominance in the transfer portal age. On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote the SEC is once again expected to be college basketball’s biggest spenders this Spring, with one anonymous ACC coach telling Shaw: “Most of the SEC will be the biggest spenders. Really, the top of every high major league will at least be spending $6 to $8 million.”

“The transfer portal has definitely changed the way you recruit,” another ACC coach told Shaw. “It’s much more transactional, but you still have to evaluate and make sure you are getting the right pieces that complement each other. Teams that were down this year are looking to rebound and can if they have a big enough budget. I’m hearing budgets of $5 million and more just to compete.”