MARLER: College sports is broken-and no one in charge seems to care

By Chris Marler

I’m exhausted. 

I’m about to be 40, so I kind of mean that in general. Specifically though, I mean I’m exhausted from covering college sports. 

I’m not complaining. I love my job, and am lucky to wake up everyday and write and talk about college sports. 

I don’t get tired from running around to press conferences, spring practices, and navigating the transfer portal news that never seems to end. I love that. That’s what 5 Hour Energy and energy drinks are for. 

I’m exhausted from watching the people that are in charge of college sports care the least about the product than the people that consume it. And, it’s only getting worse. 

NEW: President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order regulating college sports, @PeteNakos reports✍️

Athletes will have one free undergraduate transfer.

Details: https://t.co/iWwCxhg3Fv pic.twitter.com/oDXqSE9Q33

— On3 (@On3) April 3, 2026

On Friday, President Donald Trump announced that he was signing an executive order to help regulate college sports. The EO specifically helps place some guard rails on NIL and the transfer portal. That’s a good thing in theory. It’s very much needed. 

Unfirtunately, it won’t matter.

It’s just another PR moment and feigned attempt at pretending to fix the mounting set of issues facing collegiate athletics. That’s not Trump’s fault. He’s not the one who was in charge of running college athletics for the last four years, let alone the previous 150.

It’s only getting worse. It was also reported Friday that the NCAA basketball tournament will likely expand the tournament from 68 to 76 teams. They may even have a 24 team play-in round to start the tournament in the very near future.

Who asked for that? Not me. Not you. I don’t even know if the people pretending to run the sport, or the TV executives that actually run it, ever asked for it either. 

Chances are they didn’t. Chances are they don’t care if anyone else asked. Chances are none of that will matter as long as that annual check they bring in at the end of each March or College Football Playoff gets even bigger or adds a few more zeroes. 

That’s one of the main problems. The other problem? The frustration from fans won’t ever impact the decision makers enough to make any changes as long as more money is made and people keep consuming the product. That’s abundantly clear. 

As for me, I hate to say it, but none of the mounting issues or growing frustrations are going to stop me from watching college football or March Madness. My disdain for the executives in charge may be stronger and my complaints a little louder, but I can guarantee you that when late August rolls around I will be parked on the couch, at the bar, or in the stadium watching like I do every season. 

Maybe that’s also part of the problem. In the meantime, I don’t have a solution. I just have exhaustion. I guess wake me up when it’s fixed or time for kickoff. 

I guarantee you it won’t ever be both.