Randy Levine Details the ‘Wild West’ of College Sports Amid NIL Chaos
New York Yankees President Randy Levine, Vice Chairman of the Board of Saving College Sports, joins Brian Kilmeade to break down the “Wild West” of college sports. Levine highlights the growing issues with name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements, the chaotic transfer portal, and athlete eligibility that impact student-athletes. It details the financial pressure on universities and President Trump’s efforts to find legislative solutions, hoping for a bipartisan solution within 90 days.
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The NCAA has been a bit of a mess lately.
Between players falling victim to sports betting scandals and guys in their 20s avoiding both the professional ranks and the job market to stay in college, Van Wilder style, it’s hard not to be criticized about the current state of college sports.
Brendan Sorsby of the Cincinnati Bearcats laughs during warmups before their game against the Utah Utes at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah on November 1, 2025. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Speaking of which, we saw another case of a college basketball team dipping into the professional ranks to sign a player, as the LSU Tigers and head coach Will Wade signed G League guard RJ Luis Jr. earlier Tuesday.
Luis comes to the Tigers via the Maine Celtics, the G League affiliate of the Boston Celtics, and was previously undrafted out of St. John’s, where he won Big East Player of the Year a season prior.
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To give LSU even a hint of benefit of the doubt here, the Tigers didn’t sign Luis in the middle of the season fresh off a G League roster to try to bolster a tournament run, so it’s not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison with the infamous Charles Bediako fiasco that took place in Tuscaloosa earlier this year.
Charles Bediako of the Alabama Crimson Tide reacts during the second half in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament at KFC YUM! Center against the San Diego State Aztecs on March 24, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
He has, however, been signed to a professional team and is currently ineligible to play for the Tigers in the upcoming season. He will therefore have to take legal action to resume his academic career.
While it’s not as bad as the aforementioned situation that took place with Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide, LSU’s signing of Luis has many people wondering where the line will be drawn when it comes to college basketball.
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It really feels like the Wild West in college athletics right now, and basketball seems to be the tip of the spear when it comes to bending the rules.
It’s hard to say whether Luis will be deemed eligible or not, but if he gets the green flag, the floodgates will open for college basketball programs across the country to try to sign as many undrafted free agents and G League players as possible.
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St. John’s guard RJ Luis Jr. and guard Kadary Richmond sit on the bench during the second half of an NCAA tournament second-round game against Arkansas at Amica Mutual Pavilion on March 22, 2025. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images)
If you’re a big fan of college sports and worry that the sport is going down a slippery slope, I’d throw those fears out the window, because we already seem to be at the base of Mount Everest.
Whether we can ever get back to the top remains to be seen, but I’m not going to get my hopes up any time soon.
