Sports are one of the ultimate two-sided coins in our world. As soon as they give us joy, they can serve us a dish of pain. Texas Tech fans know that all too well, especially after the basketball team's final two games of the NCAA Tournament.
What's more, this past weekend, Texas Tech fans were reminded that, in the modern age of the transfer portal, we must be willing to take the bad along with the good.
Friday night, news broke that the football program had landed a commitment from the top player still in the transfer portal, Stanford edge rusher David Bailey. By adding the senior who has amassed 14.5 career sacks (including seven last season), the Red Raiders now have the top transfer class in the country, according to 247Sports.com.
However, less than 48 hours later, the transfer portal dealt a blow to Red Raider fans when star basketball forward Darrion Williams announced his intention to enter the portal (as well as the NBA Draft). Though most Tech fans had thought Williams would test the professional basketball waters this offseason, few anticipated he would also jump into the portal.
Now, Texas Tech fans are being forced to come to grips with the possibility of one of the most popular players in the recent history of the program spending his final college season elsewhere.
Thus, in just a short period of time, fans in Raiderland were taken on the transfer portal rollercoaster. For many, that is a ride that is taking some getting used to.
Texas Tech fans must learn to accept the new reality of college athletics
For a swath of fans everywhere, not just Texas Tech fans, there remains an old-school mentality toward college sports. For instance, when Williams' plans came to light, a number of Red Raiders took to social media to bemoan the lack of "loyalty" in the college game. For better or worse, though, the days of players staying true to their school (as the Beach Boys once sang) are gone.
Rather, it would serve fans best to start to look at college athletics through the same lens as they view professional sports, because, that's essentially what the current NCAA landscape has become. Because of NIL deals and the soon-to-begin era of revenue sharing, college athletes are no longer student athetes as much as they are hired employees. Thus, players such as Bailey and Williams are wise to explore every financial option and find a way to maximize their earning potential.
If Williams were not a college basketball player but rather an accountant, attorney, or engineer, no one would criticize him at all for carefully considering every opportunity he has. What's. more, no one would bat an eye if he found greener pastures somewhere else. That's how capitalism works.
However, because sports hold such an emotional place in our hearts (especially college sports, the most tribal of all the sports in terms of fandom), people still expect players to care as much about the name on the front of their jerseys as they do the name on the back. We would love for every star Texas Tech athlete to be as passionate about the school as Patrick Mahomes II is. However, he is the exception, not the rule.
What's more, if there is any fan base that should embrace the transfer portal era, it should be Texas Tech. That's because this athletic department has benefited as much from the portal as just about any in the country.
The only reason Joey McGuire's football program will be one of the favorites in the Big 12 next fall is because of the nation's top transfer class. Similarly, the main reason Tech's softball team is ranked in the top 15 and sitting atop the conference standings is because of star pitcher NiJaree Canady, who transferred from Stanford this past offseason.
As for the basketball program, consider how different the past several years would have been without transfers such as Matt Mooney, Tariq Owens, Adonis Arms, Bryson Williams, Mac McClung, JT Toppin, Marcus Santos-Silva, Brandone Francis, Elijah Hawkins, Joe Toussaint, Warren Washington, Chance McMillian, Kerwin Walton, and, of course, Williams (just to name a few).
On the other hand, Tech fans have also lost some excellent basketball players to the portal. Terrence Shannon Jr., Kevin McCullar Jr., Mylik Wilson, Vlad Goldin, Nimari Burnett, and Pop Isaacs are some of the more notable defections from the program and they remind us that the portal is a two-way street.
Still, the portal has given Tech more than it has taken in the past decade. Were it not for the addition of key transfers, Tech wouldn't have had a prayer of building a playoff contender in football as quickly as we think it has this offseason. Similarly, the basketball program likely wouldn't have become one of the most consistent and successful programs in the Big 12.
Thus, it makes no sense to complain about the lack of loyalty in college athletics after Williams decides to test the waters. While everyone hopes that he does return to Lubbock for one more season, the reality is that there should be no grudges held against either the player or the system if he doesn't.
This is the new age of college sports. Players are now hired guns just like the rest of the working adults in America. The days of sticking around ole "State U" for four years simply because of the college experience are over.
Why that still hasn't resonated with some Texas Tech fans is baffling. Those who have even passively followed how Tech has operated in the past decade should know that the Red Raiders have been one of the fastest athletic departments to adapt to the new landscape of college athletics, and thus far, the results have been stellar, especially in men's basketball.
So even when, not if, but when, the portal taketh away once again, folks in scarlet and black should keep the bigger picture in mind. That's because the new reality of player movement is only headed in one direction. The good news, though, is that Tech has already proven that it knows how to navigate this era as well as any university in the nation.