Randy Levine details the ‘wild west’ of college sports amid NIL chaos
New York Yankees President Randy Levine, vice president of the Saving College Sports Board, joins Brian Kilmeade to discuss the ‘Wild West’ of college sports. Levine highlights the growing problems of name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements, the chaotic transfer portal and athlete eligibility that affect student-athletes. It details the financial strain on universities and President Trump’s efforts to find legislative solutions, with hopes of a bipartisan solution within 90 days.
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The NCAA has been a bit of a mess lately.
Between players being outed in sports betting scandals and kids in their 20s eschewing both the professional ranks and the workforce to stay in college, Van Wilder-style, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed by 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 Nov. 1, 2025. (Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
Speaking of which, we saw yet another case of a college basketball team tapping into the professional ranks to land a player, as the LSU Tigers and head coach Will Wade signed G League guard RJ Luis Jr. earlier on 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 earlier.
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To give LSU even a sliver of the benefit of the doubt here, the Tigers didn’t sign Luis midseason fresh off a G League roster to try to bolster a tournament run, so this isn’t 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 of 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)
However, he signed with a professional team and is currently ineligible to play for the Tigers next season, so he will have to file a lawsuit to resume his college career.
While this isn’t as bad as the aforementioned situation that took place with Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide, Luis signing with LSU 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 breaking the rules.
It’s hard to say whether Luis will be declared 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 they can.
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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/Image Images)
If you’re a big college sports fan and you’re worried about the sport going down a slippery slope, I’d go ahead and throw those fears out the window, because it looks like we’re already at the foot of Mount Everest.
It remains to be seen if we can ever climb to the summit again, but I’m not going to get my hopes up anytime soon.
