Randy Levine describes college sports’ ‘Wild West’ amid NIL chaos
New York Yankees President Randy Levine, Vice Chairman of the ‘Saving College Sports’ Board, joins Brian Kilmeade in breaking down the ‘Wild West’ of college sports. Levine highlights the escalating issues of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), the chaotic transfer portal, and athlete eligibility that affect student-athletes. He describes the financial strain on universities and President Trump’s efforts to find legislative solutions in hopes of a bipartisan solution within 90 days.
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The NCAA has been a bit of a mess lately.
Between players getting smoked for sports betting scandals and guys in their mid-20s eschewing both the professional ranks and the workforce to stay in college, Van Wilder-style, it’s hard not to be offended 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 another instance of a college basketball team tapping into the professional ranks to land a player when the LSU Tigers and head coach Will Wade signed G League guard RJ Luis Jr. earlier Tuesday.
Luis joins the Tigers via the Maine Celtics, the Boston Celtics’ G League affiliate, and was previously undrafted by the St. John’s, where he won Big East Player of the Year a season before.
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To give LSU another bit 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 shore up a tournament, so this isn’t exactly an apples-to-apples comparison to 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 the KFC YUM! Center against the San Diego State Aztecs on March 24, 2023 in Louisville, Ky. (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
However, he was signed to a professional team and is currently ineligible to play for the Tigers this coming season, so he will have to file a lawsuit to resume his college career.
While this is not quite as bad as the aforementioned situation that occurred with Nate Oats and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the signing of Luis by LSU has many people wondering where the line will be drawn when it comes to collegiate basketball.
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It really feels like the Wild West in collegiate athletics right now, and basketball seems to be the spearhead when it comes to bending the rules.
It’s hard to say whether Luis will be ruled eligible or not, but if he gets the green flag, the floodgates will open for college hoops 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 a second-round NCAA Tournament game against Arkansas at Amica Mutual Pavilion on March 22, 2025. (Brian Fluharty/Imagn 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 that fear out the window, because it looks like we’re already at the bottom of Mount Everest.
Whether we can ever climb back to the top remains to be seen, but I won’t be getting my hopes up anytime soon.
