Changes reshaping college athletics forever

The world of university sports is changing.

There’s the transfer portal that has more traffic than Los Angeles.

Conferences are waiting for Congress to pass a law that will allow student-athletes to be paid to use their likeness.

It’s hard to see what all of this could mean.

It definitely means that the Power 5 schools will stand out even more from the mid majors.

Can you imagine what a Texas A&M fan could pay a 5-star player for their likeness? Probably twice as much as a Texas fan.

There is talk of the Power 5 schools in football breaking away from the NCAA and, for lack of a more fitting word, setting up their own corporation.

Now there is talk of expanding the College Football Playoff from four to twelve teams.

Nobody says it, but it’s all about generating more TV revenue.

Expansion seems like a good idea, but 12 teams seems a bit much. For one, the top four teams would get a bye in the first round and the other eight would fight it out on the opening weekend.

It’s far from over, but it’s coming and probably has been since the first playoffs.

Going from three playoff games to eleven is going to be billions of dollars, and when Congress finally passes a law, the athletes will finally benefit too.

Personally, it seems like eight teams would be ideal if the rule applies that no more than two teams can compete against each other at any conference.

There are many changes in college athletics, and most of them signal progress.

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There are official and unofficial razorback clubs all over the great state of Arkansas.

It seems they are mostly made up of good, hardworking, loyal fans who love to talk Arkansas Razorbacks.

A completely unofficial lunch bunch group meets every Thursday, and Richard Turbeville – a lawyer whose love for the Hogs dates back to his youth – was usually the first to arrive.

The group isn’t limited to Razorback fans as one member is an Ole Miss graduate who is also an attorney. Conversations vary depending on the season, but football is always the talk of the town.

It’s a really good group of guys.

Most of us thought Richard was the smartest guy in the room, but he never behaved like that. He usually asked questions and only gave an opinion when asked directly.

Covid-19 stopped lunch for over a year, so most of us didn’t know Richard was not doing well. He never complained either.

He was one of those people whose glass was always half full and more on the way.

Richard was friends with several media people. In fact, his brother Kevin is a journalist in Jonesboro and brother Robert used to work with me.

All are quick-witted and sensitive.

Richard’s favorite subject may have been Razorback recruiting, and we were often surprised by the amount of information he had about who was and who wasn’t officially visiting the UA.

He was once asked for an estimate of how many miles he had driven to watch the Hogs. He just grinned and said, “I really don’t want to know, but each of them was worth it, whether we won or lost.”

It is doubtful that Richard had an enemy in the world. Perhaps some opposing lawyers weren’t crazy about him, but they respected him.

We all did. Richard was easy to respect.

So it was very sad when we found out on Monday that Richard had died.

He was only 66 years old and his family is asking for donations to the American Heart Association in lieu of flowers.

Richard Turbeville, born and raised in White Hall, will be missed by everyone who knew him.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/changes-reshaping-college-athletics-forever/