Swofford Has Concerns But Says NIL Is Right Thing To Do

Earlier in the week, the NCAA announced they will go forward with the process of allowing student athletes to profit off of their own name and likeness (NIL). This will without question change the landscape of college athletics forever, but it was a move that needed to be made.

The question becomes how much does it change the sport and can the NCAA, along with the P5 conferences regulate it properly. Can they prevent the dreaded “unintended consequences” the new rule might possibly bring with it from becoming a reality.

ACC Commissioner John Swofford recently appeared on The Drive with host Josh Graham to address some of those concerns. He made it clear that he thinks this is the right move, and is on board with the decision.

“I think it is fundamentally the right move, at this given point in time,” Swofford said on The Drive with Josh Graham. “As we modernize college athletics and try to put our student athletes in a place where they can be successful across the board and in their various endeavors. So, I do think it is the right move.”

At the same time, Swofford is well aware of some of the problems that could arise, and is mindful of what it will take to regulate the new rules.

“I also think, right on top of that, is that it is a very complex issue in the parameters that will need to go around this,” Swofford said. “It is going to be a challenge to manage it for our campuses and for college athletics because it creates situations that could be of a negative nature from a recruiting standpoint and from an agent involvement standpoint. So, it is not a simple step forward, it is a complex one, but I think it is the right one.”

Despite his concerns, Swofford is confident in the governing bodies ability to oversee any guidelines that will be put in place. Although, he does understand the casual fans mindset and views on the big change.

“It’s significant change to the collegiate model in our country,” Swofford said. “Anytime you have a change of this significance and breadth, it makes people a little nervous I think. That’s human nature. I’m confident the enterprise, so to speak, will find the right parameters and will be able to manage it. But there’s certainly some risk in that side of it.”