Sports
College Football Free Agency And The Championship Tournament
Players can move around as freely as coaches.
It is free agent season in college football which is an odd time for players to look for a new school on two levels. One, it is still the college football playoff season with the semi-finals taking place and the championship game scheduled for January 19th. The other is this. The second semester of the school year has started and certain “student-athletes” are already looking to change schools. Football players don’t seem to be students first and athletes second. There is nothing wrong with the players looking for better situations both playing wise and financially. The University of Miami will play the University of Mississippi in the first game. Mississippi has already suffered a big free agency loss as its coach Lane Kiffin jumped to Louisiana State University during the later stages of the 2025 season and could not coach Mississippi in the tournament. Kiffin did not break his contact but had an opt out. The National Collegiate Athletic Association poohbahs have complained about players leaving programs but coaches routinely leave one job for another job.
In the other game, the University of Indiana, the University of Oregon matchup, the two starting quarterbacks left their schools looking for greener pastures. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza transferred from the University of California to the University of Indiana in December 2024. Mendoza wanted an opportunity to maximize his NFL potential which he did. Oregon’s Dante Moore transferred from UCLA to Oregon after his freshman year in 2023. Moore was also seeking an opportunity to improve his NFL prospects which he did. The “student-athletes” are now in control of their sports destinies and that is causing major concerns in the college sports industry. The college presidents, chancellors and provosts want to return to the old days but that is not happening. College sports is just a business.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
Fernando Mendoza