Razorbacks' Dave Van Horn Sums Up Opinion of Every Coach

No coach fan of NIL implementation, but they won't lose games because of it

(Ted McClenning / allHOGS Images)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It didn't go without passing the mention of name, image and likeness by Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn in his press conference earlier this week. He probably expressed the opinion of every top coach perfectly ... and pretty simply.

"We want to be in the game, so we’re in the game," Van Horn said. "We’re getting after it." 

Coaches pretty much have to have that viewpoint or lose games, and, likely, their jobs. It's not an option if you want to get — and keep — players. Baseball already has head-scratching issues like the limited scholarships that prove ridiculous for larger schools. It's probably a big part of why Van Horn really doesn't know for sure the names of who's going to be on the roster this year.

No one is saying everybody has to offer a certain number, but putting some low number on it is a little weird. Everybody says they want the appearance of making the field level, but the reality is it's never been that way and never will be. The folks with big budgets will continue finding a way.

"If you really take a step back and look at everything as a whole, it’s a mess," Van Horn said. "We’ll see where it ends up. Right now, we’re recruiting hard and trying to keep our guys that we signed. Just keep them, get them here. Then the guys in the portal, we’re just waiting on a few things."

The portal is the other thing making it a mess. It opens the door for wide open free agency, whether you want to waive some rules around or not. The NCAA this week sent out some guidelines that's be either ignored or likely dismissed in legal action. Those guys haven't been able to enforce the rules they have very well for 100 years, so let's not expect it to start now. Anybody that couldn't see that coming with them so close together wasn't paying attention.

Baseball has the added headache of the draft by Major League teams that throws another wrinkle into the mix. It's a unique way of handling things other sports really don't have to deal with in the same way. The initial thought by a lot of folks was NIL keeping them in school, but it will never work out that way.

“As far as keeping a guy from signing a professional contract, NIL is not going to be able to help you do that,” Van Horn said. “Unless it's maybe more of a free agent type guy, maybe a late pick where they're only going to pay you $100-150,000. You might be able to keep that guy with some NIL money. They have way too much money to not sign a guy if they really want to.”

All of it together is running coaches out of the business. They just simply don't want to deal with all of it anymore. They don't get to coach much because they have so many other things they are forced to keep up with.

“I’ve watched some mid-majors Division I programs get absolutely torched,” Van Horn said. “This summer already, I’ve seen coaches quit, retire that weren’t going to, but they don’t have any players left. I don’t know where it’s going to go."

The really bad part is nobody else knows, either. That includes the NCAA, too. It's become the wild, wild west period of time in college athletics and now it's making life difficult for baseball, too.

HOG FEED:

WILL ARKANSAS FINALLY BECOME TEAM THAT ROCKS THE BOAT REGARDING RULES?

DUKE CHERRY ON TOP OF LOADED HOME SLATE DESIGNED TO SELL TICKETS

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS RIGHT NOW FOR DAVE VAN HORN WITH HOGS' ROSTER FOR 2024

RECORD-SETTING FORMER QUARTERBACK RYAN MALLETT DROWNS IN FLORIDA

MUSSELMAN ANSWERS NBA CRITICS, ADDRESSES DEVO DAVIS NEEDS FOR NBA

2024 MOCK DRAFTS PREDICT GLOOM, DOOM FOR HOGS BASKETBALL, BUT THAT WILL CHANGE

ARKANSAS EXPECTED TO FINISH OUTSIDE OF TOP 25 IN FOOTBALL FOR NEXT THREE YEARS

THESE NBA DRAFT PROJECTIONS FOR 2024 ARE MEANINGLESS

CHARLOTTE HORNETS HOPING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NICK SMITH'S FALL IN FIRST ROUND OF DRAFT

ARKANSAS FINALLY COMPLETES ROSTER WITH MEMPHIS TRANSFER

ORLANDO FANS NOT REALLY WORTHY OF GETTING SOMEONE LIKE ANTHONY BLACK WITH MAGIC

LIVE BLOG OF NBA DRAFT THURSDAY NIGHT

WHICH TEAMS LOSE SEC SPORTS IN THESE SIX SCENARIOS?

VOLS' EXIT AT COLLEGE WORLD SERIES MAKES DAY BRIGHTER FOR A LOT OF RAZORBACK FANS

WIGGINS AMONG FOUR RAZORBACKS AT MLB COMBINE

RAZORBACK BREAKDOWN: KALEB JAMES, DEFENSIVE LINEMAN

ANTHONY BLACK ZOOMING PAST NICK SMITH IN DRAFT STATUS GOOD SIGN FOR RAZORBACKS

RAZORBACK BREAKDOWN: ANTONIO GRIER, JR, LINEBACKER

RECENT TRENDS AGAINST NEW SEC TEAMS FROM BIG 12 INDICATES ARKANSAS MAY STRUGGLE

WHY THIS NBA DRAFT MEANS MUCH MORE THAN TRIP TO NEW YORK FOR ERIC MUSSELMAN

INTERVIEW SHOWS ERIC MUSSELMAN'S VALUE GOES DEEPER THAN PLAYERS, FANS CAN REALLY IMAGINE

OVER THIRD OF CENTURY OF FOOTBALL HISTORY SHOWS TEXAS HUGE UNDERDOGS AGAINST ARKANSAS IN 2024

HOGS VIEWED AS 2024 SEC SCHEDULE WINNERS FOR NOW

DO RAZORBACK BASKETBALL FANS NEED HUMBLING? SOCIAL MEDIA CERTAINLY THINKS THEY SHOULD BE

OKLAHOMA APPEARS TO REPLACE ARKANSAS AS SEC OFFICE WHIPPING BOY

FANS, MEDIA EXCITED FOR 2024 RAZORBACK SCHEDULE, BUT TRANSFER PORTAL WILL DETERMINE HOW TOUGH IT WILL BE

HOGS GOT SOME BIG NAMES AT HOME FOR 2024, BUT WAIT A YEAR BEFORE DECIDING IF IT IS GOOD ON FIELD

JOHN BOLTON'S FINAL MOMENTS AS RAZORBACK DISPLAY WHY PLAYERS HOLD OFF ON GOOD PROGRAMS TO SEE IF THEY CAN COME TO ARKANSAS

THINGS FELT JUST A LITTLE BIT OFF AT BAUM-WALKER MONDAY, BUT IT WAS STILL BASEBALLHAS ANY RECRUIT EVER OPENLY CLAIMED TO HAVE HAD A BAD VISIT?

ARKANSAS FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

FAYETTEVILLE WEATHER UPDATE

• Return to allHogs home page.

• Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the allHOGS message board community today!

• Follow allHOGS on Twitter and Facebook.