Wisconsin Badgers Head Coach Seeks 'Transparency' in NIL

NIL has been a hardship on coaches and administrators trying to run their programs, but while most have adapted, they just want transparency.

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The times have certainly changed drastically within college athletics in numerous areas as far as player acquisition, transferring schools, and battling other schools for players.

Nobody knows that better right now than Wisconsin Badgers head men's basketball coach Greg Gard. Since Gard took over the Badger program prior to the 2016-17 season, he has struggled to replicate the success of his predecessor, Bo Ryan, but has still brought Wisconsin to five NCAA Tournaments in his eight seasons, the best finish coming in a regional semifinal in his first season in Madison.

Over the last several years however, Gard's role, not unlike just about every other coach in colleigate athletics has expended to include fundraising in the Name, Image, and Likeness space. While pretty much nobody (outside of the players) likes what NIL has turned into, coaches have had to either adapt or face eventual irrelevence, and in turn, unemployment.

Having helped the program to triple its funds as he stated back in April, Gard has certainly adapted. But nonetheless, he still says what is likely on the minds of countless coaches across the nation.

"There isn't transparency with this," Gard said via Michael McCleary of BadgerExtra. "We don't know if somebody's really getting seven figures at another school. We have the same access that you have, what you see. You just have to choose whether you believe it or not...Until we get to the point where we have some contracts and we have a regulatory body around it, as we walk through this, we're all on our own."

During this cycle, the Badgers were in negative headlines when two of their best players, guards AJ Storr and Chucky Hepburn, entered the transfer portal and would wind up at Kansas and Louisville, respectively. During Storr's portal recruitment, reports emerged that he was looking for an NIL deal worth $1 million in choosing his next school while fans suspected the same regarding Hepburn.

These were tough pills to swallow for Wisconsin fans, especially Hepburn who had become a fan-favorite during his three seasons with the Badgers. Gard went to the portal himself and brought in players like Xavier Amos from Northern Illinois and Camren Hunter from Central Arkansas, but surely it was not the way he, nor any coach wanted to build a team.

The professionalization of collegiate sports is inevitable, and really in a lot of ways has already happened. In Gard's mind, and likely the minds of many others, it would be better to skip all the nonsense and call it for what it is.