GAINESVILLE — Five years running one of the nation’s college sports programs has coincided with a period of change beyond UF athletic director Scott Stricklin’s wildest imagination.
The emergence of the transfer portal and one-time eligibility waivers, along with name, image and likeness legislation, have empowered student-athletes to play where they choose and pursue compensation outside a school’s financial obligations.
SEC expansion with the addition of Texas and Oklahoma, scheduled to join the league in 2025, has further strengthened the nation’s top football conference while forcing others to scramble to keep up. A lucrative TV deal with ESPN allowed the SEC to borrow more than $300 million against future earnings to help its 14 member schools weather the massive financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including $54.