UConn's Dan Hurley Says 'None of these Kids Care' About CBB Brands in NIL Era of Recruiting

There was once a time when college basketball coaches could use a school's brand to lure in top recruits.

UConn's Dan Hurley believes that era is over.

"You can't get by on your brand anymore... none of these kids care about that anymore," Hurley said, per Sports Illustrated's Bryan Fischer. "None of the people close to them care about it because the majority of the people that are advising the kids now are agents who are looking at it from a business perspective."

Michigan State's Tom Izzo, one of the longest tenured head coaches in college basketball, also noted that there is something "wrong" in college athletics, though he didn't give explicit details about what he thinks the problem is.

"There's a reason coaches are frustrated. It doesn't matter what sport. Some of my best friends are in football," Izzo told reporters. "If a majority of coaches think something's wrong, it's probably wrong. For administrators to sit in their Ivy towers and never come down to the basement and figure that out is disheartening."

The changing landscape in college athletics has led to a handful of coach departures. The most notable was Tony Bennett, who stepped down from Virginia in 2024, noting the "current environment" of college basketball.

"I realized I'm no longer the best coach to lead this program in the current environment," he told reporters in his retirement press conference. "If you're going to do it, you've got to be all-in. You have to give everything. If you do it half-hearted, it's not fair to the university and those young men.

"I think it's right for student-athletes to receive revenue. Please don't mistake me. I do. But the game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot. There needs to be change. ... It's going to be closer to a professional model."

Jim Larrañaga, Miami's longtime head coach, also retired halfway through the 2024-25 campaign, saying that the school needed a coach "who is both adept at and embracing of the new world of intercollegiate athletics."

In the grand scheme of things, the NIL era is still relatively young. Player compensation, a divisive topic, was bound to have an adjustment period, and it's clear that many coaches are still getting used to it.