Recently saw a back-and-forth on social media about Temple athletics and one guy answered another guy with something to the effect that if Temple doesn’t get a rich benefactor to contribute to the NIL nonsense that there won’t be sports at the school in five years.

There is a kernel of truth to that.

Still, if the NIL and transfer portal are right for college sports in general and Temple specifically, I want to be wrong.

It’ll be OK with me for Temple to pack up the balls and the goal posts and get out of the sports business because the essence of sports is everyone starting at the same spot.

What you have now in men’s college football and basketball is the Power 5 starting at the 40-yard-line, while the Group of Five is way back at the goal line and that’s not fair.

The guy holding the starter’s pistol doesn’t seem to notice or looks the other way. What used to be a major infraction in the NCAA (see SMU football death penalty, 1987) is now accepted practice.

We won’t see it change unless the Power 5 itself notices and there are certain indicators that might be happening.

Less than a year ago, Nick Saban expressed the problem with the NIL and the transfer portal together in the above two-minute answer and it gave an insight into why he might not be coaching anymore.

Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh left for the pros and any coach who has an option between the NFL and college football going forward probably will pick the former.

Others, like Saban and New Mexico State’s Jerry Kill, have said they no longer want to be a college head coach in this era where the first question a recruit asks them is “how much money do you have?”

Can’t blame him or them.

The schools with the most oil millionaires will always beat the schools with the people who had to work two jobs just to get through four years of college.

The schools with the large number of students living on campus will always beat the schools who were built on commuting, like Temple.

On a level playing field, Temple offers plenty to a recruit. It’s the sixth-largest educator of professionals in the country, located in a vibrant city with ample employment opportunities and networking after graduation. It has a great academic reputation and its degree is worth something.

That used to matter.

Stan Drayton had the best week of his Temple career a week ago, but the overall picture is grim because how many Big 10 players or FCS All-Americans can he recruit under this current system?

Not many.

How many JUCO-dominated Temple teams will be able to compete with million-dollar transfer portal guys?

None.

So if Temple is caught in a downward spiral of perpetual 3-9 seasons, count me out.

Maybe the best hope for Temple is to get with a similar G5 group and get out of the business of trying to compete with the P5 for things like playoff spots.

When the first question a recruit asks is how big is that bag of cash, that’s not quite why college sports was created in the first place so there should be no tears shed if they come to an end eventually at a lot of schools.

I won’t hold my breath waiting for a rich Temple benefactor to save the Owls nor should I be expected to.

Friday: An Old Spin on a New Problem

Monday: A Deep Dive