Photo Credit: Ken Ruinard, USA Today

College sports isn’t just off the rails — the train is upside down, on fire, and the conductor is yelling that the real problem is that the passengers brought snacks. For decades, college coaches have strutted around campuses like they’re half royalty, half drill sergeant, and half CEO — yes, that’s three halves, because math doesn’t apply when you’re being paid $8 million to scream at 19-year-olds.

The NCAA has let coaches become untouchable overlords, protected more fiercely than nuclear codes, all while players were fed the “amateurism” fairy tale and a few slices of Papa John’s after bowl games.

And now? Now that players finally have NIL money and a Transfer Portal with an actual exit door, coaches are having panic attacks like someone changed the Wi-Fi password.

But don’t worry — I’m here to explain all of it, Errol Marks style: loud, funny, brutally honest, and dangerous enough to make an AD sweat.

Photo Credit: Lindsey Wasson, Associated Press

Michigan thought it was stepping into its “post-Harbaugh dynasty era.” Instead, the school walked into a frying pan, slipped on a banana peel, fell into a wood chipper, and somehow blamed NIL for the mess.

Sherrone Moore — the guy Michigan trusted to lead their gold-plated, booster-funded empire — is now:

• Fired for cause
• Facing assault and stalking charges
• Connected to past NCAA violations, including deleting texts
• One bad headline away from inspiring a Lifetime movie

This is the real problem with coaching cultures. These institutions treat their coaches like the Pope of Ann Arbor — holy, untouchable, unquestionable. They don’t mentor athletes; they rule over them. They don’t guide programs; they control empires. And when you hand someone an empire, don’t be shocked if they start acting like Caesar at the Ides of March.

The lesson?
Power without accountability becomes stupidity with a salary.
Let’s be blunt: the Penn State scandal should’ve changed everything. Not just rules, not just compliance meetings, not just slogans. It should’ve forced a full teardown of how power works in college sports.

Instead? They slapped up some billboards, threw money at PR campaigns, and pretended the whole thing was handled.

The truth remains:

• Jerry Sandusky abused minors for YEARS.
• Multiple administrators AND Joe Paterno knew.
• They didn’t act, didn’t stop it, didn’t protect the victims.
• Why? Because protecting the football program was the priority.
• FOOTBALL. Over HUMAN BEINGS.

The system didn’t just fail — it enabled horrors.

And if you think that’s ancient history, you’re not paying attention. Every time a coach becomes bigger than the program, bigger than the school, bigger than the law… the conditions for tragedy return.

This wasn’t just a scandal — it was a damn blueprint for everything wrong in college sports.

And did the NCAA learn?
Not at all.

They walked out of the wreckage and said:
“Okay, let’s just make sure nobody signs autographs again.”

Photo Credit: Thomas Joseph, USA Today

Let’s take a quick spin through the NCAA Museum of Dumb & Dangerous Decisions:

🟥 Louisville Basketball

Recruiting visits with strippers and escorts supplied by the staff.
Because nothing says “commit to our program” quite like a coupon for a lap dance.

🟥 Miami Football (Ah yes, the Shapiro Festival)

A booster basically hosted a decade-long party featuring yachts, nightclubs, and bags of cash that would’ve made Tony Montana blush.

🟥 Ohio State Abuse Scandal

A team doctor sexually abused 170+ athletes while the university turned a blind eye.

🟥 Baylor Football

A sexual assault epidemic ignored for years because winning was a higher priority.

These aren’t “break the rules to get an edge” scandals.
These are “is everyone here morally bankrupt?” scandals.

But every time it happens, we hear the same line:

“This does not reflect our values.”

Buddy…
It reflects EXACTLY your values — they were just made public this time.

Let’s talk about the thing that’s making every coach whine louder than a toddler denied snack time: players getting paid.

Coaches loved the old system. Loved it. Because:

• They had the power
• They controlled scholarships
• They controlled transfers
• They controlled punishments
• They controlled access
• And they controlled the MONEY

The players?
They got “exposure,” a dorm room, and three pairs of shorts.

Then NIL kicked down the door like the Kool-Aid Man and said:

“OH YEAH — the players are getting paid now.”

And the coaches collectively sprained their vocal cords crying about it.

❌ It’s NOT because players make too much.

❌ It’s NOT because it’s “unfair.”

❌ It’s NOT because “the kids today don’t appreciate the game.”

  ✔  They hate NIL because it threatens the power imbalance they’ve lived off for decades.

Players can now:

• Make six figures
• Move freely
• Grow brands
• Influence recruiting
• Demand better treatment
• Hold coaches accountable

And that scares the hell out of the guys who used to act like Roman emperors.

If coaches truly hated “money ruining the game,”:

• They’d return their $8 million salaries
• They’d reject buyouts
• They’d tell ESPN, “No thanks, I prefer amateurism”
• They’d coach for a stipend and a cafeteria plan

But you know and I know — never happening.

Ah yes, loyalty.
The same coaches who talk about “commitment” and “family” will leave for a bigger job in the middle of:

• A bowl game
• Thanksgiving dinner
• Spring practice
• Photo day
• The team bus ride
• A recruiting visit
• A halftime interview if the offer is big enough

But when a PLAYER decides to transfer?

Suddenly they’re ungrateful traitors destroying the sport.

No — you know what actually destroyed loyalty?

Hypocrisy.

Players watched coaches lie to recruits for decades.
Players watched coaches bolt for more money for decades.
Players watched coaches break rules and hide behind PR teams.

Now that players have options, coaches don’t like it.

Cry me a river. Preferably into your $12 million buyout.

✔  They covered up scandals

✔  They suppressed players’ rights

✔  They enforced BS rules like “no free cream cheese on bagels”

✔  They protected programs over people

⬜ They let coaches become dictators

⬜ They got rich while claiming poverty

⬜ They fought NIL until the Supreme Court basically slapped them

The NCAA is like a parent who says:

“I care about your future!”

Then turns the kid’s bedroom into a casino.

If you’re a coach, AD, or university president reading this, let me say this clearly, slowly, and with the full sarcasm and firepower you’d expect from Errol Marks:

Your problem isn’t NIL.
Your problem isn’t the transfer portal.
Your problem isn’t players having agency.
Your problem is that you built a system where power mattered more than integrity — and now the bill is due.

Players aren’t the issue.
Money isn’t the issue.
Freedom isn’t the issue.

The issue has always been YOU:

• your lack of oversight
• your ego
• your entitlement
• your hypocrisy
• your failure to protect students
• your obsession with winning over everything else

If schools don’t fix their cultures, don’t improve accountability, and don’t stop treating players like controllable assets instead of humans…

The scandals will keep coming.
The damage will keep spreading.
And the excuses will keep sounding dumber.

This is your warning shot.

Signed —
Errol Marks
Loud, honest, funny, and not scared of any booster in America.

Twitter: @ErrolMarks34
LinkedIn: Errol Marks
Instagram: @rollothamouth34