TL;DR
Mid-major programs have become the college sports’ development league. They identify and grow talent, give players real reps, and take on the risk. Power programs step in once that value is proven and pay to remove uncertainty. NIL and the transfer portal didn’t create this system — they made it visible.
Mid-major programs are where elite college athletes are found, shaped, and proven. Power programs are where they get paid.
NIL and the transfer portal didn’t change that dynamic as much as they exposed it. What once happened quietly now happens in full view: players develop at smaller programs, then move up once their value is established.
That pattern shows up most clearly when you stop looking at logos and start looking at trajectories. Nowhere is this clearer than in college basketball, where small rosters and immediate impact make development, movement, and value impossible to hide.
Follow the Players, Not the Logos
Look at the 2025 AP All-American teams in college basketball and trace where those players began.
Several of the first-team selections didn’t start at power programs. They came from places built around development — programs willing to give players real minutes early, let them play through mistakes, and grow over time.
Johni Broome arrived at Morehead State without much attention. After establishing himself there, he transferred to Auburn and became a unanimous first-team All-American and a centerpiece on a Final Four team.
Mark Sears ran an offense at Ohio in the MAC, then transferred to Alabama and emerged as an All-American guard on a national contender.
Walter Clayton Jr. starred at Iona before Florida turned him into a national champion and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
The same arc shows up just beyond the first team. JT Toppin developed at New Mexico before earning national recognition at Texas Tech. PJ Haggerty’s breakout at Tulsa made him valuable enough to move up and immediately produce again at Memphis and then at Kansas State.
Mid-majors are where players become valuable. Power programs step in once that value is clear.
Mid-Majors are a Predictable Pipeline
This outcome isn’t accidental. It’s built into how the system now works.
Mid-major programs are designed to identify undervalued talent, give players responsibility early, and invest in long-term growth. Power programs are designed to reduce uncertainty. They can wait, watch, and act once the proof is there.
NIL removed the remaining friction. Players no longer have to guess whether they belong at the next level. They can demonstrate it, then move accordingly.
The pipeline doesn’t zigzag. It moves up.
Why the Money in College Sports Changes Everything
For years, development came with stability. Now it signals readiness for the next bid.
Power programs operate with NIL ecosystems capable of supporting seven-figure investments in individual athletes. Most mid-majors are trying to stretch six-figure pools across entire rosters.
That gap changes when movement happens.
Players don’t leave mid-majors because they fail. They leave because they succeed. Once production reaches a certain level, staying becomes the harder choice.
That’s the incentive structure players and programs are responding to.
Mid-Major Coaches Have Adjusted
Mid-major coaches have stopped pretending their programs are endpoints.
They recruit honestly now. Play well here and opportunities will follow. It’s the practical way to go about it.
Stories of power-conference coaches reaching out during the season aren’t outliers anymore. With fewer restrictions on NIL-related conversations, recruiting has become more direct and more immediate. Waiting rarely benefits the buyer.
Mid-majors can’t outbid that pressure. They can only explain it and adapt around it.
Two Approaches, Same Constraint
Some programs have tried to push against the development-league gravity. The outcomes are instructive.
Memphis found a rare advantage through a deep-pocketed corporate partnership that allows it to operate closer to power-conference NIL levels. It works, but it isn’t replicable. Most mid-major cities don’t have Fortune 500 companies willing to anchor an athletic payroll.
Boise State leaned the other way. Fewer resources, more continuity. High school recruiting, culture and development over time.
That works too — until it doesn’t. Once players reach a certain level, offers arrive that aren’t incremental but exponential. Even strong development models struggle to hold talent at that point.
You can buy talent or build it. Keeping it has become the hardest part.
The New Normal in College Basketball
An SEC coach once told Ron Hunter (head coach of the Tulane Green Wave) he was doing a great job getting players ready for the next level. It wasn’t meant as an insult. It was recognition.
Mid-majors increasingly function like minor league systems. They develop talent, showcase it, and lose it to larger budgets.
They matter more to the ecosystem than ever, while holding less leverage than ever. They supply the proof. Others supply the capital.
Cinderella runs haven’t disappeared, but they’re harder to sustain when rosters turn over quickly. Multi-year arcs break. Breakouts accelerate exits.
Basketball-focused leagues may still find ways to concentrate resources and stay competitive. Football-heavy programs won’t. The financial spread is too wide.
The Only Question Left for the Mid-Majors
This isn’t about good actors and bad ones. It’s about incentives doing what incentives always do.
Mid-majors handle development. Power programs absorb certainty.
That structure is now firmly in place — legally, financially, culturally.
The real question isn’t whether mid-majors can keep up. It’s whether they can build durable identities inside a system designed to extract their best work.
And if power programs keep escalating — if they begin treating one another the way they’ve treated mid-majors — the development league won’t stop in the middle.
It’ll just move up a level.
FAQ
Are mid-major college basketball programs being hurt by NIL?
Not directly. NIL didn’t reduce the quality of talent at mid-majors — it changed retention. Players who succeed are now more likely to leave once their market value is clear.
Is this happening in all sports or mostly basketball?
Basketball shows it most clearly because roster sizes are small and individual impact is obvious. Football faces the same dynamic, but the financial gap is even harder for Group of Five programs to overcome.
Are college basketball mid-majors becoming irrelevant?
No. In many ways, they’re more important than ever. They’ve become the primary development layer for elite college athletes — just without the financial leverage to keep them long term.
Can any mid-majors compete financially?
A few can, usually through rare corporate partnerships or heavy concentration of resources into one sport. Those cases are exceptions, not models most schools can replicate.
Will this eventually happen among power programs too?
It’s already starting. As spending escalates, power programs are increasingly willing to take proven players from peer schools rather than wait on high school development.
Related NIL & College Sports Coverage
If you’re interested in how NIL, recruiting, and athlete movement are reshaping college sports, explore more from SportsE:
NIL’s benefits and risks
The transfer portal is pure chaos
College hoops is much better this season
Why college coaches are anti-NIL
What’s the status of the NIL economy?
Want to Create Content in the NIL Space?
SportsE works with founders, athletes, collectives, brands, and operators building in and around the NIL ecosystem.
If you want to:
- publish authoritative NIL content
- tell real stories from inside college sports
- or use media to build credibility in this space
Reach out here and let’s talk.
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.
Mid-Majors Are College Basketball’s Developmental League (NIL Era Explained)
TL;DR
Mid-major programs have become the college sports’ development league. They identify and grow talent, give players real reps, and take on the risk. Power programs step in once that value is proven and pay to remove uncertainty. NIL and the transfer portal didn’t create this system — they made it visible.
Mid-major programs are where elite college athletes are found, shaped, and proven. Power programs are where they get paid.
NIL and the transfer portal didn’t change that dynamic as much as they exposed it. What once happened quietly now happens in full view: players develop at smaller programs, then move up once their value is established.
That pattern shows up most clearly when you stop looking at logos and start looking at trajectories. Nowhere is this clearer than in college basketball, where small rosters and immediate impact make development, movement, and value impossible to hide.
Follow the Players, Not the Logos
Look at the 2025 AP All-American teams in college basketball and trace where those players began.
Several of the first-team selections didn’t start at power programs. They came from places built around development — programs willing to give players real minutes early, let them play through mistakes, and grow over time.
Johni Broome arrived at Morehead State without much attention. After establishing himself there, he transferred to Auburn and became a unanimous first-team All-American and a centerpiece on a Final Four team.
Mark Sears ran an offense at Ohio in the MAC, then transferred to Alabama and emerged as an All-American guard on a national contender.
Walter Clayton Jr. starred at Iona before Florida turned him into a national champion and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player.
The same arc shows up just beyond the first team. JT Toppin developed at New Mexico before earning national recognition at Texas Tech. PJ Haggerty’s breakout at Tulsa made him valuable enough to move up and immediately produce again at Memphis and then at Kansas State.
Mid-majors are where players become valuable. Power programs step in once that value is clear.
Mid-Majors are a Predictable Pipeline
This outcome isn’t accidental. It’s built into how the system now works.
Mid-major programs are designed to identify undervalued talent, give players responsibility early, and invest in long-term growth. Power programs are designed to reduce uncertainty. They can wait, watch, and act once the proof is there.
NIL removed the remaining friction. Players no longer have to guess whether they belong at the next level. They can demonstrate it, then move accordingly.
The pipeline doesn’t zigzag. It moves up.
Why the Money in College Sports Changes Everything
For years, development came with stability. Now it signals readiness for the next bid.
Power programs operate with NIL ecosystems capable of supporting seven-figure investments in individual athletes. Most mid-majors are trying to stretch six-figure pools across entire rosters.
That gap changes when movement happens.
Players don’t leave mid-majors because they fail. They leave because they succeed. Once production reaches a certain level, staying becomes the harder choice.
That’s the incentive structure players and programs are responding to.
Mid-Major Coaches Have Adjusted
Mid-major coaches have stopped pretending their programs are endpoints.
They recruit honestly now. Play well here and opportunities will follow. It’s the practical way to go about it.
Stories of power-conference coaches reaching out during the season aren’t outliers anymore. With fewer restrictions on NIL-related conversations, recruiting has become more direct and more immediate. Waiting rarely benefits the buyer.
Mid-majors can’t outbid that pressure. They can only explain it and adapt around it.
Two Approaches, Same Constraint
Some programs have tried to push against the development-league gravity. The outcomes are instructive.
Memphis found a rare advantage through a deep-pocketed corporate partnership that allows it to operate closer to power-conference NIL levels. It works, but it isn’t replicable. Most mid-major cities don’t have Fortune 500 companies willing to anchor an athletic payroll.
Boise State leaned the other way. Fewer resources, more continuity. High school recruiting, culture and development over time.
That works too — until it doesn’t. Once players reach a certain level, offers arrive that aren’t incremental but exponential. Even strong development models struggle to hold talent at that point.
You can buy talent or build it. Keeping it has become the hardest part.
The New Normal in College Basketball
An SEC coach once told Ron Hunter (head coach of the Tulane Green Wave) he was doing a great job getting players ready for the next level. It wasn’t meant as an insult. It was recognition.
Mid-majors increasingly function like minor league systems. They develop talent, showcase it, and lose it to larger budgets.
They matter more to the ecosystem than ever, while holding less leverage than ever. They supply the proof. Others supply the capital.
Cinderella runs haven’t disappeared, but they’re harder to sustain when rosters turn over quickly. Multi-year arcs break. Breakouts accelerate exits.
Basketball-focused leagues may still find ways to concentrate resources and stay competitive. Football-heavy programs won’t. The financial spread is too wide.
The Only Question Left for the Mid-Majors
This isn’t about good actors and bad ones. It’s about incentives doing what incentives always do.
Mid-majors handle development. Power programs absorb certainty.
That structure is now firmly in place — legally, financially, culturally.
The real question isn’t whether mid-majors can keep up. It’s whether they can build durable identities inside a system designed to extract their best work.
And if power programs keep escalating — if they begin treating one another the way they’ve treated mid-majors — the development league won’t stop in the middle.
It’ll just move up a level.
FAQ
Are mid-major college basketball programs being hurt by NIL?
Not directly. NIL didn’t reduce the quality of talent at mid-majors — it changed retention. Players who succeed are now more likely to leave once their market value is clear.
Is this happening in all sports or mostly basketball?
Basketball shows it most clearly because roster sizes are small and individual impact is obvious. Football faces the same dynamic, but the financial gap is even harder for Group of Five programs to overcome.
Are college basketball mid-majors becoming irrelevant?
No. In many ways, they’re more important than ever. They’ve become the primary development layer for elite college athletes — just without the financial leverage to keep them long term.
Can any mid-majors compete financially?
A few can, usually through rare corporate partnerships or heavy concentration of resources into one sport. Those cases are exceptions, not models most schools can replicate.
Will this eventually happen among power programs too?
It’s already starting. As spending escalates, power programs are increasingly willing to take proven players from peer schools rather than wait on high school development.
Related NIL & College Sports Coverage
If you’re interested in how NIL, recruiting, and athlete movement are reshaping college sports, explore more from SportsE:
NIL’s benefits and risks
The transfer portal is pure chaos
College hoops is much better this season
Why college coaches are anti-NIL
What’s the status of the NIL economy?
Want to Create Content in the NIL Space?
SportsE works with founders, athletes, collectives, brands, and operators building in and around the NIL ecosystem.
If you want to:
Reach out here and let’s talk.
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.