University of Miami Basketball Coach Rails Against NIL Era of College Sports After Announcing Retirement: ‘I’m Exhausted’

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Longtime University of Miami men’s basketball coach Jim Larranaga cited the current state of college sports as a reason for his retirement.

Larranaga — the winningest basketball coach in Hurricanes history — stunned the college basketball world when he announced his retirement Thursday in the middle of the season. At the time of his retirement, the Hurricanes were 4-8. During a press conference, Larranaga claimed he was simply “exhausted” having to navigate things like the transfer portal. He added:

I loved the game and I love the university that much, I felt like, OK, there’s one thing you gotta constantly ask yourself: Are you going to give everything you have the commitment that it deserves — 100% of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally; but I’m exhausted. I’ve tried every which way to keep this going; and I know I’m gonna be asked a lot of questions, but I want to answer them before I’m even asked.

What shocked me beyond belief was after we made it to the Final Four just 18 months ago, the very first time I met with the players, eight of them decided they were gonna put their name in the portal and leave. I said, “Don’t you like it here?” “No, I love it! I love Miami! It’s great.” But the opportunity to make money someplace else created a situation that — you have to begin to ask yourself as a coach, what is this all about? And the answer is it’s become professional.

Watch his comments here:

This new era of college athletics has proven to be a challenge for a number of prominent coaches. Former Alabama football coach Nick Saban also cited it as one the reasons he stepped down at the end of the 2023 season.