The Portal and NIL Nothing New For Vols Veteran Basketball Coach Rick Barnes

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Vols basketball coach Rick Barnes tagged along on the Big Orange caravan Monday in Chattanooga. He’s set to begin his 9th season as Tennessee’s head coach next year.

Just like every coach, Barnes is adjusting to the new NIL rules and the transfer portal.

It’s nothing new for a guy who has been a head coach for 36 seasons. Barnes remembers when there were no recruiting windows, and you could basically recruit a player 365 days a year if you wanted. So NIL and the portal are just part of the ever changing game.

Said Barnes:”I don’t have a problem at all with the NIL. Again I think if someone can do well with their name, image, and likeness, they should be able to do that. I think where we are right now. I’m not sure the way it is right now it can sustain itself. I do think that AD’s and administrator’s around the country are trying to figure out what is the right way to do it.”
Reporter:”Is the portal something you check on every day?”
Barnes:”I don’t. I’ve got good assistant coaches. The portal. I don’t there are dates when it opens and it’s closed. I think as coaches we think it’s probably opened all the time. Again it’s apart of where we are in the game today, so we have to be aware of what’s going on in every aspect of college basketball.”