As name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities expand for collegiate athletes and player transfers are on the rise, the landscape of college athletics is quickly changing. Because of this, UW–Madison and schools across the country are adapting their approaches to athlete recruitment, retention, and scholarships.
“Never has it been more important and more relevant to be able to pivot, to be able to embrace change, to be able to evolve,” UW men’s basketball head coach Greg Gard said.
And at the UW, Badger sports are experiencing unique transitions and shifts — a challenge for Shawn Eichorst. In July, Eichorst was appointed the new director of athletics at UW–Madison, after Chris McIntosh stepped away from the role for a position with the Big Ten Conference.
On September 22, 2026, the UW Now Live hosted Eichorst and Gard to discuss the future of college sports and the new rules and regulations that are reshaping experiences and opportunities for college athletes. The discussion was moderated by Mike Knetter, the former CEO of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association who now serves as executive adviser to the UW director of athletics.
“Obviously, we’ve been in a definite whirlwind of change across college athletics,” Gard said. “My position has evolved and changed over the last 10 years, and [mostly] in the last three to five years.”
As students have gained mobility and more access to opportunities for compensation, collegiate coaches have leaned into fundraising and building relationships with athletics donors. And with the NCAA’s new NIL regulations, athletes and universities are navigating the effects of changing access to money and power.
To attract and retain student-athletes, Eichorst said the UW must provide the benefits necessary for them to purse degrees while competing at a high level. New rules around scholarships help with this. Today, universities such as the UW can provide full cost-of-attendance scholarships for every student on each sport’s roster. Prior to these recent changes, access to financial aid was more restricted.
But recent changes also present challenges. As of 2026, athletes can transfer as many times as they choose to, without being penalized, which means they can go from one school to another and be eligible to participate in their sport immediately. According to Eichorst, the lack of regulation for this new environment is creating an artificial marketplace aligned to the value schools place on each student-athlete. The current structure, he said, is unstable and creating chaos within collegiate sports. He also raised concerns about the effect increased mobility may have on graduation rates.
Now, institutions and the NCAA are looking for a national standard for how schools should approach transfers and NIL. In particular, Eichorst cited the federal Protect College Sports Act, which the U.S. Senate is currently considering.
At UW–Madison, Gard said tradition and culture help maintain strong athletic programs, and the Badgers prioritize athlete retention and intentional recruiting. He said that, by staying connected to the university’s values, his team will be able to adapt to the new era.
“Elite coaches have stability and continuity in their programs. Regardless of what the rules are, they will still be successful. It is just more challenging today,” Eichorst said. “Embracing evolution and complexity is hard, but we do hard things here. That’s what we do. That’s what Wisconsin’s all about.”
