College sports has always needed regulation. President Theodore Roosevelt summoned college football leadership to the White House in 1905 to discuss reforming a sport that killed 18 people in 1904, according to the Chicago Tribune. Teams were hiring ringers who weren't enrolled in school.

By comparison, Nico Iamaleava's transfer from the Tennessee football team after holding out of practice and the spring game seems less severe. Yet in today's social media landscape, a college athlete making NFL-style moves for an alleged pay raise becomes viral news across millions of timelines.

College sports captivates viewers through pageantry, passionate fanbases, and historic rivalries. March Madness Basketball measurably disrupts American productivity each spring. But beneath this enthusiasm lies a history of under-regulation and chaos.

When NCAA leadership appeared before the Senate in October 2023, even conservative Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) showed little sympathy for concerns about student-athletes being considered employees. "I would strongly encourage you and your colleagues to get together and come up with a new system for us to consider that looks like somebody designed it on purpose," Kennedy told NCAA president Charlie Baker.

Iamaleava's spring practice holdout broke college norms, but he at least received his promised NIL money—unlike Jaden Rashada, currently in a legal dispute with Florida, or Matthew Sluka, who left UNLV after three games claiming their NIL collective reneged on a deal.

These NIL arrangements are complicated because players aren't signing contracts with universities but with university supporters and corporations. Meanwhile, coaches have enjoyed freedom of movement for decades.

College football coaches regularly abandon teams before bowl games. Brian Kelly left undefeated Cincinnati before their Sugar Bowl to join Notre Dame. The difference? Coaches have negotiated buyout fees. Michigan received $1.5 million when Jim Harbaugh left for the Los Angeles Chargers in 2024 with three years remaining on his contract.

Conference realignment follows a similar money-driven pattern. The Big Ten now stretches from Washington state to near Washington D.C., encompassing 18 teams including Rutgers, Maryland, UCLA, and USC. Its rebranded "B1G" logo aptly reflects that only money unites this geographically disparate conference.

This financial focus dates to 1984, when the Supreme Court ruled major college football could negotiate its own TV contracts. The NCAA lacks uniform authority across critical areas, even drug policies, where schools determine consequences for positive tests.

For decades, the NCAA zealously prosecuted athlete compensation. Now, with players negotiating NIL deals in high school and courts potentially mandating direct payment, college sports is unprepared for this transformation.

In a system where coaches disregard contracts and the governing body has minimal financial oversight, chaos is inevitable. Players now have similar freedom but less experience making adult decisions. More controversies like those involving Iamaleava and Rashada will certainly follow.

While today's issues aren't as dire as football's 1904 mortality crisis, the failure to better organize college athletics over the past century has created a new problem: young people navigating a largely unregulated system, learning on the fly with millions at stake.