Just Wondering...with Norm Hitzges

When Nobody’s in Charge, Chaos Is Inevitable | Just Wondering with Norm Hitzges

January 26, 2026 16:29

What happens when college sports operate without anyone truly in charge?
Exactly what you’re seeing now.
In this episode of Just Wondering with Norm Hitzges, Norm Hitzges takes on two developments that point to a looming breakdown in college athletics — and neither one has a clean solution.
Norm begins with a court ruling involving former Alabama basketball player Charles Bediako, who declared for the NBA Draft, went undrafted, played professionally, and is now seeking to return to college basketball. A judge has temporarily ruled that the NCAA cannot stop him. Norm explains why this isn’t just about one player — it’s about the precedent. If this door stays open, what stops waves of undrafted football and basketball players from attempting pro careers, failing, and then pouring back into college sports with eligibility intact?
From there, Norm pivots to college football’s playoff mess. Despite widespread agreement that a 16-team playoff would have fixed most of this year’s problems, the SEC and Big Ten failed — again — to reach consensus. Instead, financial motivations, conference power plays, and a proposed 24-team playoff loaded with byes killed progress. The result: a flawed 12-team system that left deserving programs out while frustrating fans who just want fairness and clarity.
Throughout the episode, Norm returns to one central theme: the NCAA is powerless, university presidents won’t act, and conferences are chasing money at the expense of the sport itself. When no one’s willing to lead, chaos isn’t a surprise — it’s the outcome.
Chapters
00:00:00 – Just wondering about chaos coming to college sports
00:01:38 – The Charles Bediako case and a dangerous precedent
00:02:23 – Declaring for the NBA too early — and wanting back in
00:03:12 – A judge says the NCAA can’t stop it
00:04:00 – What happens if this ruling holds
00:05:00 – Undrafted players returning to college football
00:05:58 – “We are talking chaos here”
00:06:57 – The NCAA as a toothless tiger
00:07:48 – Sponsor break: Bob’s Steak & Chop House
00:08:25 – Full Moon Healing Balm and aging realities
00:09:10 – Why this year’s College Football Playoff failed
00:10:11 – Why a 16-team playoff made sense
00:11:20 – The Big Ten’s 24-team proposal and money motives
00:12:20 – Why 24 teams is “way too clumsy”
00:13:16 – Deadlines missed and progress stalled
00:14:03 – Remembering the four-team playoff disaster
00:14:52 – Power brokers vs. fans and the sport itself
00:15:16 – Sponsors and closing thoughts
00:16:08 – Final sign-off
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It's a cold Monday, January 26th, and today, I'm just wondering about a massive chaos
that could be coming to college sports, and because the two heavyweight conferences,
the Big Ten and the SEC, couldn't come to any agreement, unnecessary change in college
football dies on the vine.
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Our first topic concerns a college basketball player named Charles Bediaco.
Bediaco spent two years at Alabama.
Was he any good?
Yeah, pretty good.
Raw, but hey, he helped Alabama get the two NCAA championships.
He averaged seven points per game, five rebounds per game, and more than one and a half blocks
per game.
He's a seven footer, good college player.
Raw should have stayed in school to develop more.
But he made a stupid decision.
He was talked into it by family or friends or an agent or his own ego.
And he declared for the 2023 NBA draft.
That's right, nearly three years ago.
And no team took him because he was too raw and he had no offensive game at all.
And he spent two and a half years trying to be and to some degree becoming a pro.
He signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs.
He played in the G league for money.
He played in the summer league.
Now he wants to go back and play for Alabama.
That's right.
Nearly three years after leaving, he wants back in college.
And the judge has ruled he can go back.
Judge James Roberts Jr. of the Tuscaloosa Circuit Court.
Yeah, of course, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Anyway, rule that he could go back and that the NCAA could do nothing to stop him.
Now it's a temporary injunction, ten days, and it runs out tomorrow.
By the way, the judge is a six figure donor to a foundation that supports Alabama sports.
Of course, this attempt will likely fail, likely.
But you can't be sure of anything in America these days.
But what if Betty Arcos succeeds?
How many undrafted players will want to pour back into their schools to continue playing
college sports?
And that, of course, brings us to football.
Every year dozens and dozens and dozens of kids declare for the NFL draft and they're
not selected.
And they may even play in the USFL, earn money on NFL practice squads.
And there are some who even they're drafted and they don't make teams.
But they do accept signing bonuses.
What if this goes through?
And swarms of players suddenly want to go back to school and use up the eligibility they
left when they declared for the draft.
There would be no punishment for them.
They declared to go pro.
They weren't good enough.
And now they want to come back and spend one or two or Lord help us three more years back
in school.
We are talking chaos here.
But then this is what happens in college sports when no one's in charge.
The NCAA is a toothless tiger.
And university presence and coaches and conferences will not step in and stop things like this.
There's all other topic they won't stop.
And that's tempering with players to talk them into the transfer portal.
But this is just one more example of college sports where nobody's in charge and control
was lost years ago.
Next, more college sports news or actually a lack of news.
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The college football playoff this year was embarrassing.
The rules permitted that the college football playoff add another small school when the
champion of the ACC Duke was not considered good enough to be in the playoffs.
That small school was James Madison.
Hey, pretty good program.
But when they were admitted to the 12 team college football playoff, it meant that much more
deserving teams like Notre Dame, BYU, Utah weren't admitted.
In fact, there were 11 power conference football teams ranked ahead of James Madison in
the poll before the playoffs began.
A 16 team playoff would be much better.
There would be no buys in the first round.
And 16 teams would have enabled college football to bring in Notre Dame's, the BYU's, and
the Utah's.
And the others who got screwed this year.
And we would have had that 16 team playoff except for the cold war that continues between
the SEC and the big 10.
That stopped the 16 team playoff.
The SEC and the other two big conferences, the big 12 and the ACC.
They all supported moving to a 16 team playoff where five conference champions, including
a small conference champion, all got admission into the field.
And they took the next 11 best teams.
Lord, that sounds like sense, doesn't it?
No, not these days in college football.
No, no, we're not good into what's getting into what sounds sensible.
But the big 10 wanted a 2014 playoff where eight teams would get buys in the first round
and conference championship games, which are big money makers for conferences.
They would get canceled.
And the big 10 figures that if they had a 2014 playoff this year, they'd have gotten
16 teams in, which would have meant a lot more money for the conference, because those
teams get a bunch of money for being in the playoffs.
But 2014 is way too clumsy, way too clumsy.
And what drove this money, money.
And the big 10 thought the SEC would agree, because this year the SEC would have gotten
seven teams in the playoffs.
That's right, 13 of the 2014's would have come from the big 10 in the SEC.
They had originally a December 1 deadline for making a decision on this.
And then the deadline was pushed all the way to last Friday, January 23rd.
And this still couldn't come to an agreement.
So the playoff is going to remain at 12 schools.
Now they did tinker with the rules a bit.
So the teams like Notre Dame didn't get screwed again.
And that the champion of the ACC, no matter what the record was, would get into the playoffs.
But 16 almost everybody concedes would be better.
It's been a 12 teams for only two years.
Remember that horrible period where only four teams got invited to the playoffs?
Can you believe it?
We had a period, a long period, where with more than 130 division one schools, only four
got invited to playoffs.
That's as opposed to basketball where there's 349 or something division one programs.
And like the three skunks are the only ones that don't get invited in the basketball
playoffs.
This was a buckle this year.
It was wrong what happened.
It frustrates fans.
But college sports these days is run by power brokers.
One thing is clear, those power brokers care much more about their private concerns.
And how much money they can carve out themselves.
And they don't give a damn about what might be best for the sport or its fans.
And now a word from our title sponsor.
Today's episode has been brought to you by Fluent Financial, retire earlier, live better.
And by Bob's steak and chop house on Lemon and Dallas and in Craig Ranch in McKinney.
Bob's a Dallas tradition for more than 30 years.
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Thanks for listening to today's episode of Just One Ring.
I'm Norm Hitzkes and know that every day I'll be just wondering about something.
And I'm Mary Hitzkes and I'll just be wondering too.
This is A Stolen Water Media Production.

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