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Actualizado

A growing chorus of College Football coaches across conferences is highlighting the same potential fix for the sport's heightened instability: establishing a coaches' union. The consensus is clear, a structured collective bargaining entity can help streamline scheduling, transfer windows, and safeguard coaches from the unpredictable disruptions of the current collegiate model.

Coaches argue that with a union, leadership could negotiate more coherent practice regulations, limit overbearing workloads, and push back on midseason transfer chaos. As one coach succinctly put it, a union is "the key to ending the chaos".

Transfer Portal: a symptom os system chaos

One of the most criticized areas is the transfer portal's misaligned timing. Coaches report that overlapping portal windows, with one opening before the season ends and another in spring, create constant instability and threaten team continuity.

A unified coaching voice through a union could advocate for a single, wel--timed window, ideally in spring, eliminating the disruptive urge for midseason exits. This change would benefit coaches and student-athletes alike, protecting competitive balance during critical campaign periods.

Practice rules and workout management

Excessive practice expectations and inconsistent rules are alarming concerns among coaches. Under a collective framework, uniform practice limits could be established, mirroring how professional leagues regulate workload through collective bargaining. Coaches envision a system less prone to burnout and more protective of athlete health.

Aligened practice guidelines would also level the playing field between programs, lessening the advantage held by powerhouse schools with deeper staff and resources.

Why a union could transform College Football

• Structured Negotiation: A union empowers coaches to formally negotiate with conferences and the NCAA, rather tan being subject to ad-hoc decrees.
• Unified Front: With collective bargaining, coaches can enforce consistent standards on transfers, eligibility, and practice cuts across all conferences.
• Stability & Retention: Coaches believe stability breeds success; reducing mid-season departures and offseason chaos could help both coaches and players perform at their best.

College Football is at a pivotal crossroads. As the balance between revenue generation, athlete empowerment and coaching control becomes increasingly strained, the call for a formal union among coaches is gaining traction. Many feel it's the cleares path toward restoring order and predictability to a sport too often defined by chaos. If implemented, a union could reshape the landscape, solidifying policy, empowering leadership, and refocusing attention on the game itself.