Like I stated in a separate post. This is the most devastating implosion of a team I can remember in all my years of following the 9ers. Mark Price almost mutiny is not even close. Going from a post season team that could have made some noise and having crazy momentum to lets cobble something together to field a team this year is depressing and almost breath taking in its suddenness. I just donāt know how you can build a long term successful model in the G5 now. Old rules would have let you keep your team and transition to a new Coach but with the chance of continued winning and positive momentum. Now it is most likely just burn it to the ground whenever a change happens. No way Gonzaga is Gonzaga now with these new portal and NIL rules. Hard to hold a following.
Basketball is going to be like this for the foreseeable with all team. Duke lost 7 HS AA to transfers and most teams lost an average of 6-7 players or more. When a coach leaves, it is the whole team leaves now.
Those two would have made a difference, but you canāt miss what you never had !
Just a reminder that under the āold rulesā transfers having to sit out for one year did not apply to softball.
Not sure I want someone playing for the Niners who refers to the school as UNC-CHARLOTTE anyway! 
Hell. They are kids so I give them a break. The ones that bother me are peer institutions, media, alumni, business leaders and the like that are paid to know better and do sometimes but dont care.
Abby Knight will also be moving on to the Gamecocks. 
So are they going to wear green jerseys and garnet pants? Chant 40ā¦Cocks after a win?
What gratitude?
Itās one thing to bring in a coach that everyone wants to recruit away. A coach that can establish a foundation to build on into the future.
Itās another thing to hire a coach and pay them a nice salary, Allow them to build a nice resume for themselves, and when they find a better job , take all the team with them where theyāre going leaving charlotte in a worse place than where she found it.
With friends like that we do not need enemies.
So they shoukd do what, not take good players with them? Why would they not do that?
I believe this would be Abbyās bonus year (6).
It really sucks, but this is the system that has been created. What a huge dose of reality that we have had to swallow during all this. You make a good coaching hire, coach takes program to unprecedented levels, then poof, the whole program is gone. Unlimited transfers, year to year roster overhauls in all sports, pay to play NIL. All we can do is hopefully set a high buyout and at least get some cash back on our investments.
The roster that Chastain inherited is probably much better than the roster that Breault is inheriting, but that is mostly due the unlimited transfer rules now that were not in place then. Iād say the program is in a better place overall. New facilities coming up and the players that are still here, some will get their second ring in the fall. A winning tradition has been started. It is up to the new staff to continue it. I personally did not care much about this program 5 years ago. Now I am more invested than I ever thought I would be.
How about as a condition of employment the coaches sign a non-solicitation agreement?This is standard practice for most businesses. Perhaps for 1to 2 years after departure you cannot recruit our players.
Not necessarily blaming the coach. We need to do a better job protecting our program.
Hard to enforce something like this. Especially since, for all intents and purposes, there are no restrictions on transfers.
A player will enter the portal, set the do not contact option, and then follow the coach.
I think a playerās union could help curtail this a bit. Or something similar to the transfers in international soccer where collectives have to āpayā collectives to gain the player ( 
, that hurt to type).
Just remember, it is the wild west of NIL right now (thanks Tennessee). The NCAA and the courts are going through some legal actions. There should be more structure, that is hopefully better, in the next few years ( 
).
I agree. Itās tough on our leadership. Iām confident they are doing all they know to do.
Consequences like this are much worse than the punishment of a major recruiting violation.
Some AAC news:
Getting more concerned about our Ladies, roster still shows just 9 players and no announcements of player or possible players coming in for next year.
Iām resigned to being a very bad team for at least a year. I wouldnāt be the least bit surprised to see us voted dead last in the preseason popularity poll. Unless we pull out of that early season tournament in Florida, we will likely see a series of run rule losses there. It aināt going to be fun for awhile.
Iām not a D1 coach nor do I play one on TV. However, the opening weeks of this regime are a little perplexing. First, they should have done a press conference for Breault. People need to see and hear from her and let her start to establish her message. All the news that has been out there has been bad. Change the narrative. Next, from what can be seen, the staff appears to be focused on 2025 recruiting. While thatās important, we have 9 players on the roster with 2 commits that we know of. With the portal being what it is, this roster could be retooled on the fly. Not āwin the conferenceā retooled, but āfinish mid packā retooled. It would seem that putting some assets around those that remained loyal to the program in order to remain competitive would be a solid strategy. As it stands, it feels like weāve moved on from the 2025 season already. Maybe not, but thereās not much to go on right now.
It is interesting no press conference. Everyone on vacation or zero interest. Either way, a little strange.
I was waiting for that myself. Not a normal situation with the timing but would have loved to hear from her. With so many on the athletic staff retiring I guess no one was in charge 