Dave Aranda calls out college football’s spending gap, wants more defined rules and enforcement

Sitting on a panel Sunday evening that included Texas coach Steve Sarkisian, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire, among others, Baylor coach Dave Aranda had some pointed comments about big budgets in college athletics. He pointed out there’s often a huge disparity in what schools can spend. Aranda, who made it a point to praise Baylor’s renewed commitment to NIL spending at the same event in 2024, didn’t necessarily call out any schools by name. But it’s clear he doesn’t think there’s a level playing field in the sport right now. [ $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage ] “There’s a cap,” Dave Aranda said, likely referring to institutional revenue share. “I think, for some of us in here, the cap is the ceiling. For others, the cap is the floor. There’s so much money moving around and kind of elbows widen out that what you’d like is for there to be rules and then you’d like the ability to enforce the rules.” The three aforementioned coaches all captain programs that are among the biggest spenders in the sport. Annually, they burn huge amounts of capital to ensure they’re competing at the highest level. It has made all three in-state schools top transfer portal destinations. Spend big, potentially win big. It’s not just NIL spending, though, that has changed. Dave Aranda pointed out there’s been a sea change in the sport over the last half decade or so. “I became a head coach in 2020 and there’s been so much change since then,” Aranda said in a video shared by Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle. “Not in order, but transfer portal, NIL, agents being involved.” All of those things introduce new factors that coaches must contend with to win games and keep their jobs. Aranda himself is no stranger to the hot seat, and he likely needs to win this year after suffering three losing seasons in the past four years. In any case, Dave Aranda seemed to be campaigning for more regulation in college athletics. It would certainly make for a more even playing field. “The spirit of college football, we all love it, and that will always be,” Aranda said. “But the college football that was probably prior to 2020 is different than the college football that we’re in right now.”