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Outgoing Athletic Director Names 'Disaster' In College Sports

A long-shot of a Wilson NCAA football at Byrd Stadium.

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Count Andy Noel among the vocal NIL detractors in college sports.

In an interview on ESPN Ithaca’s Between the Lines (h/t On3), the outgoing Cornell athletic director expressed his disdain for NIL when asked about the biggest change he's seen during his tenure.

"The NIL situation has been an absolute disaster," he said. "Programs can now, within the rules, buy a team. I hope the pendulum swings back, I think it will, but it’s an absolute disaster."

He continued to catalog his hatred of NIL allowances.

"I could reel off many cases where athletes have been purchased under the guise of NIL and what they bring with their name, image and likeness, which in most cases is zero, but they still get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. That’s the worst change I have seen in my life in athletics."

Perhaps it's bad for some college programs that lose even more ground on Power Five juggernauts, but players would likely beg to differ.

Noel announced his decision to step down last March after over 40 years at Cornell and 23 seasons as the AD. He'll leave as the longest-tenured Ivy League AD.

The school named former Colgate vice president Nicki Webber Moore the successor in November. Tuesday marked her first day in the new position.