Drink’s opinion of Oregon, Washington, Arizona, ASU, and Washington moving conferences

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“All right, I’m gonna say it. I thought the transfer window — I thought the portal was closed,” Drinkwitz quipped. “‘Oh, that’s just for the student athletes. The adults in the room get to do whatever they want, apparently.”

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Student-athletes from those former Pac-12 schools could be headed as far east as Rutgers in the Big Ten and West Virginia and UCF in the Big 12 for competition. But that doesn’t seem to matter to revenue-minded officials pulling the strings of conference realignment, Drinkwitz said.

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“My question is: Did we count the cost?” Drinkwitz asked. “I’m not talking about the financial cost. I’m talking about: Did we count the cost for the student-athletes involved in this decision? What cost is it to those student-athletes? We’re talking about a football decision, based on football, but what about softball and baseball, who have to travel across (the) country? Did we ask about the cost to them?

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Drinkwitz said he’s not worried about how conference realignment will affect the college football product, noting that “the game will be strong.” But he’s very concerned about the student-athletes involved and their lack of sway in the process.

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Drinkwitz also took notice of student-athletes’ opinions about the move. He alluded to softball players from Oregon and Arizona State showing their disappointment on social media.

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Players pointed out concerns over travel, including that, in some cases, they picked schools close to home so their families could travel to games. They also expressed mental health concerns.

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“Did we ask them if they wanted to travel from the East Coast to the West Coast?” Drinkwitz said. “Man, you know, I love the game. But every game that I coach, I look up in the stands and find my family. I make sure they can be there because that’s what I’m doing this for.”

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