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https://www.the562.org/2026/04/06/column-long-beach-state-stars-hit-transfer-portal-highlighting-challenge-for-mid-majors/

I will correct author MG though that any of the players going into the portal won't necessarily transfer, I feel a fair amount of fishing is going on with the likes of Lewis and Farrell or they asked for a decent chunk of our NIL budget and were told they might as well look for that elsewhere.

Sykes and Petar are gone, we already knew that 3 months ago.

Washington might get a little payday based on his HS resume. His Fr year was a flop at LBSU.

MG states that one associate head coach who was interested in the job didn't apply due to the lack of a competitive NIL budget.

You may grasp at that and somehow wish we could at least come up with a million bucks a year to compete in the Big West in our flagship sport. It's futile given our situation, given the Pyramid is a rattly sieve waiting for the next big rainstorm (and a big El Nino is being predicted for next winter), given the lack of innovative leadership we've experienced at the top and at the AD level.

In the past, we might get some magic dust and compete at a high level for one or two years, much like other strong BW outfits could muster. But it was always shaky, always being pecked at by the big boys, always with the under the table funds and SUVs and whatnot. The game was always rigged in any way it could be, now its just legally rigged in a way that makes the LBSUs of the world DOA.

I'm not done with being a 49er and never will be. I love enjoying amateur level sports and if it was sprinked with some well deserved but realistic funds for players, especially if all players could at least get a stipend, it makes sense.

This doesn't make sense. Best I can do is sit back and watch it unfold and burn itself to the ground. It will still be gamed in favor of the big boys, but maybe something will happen that will give us back the joy of watching our 49ers compete on a more level playing field.