GREEN BAY (WLUK) – College sports have entered a new era defined by player movements and money. Terms like the “transfer portal” and “N-I-L” tossed around like the roundball.

“What the Hell: The Transfer Portal, NIL and College Basketball” is the name of a class offered at UW-Green Bay through its Lifelong Learning Institute.

The LLI offering hundreds of courses and seminars, every year, for adults who are passionate about learning, connection and discovery.

Dozens of UWGB Lifelong Learning Institute students learn about the NCAA transfer portal and NIL. September 2, 2026 (WLUK video)

UWGB men’s and women’s basketball coaches Doug Gottlieb and Kayla Karius breaking down the terms for dozens of LLI students.

“As coaches, you don’t realize that there’s so many people who don’t understand the process. So recruiting has really changed over the last decade with all the different rules and especially with the transfer portal. So I think if we can educate our fans in this community a little bit more of what is all involved, I think they can appreciate even more the players that are here and are getting a degree from UWGB,” said Karius.

The portal, in women’s basketball, is a two week time period in April when players have the opportunity to leave one college program in hopes of getting picked up by another, without penalty.

In 2026, nearly 80% of the women’s basketball players who entered the portal last year got picked up by other programs.

Karius and her staff use the portal to bring experienced players to Green Bay to fill voids left by graduating seniors.

While no women’s basketball players from GB have entered the portal, looking to leave on the men’s side, players have both come and gone for a variety of reasons.

According to Karius, “Our whole staff has to adapt because that’s the way it’s going and I think if you don’t adapt, you can fall behind really quickly.”

NIL or name, image, and likeness is changing college sports too.

What started as a way to support athletes with small sponsorships has turned into essentially pay for play.

“Our funds at Green Bay come from your donations that go through our foundation and then we break off a portion of our revenue that we feel like we can still balance our books and form our team that way,” said Doug Gottlieb.

When asked if writing checks to players should be the spirit of college athletics, Gottlieb answered, “Probably not.”

Whether coaches agree with the portal or the make up of the NIL doesn’t really matter. Both are just part of doing business in college athletics today.