In 30 years as the NC State baseball coach, Elliott Avent has seen the game grow and change in many ways. None more than in recent times, with the transfer portal, NIL, conference realignment and revenue sharing all impacting programs and coaches significantly.

There is a great deal of ambiguity surrounding these changes. Will the ACC stand the test of time? Is a Collective Bargaining Agreement between players and teams in our near future? What is the distinction between a professional and a collegiate athlete?

These questions have not yet been answered. But to weather the storm, Avent has utilized the stability of his program over the years — one that is routinely in the top 25, competitive in the ACC and has made two recent College World Series appearances.

Sports [have] changed through the years. I got into college coaching 45 years ago, and in the first 40 years, it didn’t change much at all … There were some things, but it didn’t change much. The conference has changed. When I got here, we had nine people in the league. And now we’re at [16].

— NC State baseball head coach Elliott Avent

Slowly, the ACC has grown into a massive conference, but none of the additions were too groundbreaking until recently, as Cal, SMU and Stanford — all of which are not located on the Atlantic coast — were added in 2024.

“Geographically, it is kind of amusing. But so those have been monumental changes,” Avent said. “The biggest, earth-shattering changes [came] over the last few years.”

The biggest change has been the transfer portal, which allows athletes the ability to change scenery and play for a different school every year if they so choose, whether it be for increased playing time or financial compensation.

“I’m okay with the transfer portal,” Avent said. “ … I’m about players getting some money. When I first got into athletics, they had what they called laundry money, was like $15 a week. Whatever, do your laundry, right? And players got that. And through the years, players should have been able to make some money so they can do things without every meal having to be eaten in Case, because they don’t have the opportunity to go out and get a part time job to make a little extra money … They went from players couldn’t even do a private lesson with a kid to teach him and make some money. Couldn’t do anything, to now they can own a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shop.”

Another important aspect of the NIL era has been sports gambling. Due to widespread legalization efforts, including in North Carolina, as online sports betting was legalized in March 2024, there has been a push for student athletes to be able to make wagers. Avent said that it is a bad idea for student athletes with all of their new income.

“At an age when you’re more likely to be a risk taker, you’re more likely to do some things that maybe don’t make a lot of sense,” Avent said. “Maybe you don’t think them through. So all these things are being given to the players right now … Like I say, some of it’s good, but they have let it get out of control, and hopefully they’ll find an answer for it.”

Avent has found success in the recent era of college athletics, posting a 62-53 record in conference play since the transfer portal opened in 2021, and has had his share of postseason success. Amid the chaos, he plans to stay true to what has gotten him this far.

“We’ve always been a program that developed from the high school ranks and kept players here for three, four years.”

One question remains: How long before order is restored in collegiate athletics?