As the college sports landscape has adjusted to NIL, the gap between college programs with deep-pocketed boosters and alumni and smaller schools with fewer financial resources has continued to widen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Although he was in a position to potentially benefit from those perceived advantages during his time as head coach at Tennessee, Tony Vitello railed against NIL’s shortcomings.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s a disaster,” Vitello told Taylor Lewan and Will Compton during a recent episode of the “Bussin\u2019 With The Boys” podcast.<\/a><\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM<\/a><\/p>\n Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello during Game 1 of the NCAA baseball tournament Fayetteville Super Regional against Arkansas at Baum-Walker Stadium June 7, 2025. (Brianna Paciorka\/News Sentinel\/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)<\/p>\n Vitello coached the Volunteers to the program’s first national championship in 2024. Despite his lack of coaching experience at the MLB level, Vitello was named manager of the San Francisco Giants<\/a> last month.<\/p>\n As he reflected on his successful tenure at Tennessee, Vitello shared some of his grievances with the current NIL system.<\/p>\n COLLEGE FOOTBALL LEGEND NICK SABAN CLAIMS NIL HAS ‘HURT’ THE SEC WHILE HELPING NORTHERN SCHOOLS<\/a><\/p>\n “It\u2019s a disaster,” Vitello told Lewan and Compton. “We all have thoughts that you dream a little bigger. I kind of have this weird fantasy or vision of, OK, can college and MLB merge together a little bit and help each other? I certainly shouldn\u2019t be the patron of either. But I can connect the right people and get this thing where it\u2019s a little more fluid. But the one part MLB can\u2019t affect is where NCAA sports are in general.”<\/p>\n Tennessee Volunteers head coach Tony Vitello warms up his players before Game 1 of the series against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Baum-Walker Stadium at George Cole Field May 16, 2025, in Fayetteville, Ark.\u00a0 (Wesley Hitt\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n Vitello concluded that NIL has contributed to what he remembers as a chaotic environment.<\/p>\n “It\u2019s just a mess. \u2026 It\u2019s like you\u2019re driving in the fog, and you can\u2019t really see but about 100 or 200 feet in front of you. You\u2019re grasping for what\u2019s real, what you can do, what you can\u2019t do. I\u2019m sure someone will throw out that I did something wrong, or I didn\u2019t do this. But, overall, it\u2019s very frustrating when you don\u2019t know the rules to the game.”<\/p>\n Tony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants gives an interview prior to his introductory press conference as the new manager of the Giants at Oracle Park Oct. 30, 2025, in San Francisco. (Andy Kuno\/San Francisco Giants\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n While walking through the disparity between college baseball programs, Vitello also suggested the NIL era is counterproductive to the push to have schools compete<\/a> on an even playing field.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n “That\u2019s the whole point of athletics or competition is: Let\u2019s find out who can do it better. But when you really don\u2019t know what the rules of the game are or they\u2019re so lopsided in favor of Tennessee over Middle Tennessee State, it\u2019s kind of hard to have that nose-to-nose competition.”<\/p>\n Vitello replaces Bob Melvin, who departs after two seasons with the Giants. San Francisco has not advanced to the MLB postseason<\/a> since 2021.<\/p>\n Follow Fox News Digital\u2019s sports coverage on X<\/a>, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/tony-vitello-102225.jpg\")
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