Auburn HC Bruce Pearl urges government intervention amid NIL, Transfer Portal controversy: "We're all playing by different rules"

Bruce Pearl is among the coaches who have grave concerns with the NIL and the transfer portal in the NCAA. The Auburn coach shared his worries with ESPN anchor Scott Van Pelt during Tuesday's episode of SportsCenter ahead of the Tigers' Final Four showdown with the Florida Gators.

Pearl believes that drastic measures need to be taken to address the transfer portal controversy, which has been a major topic of discussion during this year's March Madness. He even suggested getting the U.S. government involved to tackle this particular issue.

"Scott, you’re in DC, all right. So you know how nothing gets done there and everything is a cluster," Pearl said (Timestamp 8:02). "We need to find a way to get some legislation to give us an opportunity. We all be playing by the same rules."

"I love the fact that student-athletes are finally getting compensated. We were way late to the party and I think it’s great but, right now, there are no guidelines. We’re not going to have a true national champion because we’re all playing by different rules."

Bruce Pearl added that Congress could give them "a little bit of antitrust protection" to bring back some aspects of the older model when it came to player transfers. The Auburn coach had said that the Tigers are at a disadvantage in this current transfer portal setup as the other teams are already recruiting the top players available while his side is still focusing on the NCAA Tournament.

Bruce Pearl's Auburn to face Florida next in Final Four

Bruce Pearl and the Auburn Tigers will look to create history on Saturday when they face the Florida Gators in the Final Four at the Alamodome. A victory for the Tigers would see them advance to the national championship game for the first time in program history.

Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden talks with Auburn Tigers head coach Bruce Pearl before their game at Neville Arena. Photo: Imagn

The closest Auburn got to reaching the NCAA title game was in 2019, when the Tigers faced the Virginia Cavaliers in the Final Four. They fell short, however, in their bid to advance to the championship game, losing 63-62 to Virginia. Kyle Guy broke Auburn fans' hearts, sinking three free throws with 0.6 seconds left to give the Cavaliers the come-from-behind victory.

Pearl will look to get a better result against the Gators, who booked their place in the Final Four with an 84-79 win over Texas Tech on Saturday. Auburn and Florida have locked horns once this season, with the Gators recording a 90-81 victory on Feb. 8.