Dan Lanning admits challenges to fulfill Oregon's academic metrics in NIL-driven transfer portal era

Dan Lanning is among the most talked about coaches in the nation. With Oregon being given the No. 2 spot in the 2024 Big Ten preseason rankings, he will be facing the spotlight heading into his first season in the conference.

Many challenges faced in the new era of college football stem from athletes' exposure to NIL and also the transfer portal. According to NCAA rules, a program should be keeping up with the decided Academic Progress Rate along with the university's graduation rate.

Dan Lanning's Oregon has been facing a decline in the program's APR, as their four-year score dropped from 950 to 941, their lowest since 2007-08. Talking about the challenges faced in the transfer portal era, Lanning addressed the dropped APR score at Oregon:

“I think in the landscape of college football with things changing, that’s certainly a challenge, but I also look at guys like Bo Nix and Bucky Irving that were academic All-Americans, and there’s a lot of guys that achieve really highly at our school from an academic standpoint.

"Some of these guys that have gone to the NFL, just like Jevon Holland, I anticipate them coming back to make sure that they’re able to finish their degree if they haven’t yet. It’ll always be something that’s very important to us from an academic standpoint.”

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Oregon set to experience schedule issues in 2024

In Pac-12, most of the games took place in Pacific or mountain time, which was a convenience for Dan Lanning's Oregon. However, owing to the Ducks' transition to the Big Ten, they will have to travel to the other parts of the country more often than before.

Dan Lanning's team will be on the road for a total of 15,222 miles, which is 40% more than in their previous season in the Pac-12 conference. The increased hours of travel could become a factor in players' performances. Hence, Dan Lanning and the coaching staff will have to plan accordingly.

Oregon will be playing Purdue, Wisconsin and Michigan in the 2024 college football season, which will be their farthest games, as they will have to travel East Coast.

Fans will be interested to see how the added travel time plays a part in the team's performances during the 2024 college football season.