Will SEC Hoops Continue This Run In March? Lawmakers Have Lost Their NIL Mind, CFP Expansion Problems Persist

While the college football season ended just over a month ago in Atlanta with Ohio State winning a national championship, the news around what the future of this sport will look like moving forward has cranked up once again. 

Now, it's all about how things will change when it comes to the playoff, and how many more teams will be added to the postseason in 2026. While college football leaders argue over what the format should look like, we are in the midst of another wild season of basketball, with a number of storylines that will carry over into March Madness. 

Oh, and we have representatives trying to persuade folks that student-athletes in Alabama and Georgia should not have to pay state income taxes due to a disadvantage in recruiting with NIL. So, I'd argue that this will be one of the wildest off-seasons we've seen in quite a while, besides when Nick Saban decided to call it a career. 

After receiving plenty of DMs and emails from you folks over the past week, it's time to dive into some of your questions about this interesting period in college athletics. 

Hey Trey, with all of this talk surrounding the SEC's dominance in college basketball this season, are we headed towards a collapse in the NCAA Tournament for a majority of these teams? Don't get me wrong, I love my Aggies, but last night's game against Mississippi State worries me. 

Tyler - Dallas, Texas

Well, we are witnessing one of the craziest seasons of SEC hoops that I've covered in a very long time, and not just for the top teams in the league. This is a stacked league that will continue to make headlines heading towards ‘Selection Sunday’. As of this past Sunday, ESPN projected that there could be as many as fourteen teams that make the NCAA Tournament, which is astonishing on the surface. 

Now, we know that Auburn has proven to be the best team in this league, while Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri and Texas A&M have been drawing headlines for most of the season so far. But, as we witnessed on Tuesday night, a team like Mississippi State can bring the house down on anyone if they can continue shooting like they did against the Aggies in the win. 

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA - FEBRUARY 15: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts to a first half foul called against his team as they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum on February 15, 2025 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.  (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images)

I think the tournament's first round is obviously going to give us an easy look at just how good the conference was this season as a whole. Take, for instance, a team like Tennessee. While the Vols are stellar on defense, the Vols offense continues to worry folks in Knoxville with their inconsistent shooting at times. It took a Rick Barnes lashing at halftime to get his team refocused against Vanderbilt, who led by sixteen points in the first half. 

So, the point I'm making is that while this league has garnered enormous amounts of attention during the regular season, I have no idea how this will translate to the postseason. I think there are teams like Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Texas that could turn some heads next month, but this is going to be a crapshoot once it starts. 

Let's see if this conference can back it up. 

Let me know what you think by emailing me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

How in the world do these folks in Georgia and Alabama think they can get away with not applying state income taxes towards athletes earning NIL? What about the revenue I make as a student from social media? Will I get an exemption because I'm a student? It's not always about the football players. Thanks

Ashley - Marrieta, Georgia

I'm not going to lie, this feels like one of the dumbest things we could do around NIL. When representatives from the State of Georgia and Alabama presented this idea over the past ten days, my first thought centered around my friends and family that live in these states. Are sports big enough that voters would get behind legislation that would provide athletes with an exemption from state income taxes, but not for the rest of the population? 

Sure, there are advantages for states that don't have income taxes that need to be paid, like Florida and Tennessee. But in no way should that be the catalyst for a change in laws in those states that currently have it. 

Have representatives from Alabama and Georgia lost their mind in thinking that players making money through NIL should not pay state income taxes? (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

Yea, the mom that's working two jobs to help raise a family is going to get behind the idea that Alabama's starting quarterback shouldn't have to pay a state income tax because it will help the team recruit better. See how this sounds? 

As for your question, Ashley, the point you make is valid, and is a perfect argument. If you're making money through social media as a student, whether that be X, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and having to pay state income taxes, that's not going to go over well with your peers if the basketball player is exempt because of his NIL earnings. 

Good luck to those representatives trying to pull this off. 

Let me know what you think by emailing me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com

I am so sick of this college football nonsense of expansion. We all knew that it was never going to stay at twelve teams in football and now we're talking about expanding the NCAA tournament. These folks are making so much money in television contracts and payouts, but still want to ask me to pay more for season tickets. Will this ever end? 

Colton - Jackson, Tennessee

Hey Colton, appreciate the rant. The simple answer is no, this will not end. The amount of messages I receive about fans already spending enough money on tickets is not surprising. What they've done is price-out the average fan that wants to take their family to a game. While these schools want to promote new stadium upgrades or find different ways to attract more folks to attend games, it's a turnstile when it comes to bringing in new fans. 

The bottom line is that if your team is winning, and there is excitement around the program, the school knows that there is somebody else waiting to purchase those season tickets that you might not be able to afford any longer. You're just a spoke on the wheel, and it's only going to get more pricey to attend games. 

For the college football playoff, they're making money from television contracts, so I promise that they aren't worried about the average fan wanting to attend one of those postseason games. Honestly, these ticket brokers buy up all the inventory when they can, so the schools are making their money anyway. 

The amount of money it costs to travel with your favorite team during the postseason was a hot-button topic this past playoff, as I discussed frequently. If the CFP committee wanted to do right by the fans, they should put more games on-campus during the playoff. I'm not saying that would solve all the problems, but make it look like you’re actually thinking about them, and not just for the almighty dollar. 

I could go on for days about this specific topic, but when your favorite school reaches out for donations that will go towards the players or raises ticket prices once again after next season, it should not come as a surprise. I love these sports, but we have to start thinking more about the consumer. 

Ok, that's going to do it for this week's mailbag. Sorry I couldn't get to you all, but I will always respond when you hit me up on social media or email me at Trey.Wallace@OutKick.com