Now that Tony Vitello has said goodbye to Tennessee baseball and hello to the major leagues, the new San Francisco Giants manager still has time to talk about his glory days with the Vols before he kicks things into overdrive with his new club. While Vitello has countless amazing memories in Knoxville, there's one area he most definitely wasn't a fan o
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That'd be NIL. Across all sports, NIL has changed everything and it's making it incredibly difficult for coaches to recruit. This was something that Vitello was dealing with at Tennessee and while speaking on a recent podcast, he didn't hesitate in saying it's a disaster for college athletics. It's hard to argue with what he had to say here:
"It's a disaster."
— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) November 4, 2025
Tony Vitello discussed issues that have come with the NIL era in college sports.
🎥 via @BussinWTB (Link to full video below) pic.twitter.com/9YmcxyG9rF
Tony Vitello didn't hesitate in calling the NIL era a 'disaster' for college athletics
"Yeah, it's a disaster," Vitello said. "I kind of have this weird fantasy or vision of like, okay, can college and MLB merge together a little bit and help each other? I wouldn't be the main patron of either, but I could connect the right people and get this thing where it's a little more fluid, but the one part MLB can't affect is just where NCAA sports are in general - and it's just a mess."
Tell us how you really feel, Tony. Again, it's hard to argue with what he has to say, as things have been turned upside down in the NIL era and it's getting harder for things to be regulated. Gone are the days where a prospect would pick a school because of a program fit or relationship with a staff.
Instead, these days it feels like the No. 1 selling point is how much money a university can put into a kid's checking account. This is something that Vitello had to deal with at Tennessee and while it's not the reason he left to take over the Giants, you've got to have a feeling it was something he kept in mind as he made this life-changing decision.
Tennessee baseball has been able to land some big-time recruits in recent cycles, with the 2025 class being considered No. 1 in the country per multiple outlets. Obviously, Vitello and his staff were doing something right, but it's now on Josh Elander to try and navigate this new NIL world with Vitello off to the NL West.