Former Villanova coach Jay Wright believes the blueblood era in men’s college basketball is already over.
“I think it is [over], great point,” Wright responded when the question was posted to him on USA Today’s Sports Seriously.
This is quite the statement, as five of the most prestigious blueblood programs—UConn, North Carolina, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas—are all in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. UConn is coming off a season in which it won the national title and hasn’t been ranked outside of the top five since it was No. 6 in the preseason poll.
Wright’s reasoning, though, is based on the transfer portal changing the landscape. Before the transfer portal, he detailed how a player at a blueblood school would likely wait it out at the program so they wouldn’t have to sit out an entire season if they changed schools. But players can now transfer to another program once as an underclassman without having to sit out a year.
“The transfer portal and NIL has really made it possible for anybody to invest enough to be a blueblood,” Wright said.
Jay Wright says the 'Blue Blood' era in Men's College Basketball is officially over. Here's why: pic.twitter.com/gvy3XkGfiX
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 14, 2024
Since 2000, these five blueblood schools have won 13 of the 23 national titles played (the 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic). If fans were to count Villanova as an additional blueblood, then they would add two more titles in that span.
Only time will tell if Wright’s belief is right.