Jason Mackey: Modern era of college sports nets uncomfortable reality after Robert Morris' success

Jason Mackey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar 26, 2025

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PITTSBURGH — It became the best Pittsburgh sports story in some time. For all the right reasons, too.

Playing a palatable brand of basketball, one heavy on teamwork and doing the little things right, the Horizon League-winning, 15th-seeded Robert Morris Colonials gave No. 2 Alabama all it could handle on national TV during the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past Friday.

It was the rare dose of local pride during a stretch in which we've lacked anything even remotely close.

But now that the magic has ended, Robert Morris and its fans must confront an unfortunate truth about the entire situation: It's tough to see anything close to the same team returning to Moon Township next season.

This despite 13 of 15 Colonials players having eligibility remaining, including each of the team's top-six scorers.

It all leaves me feeling conflicted.

I certainly won't begrudge Kam Woods, Alvaro Folgueiras or Amarion Dickerson for looking to challenge themselves and grow their careers, the same for players further down the roster — or any roster — who might want more playing time.

On the coaching side, how could you blame Andy Toole if he winds up taking the job at his alma mater (Penn) or otherwise decides to pursue a bigger opportunity following what was arguably the best season in program history?

Toole is 44 but has been at RMU for 15 years, an eternity for a mid-major. He's smart, well-liked and connected. It's an upset that the Staten Island, N.Y., native is still here, honestly.

Everyone involved with Robert Morris' success should leverage this to advance their careers, but that doesn't change something that I struggle with when it comes to college sports today. And I don't think I'm alone.

Nothing lasts forever. Or more than a year, it seems.

It probably sounds like an old man telling kids to get off his lawn, but I liked the days of getting over a playoff loss by focusing on experience gained, who's returning and what it will ultimately take to get over the hump.

Now, that's practically the Mesozoic Era.

College sports today feel like releasing a bunch of butterflies at once and seeing how many you can catch before they leave the yard, the result of the transfer portal era and the ongoing search for name, image and likeness (NIL) money.

Again, it's also not a direct criticism. I'd do the same thing if I was Toole or any of his players. If there's an opportunity to play in a bigger program and maybe chase pro dreams, or to make more money while you do it, go nuts.

Robert Morris also has some NIL funds and will assuredly make every effort to keep Toole.

But it doesn't mean we have to like some of the residual effects of what college sports have become, which could mean a bunch of turnover before the 2025-26 season.

I'd also love to be wrong.

What Robert Morris did this season was fun to follow, a proper next step to what Pitt and Duquesne have done the past two years. The Colonials won 16 of their final 18 and captured Horizon League regular season and conference championships. Toole, Folgueiras and Dickerson monopolized end-of-year honors.

However, the same as Duquesne losing a bunch of seniors and stumbling to a 13-19 mark under first-year coach Dru Joyce III in 2023-24, I can't help but worry about the Colonials maintaining continuity after all they accomplished this season.

By no means do I consider myself a basketball expert, but even I could see what Dickerson did against the Crimson Tide — 25 points, nine rebounds, flat-out dominating for a few stretches in the second half — and started thinking his days here are probably numbered.

The same for many of RMU's best, honestly.

It's just a different world right now with college sports, and it's something I struggle with daily. Amateurism and school pride used to make this world such a fun deviation from the professional ranks. Continuity certainly didn't hurt. There were always business undertones, but it wasn't anything like this, where shuffling and advancement reign supreme.

There's also no going back. Last week, despite plenty of chalk and not nearly as many close games as we're used to seeing, the NCAA Tournament enjoyed its most-watched opening day of all time, with TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV averaging 9.1 million viewers.

The same thing has existed in college football. There's been similar squawking about player movement and the structure of the 12-team bracket for the inaugural College Football Playoff.

Yet the national championship game between Ohio State and Notre Dame on ESPN averaged 22.1 million viewers, making it the most-watched non-NFL sporting event of the past year. If we're angry about the current state of college sports, we sure have a funny way of showing it, right?

As it pertains to Robert Morris, though, I hope this becomes a career-changing season for everyone, a chance to cash in on the team's considerable success.

But as a Pittsburgh sports fan, I'm also hoping the Colonials aren't one-and-done.

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