Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy predicts college football programs will "break away, become their own company"

Mike Gundy told his sons he wouldn't screw up his Wednesday appearance on ESPN's widely popular Pat McAfee Show.

He said couldn't screw up, because the Oklahoma State coach is a self-professed (accurately so) "good interview because I don't do coach speak."

Gundy just speaks his truth. And he had some major ones Wednesday on air with McAfee, the former West Virginia and Indianapolis Colts star.

While Gundy, major college football's second-longest tenured head coach as he enters year 20 at the helm of the Pokes, has interesting thoughts on expectations for the next open cycle in the NCAA Transfer Portal, he's predicting a seismic shift coming in college football.

Yes, even vastly different than the bi-coastal ACC and Big Ten super-conferences now in existence and an SEC that stretches into the Midwest and the Southwest.

Player contracts he believes are imminent; so, too, is college football becoming a business entity, Gundy says.

"I've been at Oklahoma State since 1986, other than five years of my life as a player and coach and a head coach, and coach Eddie Sutton was here for a long time in basketball, when they went to the Final Four," Gundy told McAfee.

"When football has success, wins 10 games, wins championships, goes to big bowl games, our enrollment goes up every year.

"So it drives the market. And in my opinion, football is essentially the face of the university in most cases. The money that's generated and the revenue we're making now for the players is being shared as we move forward. And what you're saying is exactly right: We can't get to the details and how to handle this in the right manner without contracts, in my opinion.

"You're not going to go down the street, your wife talks you into buying a vacation house, you're not going to go down and buy a vacation house without a contract. It's not going to happen.

"So, the point being is you have to have contracts to move forward. There's marketing, there's branding, there's so many things, and I really believe that college football teams are going to eventually break away and become their own company."

Gundy, to be clear, is very pro-athlete compensation. His program is making news here just days before the 2024 season kicks off for putting QR codes on the backs of players' helmets so that fans can donate directly to the athletes. 

But he's doubling-down on not talking money during the season -- for players, coaches and, he says, he won't discuss his own contract situation either.

He does predict an even higher volume of players entering the NCAA Transfer Portal in December -- as part of evolving hard-ball negotiation tactics.

"So, it's interesting that there's negotiation going on in college football right now. But, essentially it stops when the Portal closes unless a young man is just going to hold out until next year or go play in the Canadian league," Gundy said. 

"What I shared with them is that with coaches and players, everybody, including myself, all the negotiations, all the money's off the table.

"We pay our players very well here. They have certain functions that they have to take care of to be able to get their money through the NIL concepts, but the big challenge is to get players who are not used to making to say, 'Look, the negotiations are over.' 

"When the Portal opens back up, whether we like it or not, I think you're going to see more players going in the Portal to negotiate, not necessarily trying to leave. That will be the big change."

Oklahoma State, coming off its eight season of 10 or more wins under Gundy, opens the 2024 slate Aug. 31 at home against perennial FCS powerhouse South Dakota State.

The Cowboys then host SEC resident and former conference rival Arkansas the following week.