Before Luke Fickell took to the microphone at the Big Ten Media Days, he met with reporters to discuss a variety of things. In that interview, Fickell accidentally said something that everyone is thinking about NCAA enforcement of rules. He let his intrusive thoughts win in a moment of humor with reporters. He's spot on, and it's important that a coach finally said it.
When asked about roster limits, Fickell cracked a joke with the reporters, "Are there rules in college football? Are there enforceable rules in college football?" Nailed it.
Fickell was asked about roster limits and joked, "Are there rules in college football? Are there enforceable rules in college football?"
— Zach Heilprin (@ZachHeilprin) July 23, 2025
Luke Fickell made a very true joke about how the NCAA can't even enforce rules right now
While he's not the only coach that's asking questions like this, he may have said it in the most direct way. The college football world is in a state of chaos, where rules seem arbitrary and are sometimes applied, but at other times, they are not. If a school is willing to go to court over something, the goal posts and boundaries get moved again.
Fickell may be particularly frustrated in this way because of what happened with the tampering case involving Xavier Lucas and the University of Miami. That case is still being worked out in court, but back to Fickell's question, "Are there enforceable rules in college?"
Even yesterday, it was announced that the previously announced hard cap, intended to be achieved through revenue sharing, is now a soft cap, as NIL collectives can continue to pay players in addition to what the school shares with the student-athlete via revenue. This means that schools can continue to do as they please in paying players, depending on how wealthy their donors are.
The rules keep changing if there are even any rules at all, and Luke Fickell is joking, but it's a serious joke: Are there any enforceable rules anymore?