THERE ARE countless athletes, male and female, from large universities to small colleges who enter the NCAA’s transfer portal for completely different reasons than the seemingly staggering sums of money available. Take Faith Stinson, power forward for IU Indy’s Jaguars the past two seasons.
Stinson completed a successful junior season in which she started all 30 games and averaged 9.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game. She scored a career high 22 points along with a season high 4 blocks against Youngstown State last December and recorded a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Robert Morris University in January.
But following this season, Stinson decided to enter the portal and finish her career at another school. “The biggest thing for me was academics,” she says. “I want to start occupational therapy school, and that major isn’t an option at IU Indy. They do not offer this degree.”
Along with the academics, she says, “I also have a sister playing at North Florida, and I wanted to see if there was a chance we could play together. I just want to get a new experience in the last year of my career and end on a good note.”
Her advice for players wondering about the portal and the process that goes along with it: “Don’t be scared. It’s a process. Also stay true to who you are, your worth, and what you want to accomplish. Stay true to yourself and trust your instincts, because it’s about the best school for you.”
Stinson advises others to determine their self-worth so they can negotiate when schools make offers. “At first, I didn’t know my value, and I didn’t want to say too much or too little [money]. It came down to me talking to some coaches that I had prior relationships with and getting their feedback on how they go about that process. Then I came up with a range. I didn’t do a lot of bartering back and forth. For me, it’s not solely about the money. I enjoy playing, and I look at the money as a bonus. I am super grateful for this opportunity.”
Once the process began, she spoke with her coaches at IU Indy, who tried to talk her into coming back for her senior season. But “after the talk, they understood why I wanted to enter the portal.”
The process of entering the portal, according to Stinson, is to contact NCAA Compliance, fill out paperwork, and watch a video from the NCAA that explains all the rules of transferring that must be completed. Once that is done, Compliance gets signatures from the school, and you are entered.
“A handful of schools were interested right away,” she says. “The first two weeks were crazy. I spent a lot of time on the phone.” Once the rush died, Stinson narrowed her selections to schools realistic for her situation and major. “It’s a very rewarding feeling. You work so hard on training. When you get contacted by those first couple of coaches, it is nice and very satisfying.”
The day before her interview with IM, Stinson accepted an NIL (name, image, and likeness) offer from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia to play for coach Cindy Griffin’s Hawks. “We are thrilled to welcome Faith to our Hawk family,” says Griffin on the SJU team website. “Her ability to score, rebound, and defend is evident in her stats over the past three years. Her ability to stretch the floor with her three-ball will be instrumental for our spacing and offensive attack.”
For Stinson, everything felt right. “What drew me there was the overall family atmosphere of the team and the campus. Everyone that I met was extremely welcoming.”
The competitive athlete in her also strives for more in her career. “They are a winning program that is used to winning and have a strong presence in March. Playing deep into March is something that I haven’t gotten to experience and want to before my career is over.”
What makes her deal even sweeter is SJU has an occupational therapy program she will enter this fall. “I will be able to pursue my athletic career in my last year and my career in occupational therapy. Never did I think as a kid I could actually play the game I love for money.”
Stinson did not disclose the value of her NIL deal with SJU.
