How Trump's executive order may end to champs like Michigan basketball

The Michigan Wolverines made college basketball history on April 6 , becoming the first team to ever win a national championship with five transfer starters. The next day, nearly one-third of all active men's basketball players had entered the portal, according to NBA draftnik Jonathan Givony . An astounding 1,600-plus Division I basketball players were in search of a new home within 24 hours of the season ending.

The number will only rise as time goes on. MORE FROM USA TODAY: College basketball's most underpaid coaches: Who is nation's biggest bargain? It's a new era in college sports, one where teams hunt for mercenaries in hopes of boosting their title odds.

Talent acquisition via the transfer portal can be expensive, but Michigan just proved that the return on its investment on this roster — near $10 million according to Front Office Sports and On3 — is real after hoisting the national championship trophy. As the NCAA is handed court order after court order that prevents them from enforcing traditional rules, players and coaches continue to cash in. And while pundits and analysts debate the long-term efficacy of the new market economy in college sports, teams will continue to win national championships with transfers and graduate students as their key players.

Transfer portal impacting more than just men's basketball Both the men's and women's national champions had portal players lead the way to hoisting a banner this year. UCLA's leading scorer and rebounder, Lauren Betts, began her career at Stanford. Gianna Kneepens played four years at Utah before arriving for a grad year at UCLA and averaging over 28 minutes per game, and the same is true for Charliss Leger-Walker from Washington State.