{"id":11022786,"date":"2025-12-31T17:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/?p=11022786&preview=true&preview_id=11022786"},"modified":"2025-12-31T17:00:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:00:44","slug":"a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner\/","title":{"rendered":"A 2026 wish list for sports includes tightening up the transfer portal, changing state tournament formats, and honoring Ed Stinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

The start of a new year always offers hope for change.<\/p>\n

When it comes to individuals, it’s generally the time to think about being better … better diet, better exercise, better use of time, better use of language, better punctuality, better budgeting, better sleep, etc., etc. Basically, it’s a time to flip the page and be a better person and have a better life.<\/p>\n

2025 was a stellar year in local sports with Emmaus winning another state field hockey title and Southern Lehigh winning a state football championship, plus Northwestern Lehigh reaching the state finals in football again. On the college level, Lehigh and Lafayette had great football seasons culminating in their rivalry game deciding another Patriot League championship.<\/p>\n

There were also plenty of things that could be better.<\/p>\n

Here are five things I would like to see in 2026:<\/p>\n

1: Tightening the college transfer portal and getting some guardrails on the NIL cash stream<\/strong><\/h4>\n

I always felt it was OK to get some compensation for college athletes who bring in so much revenue for their colleges, especially at the highest level of Division I and especially in football and basketball. Yes, they’re supposedly getting a college education as well out of the deal, but that part of the equation has often been diminished or totally ignored.<\/p>\n

But this NIL\/transfer portal era has greatly diminished the landscape. When we’re talking about teams hiring general managers and player personnel and players are changing schools like the maniacs on Route 22 and I-78 change lanes, it’s hard to stay interested. You’re basically rooting for the uniform and the brand, not the individuals.<\/p>\n

And, it’s especially upsetting to see kids leaving places like Lehigh and Lafayette through the portal. Kevin Cahill and John Troxell, and their staffs, have done a fantastic job in turning around dormant programs in recent years, and have combined for the last three Patriot League titles. They have created a lot of good vibes on their campuses.<\/p>\n

But the transfer portal has been bustling as good players are leaving South Mountain and College Hill.<\/p>\n

\"Lehigh
Lehigh running back Jaden Green, 0, follows a block by offensive lineman Langston Jones, 60, to get a big gain against Bucknell. Green is one of several Lehigh players leaving the program through the transfer portal. (Lehigh Athletics\/Hannah Ally)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Are they going because they are not getting a good education? Of course not. The education students get at both places are as good as you’ll get virtually anywhere. They’re leaving for the green. Can’t necessarily fault the kids for doing that, but I fault the NCAA for not providing limitations and guardrails.<\/p>\n

Basketball coach John Calipari has recently spoken out about this. I have never been a fan of Calipari, and I always wished the late John Chaney had gotten to him during his press conference rampage a few decades ago.<\/p>\n

However, I like Calipari’s idea of allowing kids one transfer without punishment, and another freebie if their coach is either fired or quits. Otherwise, they have to sit out a season.<\/p>\n

And as long as these kids are playing for big bucks, they should be obligated to perform in the bowl games their teams are playing in. It should be part of their contracts.<\/p>\n

Right now, everything is one-sided in the players’ favor, and everyone else is hurting, especially the fans.<\/p>\n

2. Create separate tournaments to decide state high school championships<\/h4>\n

Credit the PIAA for doing what the NCAA should do, and that’s institute transfer rules that prohibit kids from going to basically the highest bidder. They can still go, but in many cases, they can’t play in the postseason.<\/p>\n

But while the transfer rules and success formula have taken the temperature down a few degrees, the yelling and screaming is going to continue after every football and basketball season until schools with boundaries play against other schools with boundaries and the non-boundary teams play against other non-boundary teams.<\/p>\n

It seems like the adults care about this much more than the kids, but the outrage when a team like St. Joe’s Prep or La Salle College High School wipes out a team like Parkland or Easton in the state football playoffs is exhausting and again takes away from the competition and the excitement surrounding it. It should be the best time of the year, but the constant complaints about the format and how the teams are constructed take a lot of the fun out of it.<\/p>\n

\"La
La Salle College High School\u2019s Owen Johnson scores Friday Nov. 21, 2025, against Easton at Bethlehem Area School District Stadium in a PIAA 6A quarterfinal. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Here’s hoping some kind of change is made, whether it comes from the new-look PIAA or the state legislature pushing through House Bill 41.<\/p>\n

3. Stop worrying about the next level<\/h4>\n

Once upon a time, high school sports were about kids learning valuable lessons like working together with others, overcoming adversity, and understanding the importance of dedication and commitment. And while they were learning about those things, they were also having a lot of fun creating memories with their teammates, many of them becoming lifelong friends.<\/p>\n

Now, it’s all about kids using high school sports to get to the next level.<\/p>\n

That’s all many of them, and especially their parents, think about.<\/p>\n

Parents continue to use half the family budget on AAU, club, and travel teams all in the hope of a college offer, which many times doesn’t come. The percentage of kids who play high school sports and then play college sports is small. The percentage of kids who go on to receive scholarships, or NIL money, is even smaller. So why not focus on the level you’re at and make the most of that instead of obsessing on getting to the next level.<\/p>\n

4. More kids should give back and become officials<\/h4>\n

The PIAA has continually noted the shortage of officials. It has created all kinds of havoc with schedules, as games have had to be spread out so more officials are available. In basketball, for example, games are going on every night and it’s hard for fans to know who’s playing when.<\/p>\n

The games can’t go on without the officials, something that fans, especially parents, forget when they are yelling and screaming in area gyms.<\/p>\n

The best source of new officials is the young people who have just played in high school or college. No one has a better understanding of how the game should be played than the kids who just played it, and it’s an opportunity for them to make good money while giving back to their communities and the people who helped to make them who they are.<\/p>\n

5. Ed Stinner Field should be dedicated at Allen<\/h4>\n

2025 brought us a huge number of deaths in sports that took away so many who laid the foundation and formed the fabric of the Lehigh Valley sports scene.<\/p>\n

\"Deanna
Deanna Stinner, Ed Stinner and Kyle Stinner share a moment before a Parkland-Whitehall softball game at Parkland in May 2016. Deanna and Kyle Stinner were Whitehall assistant coaches and Ed Stinner was a member of the Parkland staff. Ed Stinner, a Hall of Fame coach who led Allen to the 1990 state championship, died in September at the age of 71. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

No one had a bigger had a bigger impact on his sport than Ed Stinner. When he coached Allen to the 1990 state title in softball, he created one of the most special memories in city sports history, something any ASD school hasn’t experienced since.<\/p>\n

But Stinner didn’t just give to Allen and the Allentown School District where he was a longtime special ed teacher. He devoted his life to local kids as a playground instructor, and his coaching and nurturing ability produced good softball players and even better people. His compassion affected hundreds of kids and families.<\/p>\n

There is no better way to honor his fantastic legacy than to name Allen’s softball field Ed Stinner Field. Steps have begun to make that happen, but the people who care about Stinner — and there are many — won’t rest until it happens. And it should happen this spring with a dedication to be held in between games of an EPC doubleheader featuring Allen and Dieruff and Parkland and Whitehall. Just as he touched lives in Allentown, he was also a monumental influence on the kids he coached at Parkland and Whitehall.<\/p>\n

There is no doubt that such an event will be the highlight of the 2026 softball season and one of Allentown’s finest moments.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Allentown School District needs to name Allen’s softball field in Ed Stinner’s honor <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8849558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-12-31T22:00:44Z","apple_news_api_id":"365a8f88-7b96-4cd8-a42c-a59cb82aba7e","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-12-31T22:00:44Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/ANlqPiHuWTNikLKWcuCq6fg","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"subheadline":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[577,6761],"tags":[],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[58],"class_list":["post-11022786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-top-stories-tmc"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"577","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":"","print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":"","really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner","id":"cG9zdDo4NzA3NTY=","siteName":"Slot","syndicationSourceStack":[{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner","id":"cG9zdDo4NzA3NTY=","siteName":"Slot","sourceUrl":"https:\/\/slot.medianewsgroup.com"}],"source_url":"https:\/\/slot.medianewsgroup.com","print_workflow_exported_ts":true},"market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":8849558,"title":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49","filename":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/11\/22\/lehigh-lafayette-football-faces-in-crowd-photos-2025\/tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2\/","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"Lehigh players celebrate their win in a Patriot League battle against Lafayette on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium in Easton during the 161th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry. (Jonathan Broady\/Special to The Morning Call)\n","name":"tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":8849489,"date":1763847839000,"modified":1767218444000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"November 22, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"gqlshare","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"Lehigh vs. Lafayette football and Faces in the Crowd | PHOTOS","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":2004432,"filesizeHumanReadable":"2 MB","context":"","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":200,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"data":[{"id":8849558,"title":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49","filename":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/11\/22\/lehigh-lafayette-football-faces-in-crowd-photos-2025\/tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2\/","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"Lehigh players celebrate their win in a Patriot League battle against Lafayette on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium in Easton during the 161th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry. (Jonathan Broady\/Special to The Morning Call)\n","name":"tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":8849489,"date":1763847839000,"modified":1767218444000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"November 22, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"gqlshare","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"Lehigh vs. Lafayette football and Faces in the Crowd | PHOTOS","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":2004432,"filesizeHumanReadable":"2 MB","context":"","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":200,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""}],"rendered_content":"\"\""},"attachments":[],"authors":[{"ID":181,"display_name":"Keith Groller","description":"Keith Groller has covered sports at The Morning Call full-time since 1982.","first_name":"Keith","last_name":"Groller","user_nicename":"keith-groller","user_login":"keith-groller","user_email":"kgroller@mcall.com","type":"guest-author","linked_account":0,"website":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com","twitter":"@KeithGroller","facebook":"","google_plus":""}],"taxonomies":{"category":[{"term_id":577,"name":"Sports","slug":"sports","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":577,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":135865,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":6761,"name":"Top Stories TMC","slug":"top-stories-tmc","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":6761,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":7624,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_array":{"id":8849558,"title":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49","filename":"TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/11\/22\/lehigh-lafayette-football-faces-in-crowd-photos-2025\/tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2\/","alt":"","author":"2","description":"","caption":"Lehigh players celebrate their win in a Patriot League battle against Lafayette on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, at Lafayette’s Fisher Stadium in Easton during the 161th edition of college football’s most-played rivalry. (Jonathan Broady\/Special to The Morning Call)\n","name":"tmc-l-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2","status":"inherit","uploadedTo":8849489,"date":1763847839000,"modified":1767218444000,"menuOrder":0,"mime":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.svg","dateFormatted":"November 22, 2025","nonces":{"update":false,"delete":false,"edit":false},"editLink":false,"meta":false,"authorName":"gqlshare","authorLink":"","uploadedToTitle":"Lehigh vs. Lafayette football and Faces in the Crowd | PHOTOS","uploadedToLink":null,"filesizeInBytes":2004432,"filesizeHumanReadable":"2 MB","context":"","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape","sizes":{"thumbnail":{"height":"150","width":"150","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","orientation":"landscape"},"medium":{"height":200,"width":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=300","orientation":"landscape"},"large":{"height":683,"width":1024,"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=1024","orientation":"landscape"},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg","height":1687,"width":2531,"orientation":"landscape"}},"custom_caption":""},"syndication_canonical":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner\/","apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"A 2026 wish list for sports includes tightening up the transfer portal, changing state tournament formats, and honoring Ed Stinner","url":"http:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.mcall.com\/2025\/12\/31\/a-2026-wish-list-for-sports-includes-tightening-up-the-transfer-portal-changing-state-tournament-formats-and-honoring-ed-stinner\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/TMC-L-lehighlafayettefball-1122-49-2.jpg"},"articleSection":"Other","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Keith Groller"}],"creator":["Keith Groller"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Morning Call","logo":"https:\/\/www.mcall.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/morning-call-new-site-fallback-image.png?w=600"},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2025-12-31T22:00:26Z","datePublished":"2025-12-31T22:00:26Z","dateModified":"2025-12-31T22:00:44Z"},"rendered":"