Kevin Willard has no regrets over leaving Maryland to take Villanova job

Summary

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Eye On College Basketball – Episode Summary

Episode: Kevin Willard has no regrets over leaving Maryland to take Villanova job
Date: October 21, 2025
Hosts: CBS Sports (Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander)
Guest: Kevin Willard (Villanova Head Coach)

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Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation with Kevin Willard, the new head coach of Villanova men’s basketball, discussing his transition from Maryland, the realities of NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) and revenue sharing in college sports, roster construction, and early impressions of his Villanova team. The hosts explore Willard’s perspective on the behind-the-scenes dynamics that led to his high-profile move and probe his expectations for the Wildcats in his first year.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Settling In at Villanova

• Willard shares his adjustment to Villanova, mentioning he’s still living on campus but enjoying a short 30-second commute to the office.
• Quote:

  “No, I mean, it’s. I’m still living on campus, so it’s okay. The commute's great. About 30 seconds right to the office.” (01:02, Kevin Willard)

• He’s quick to add, “Hopefully get out of there pretty soon,” referring to his campus housing.
• On team chemistry:

  “Love my team. And, you know, I’m really enjoying being a Villanova.” (01:17, Kevin Willard)

2. Revisiting the Maryland Exit

• Willard is asked directly if he has regrets about how his departure from Maryland was handled.
• Bluntly:

  “No, not at all.” (02:05, Kevin Willard)

• Describes a misunderstood situation, focusing on the sudden exit of Maryland’s AD Damon Evans and the implications for program direction, especially regarding NIL and revenue sharing.
• He explains he was advocating for his program during uncertain times, acting on advice from major donors.
• Notable quote:

  “I was just fighting for my program and didn’t really care what the repercussions were, because no matter what, I had to make sure going into next year that I was taken care of.” (02:47, Kevin Willard)

• Willard acknowledges he was criticized largely due to his process being more public, but insists his transparency was for the good of Maryland’s program.

3. The Changing Landscape: NIL & Revenue Sharing

• Willard details how losing his “partner” in Damon Evans changed everything, especially amidst emerging revenue sharing and NIL frameworks.
• Quote:

  “When you lose an AD that's your partner to help you get to the Sweet 16, to help you build the program back up and you lose that partner, that changes your perspective.” (04:32, Kevin Willard)

• He stresses that future uncertainty in the NIL era dramatically affects coaching decisions.

4. Is the Big East at an Advantage?

• The host asks if Villanova and other Big East teams really have a NIL/revenue sharing edge over Big Ten/SEC/Big 12 schools.
• Willard expresses skepticism, noting the confusion around the new legal landscape ("House") and the role of TV money.
• Quote:

  “I don't think anyone knows who has an advantage because no one knows if House has teeth...if the collectives are out of the process and it's true just 20.5 million as true Rev Share, then...schools in the Big East should have an advantage. Is it a huge advantage? I don't think it's a big advantage as everyone says.” (05:33, Kevin Willard)

• He warns the system could revert to the "wild wild west" if new attempts at regulation don’t stick.

5. Call for Structure & Reform in College Basketball

• Host presents a choice between a free-for-all and an attempt at structure.
• Willard is adamant:

  “No, we need structure. We need structure.” (06:50, Kevin Willard)

• He advocates for contracts with kids for fairness, support, and maintaining the sport’s integrity.
• He proposes that revenue distribution should flow from events (like the NCAA Tournament), not from schools directly.
• Memorable perspective:

  “I think we’ve missed a boat where a tournament makes $1.2 billion and none of the kids get the money. Same thing with football.” (07:32, Kevin Willard)

• He envisions a system modeled like the NBA’s playoff shares, with real penalties for cheating and mechanisms to protect both players and programs.

6. Villanova Roster Highlights & Early Impressions

• Willard excitedly highlights his freshman guards and names standout players:
  • Kane Lewis: Impressed in an exhibition against VCU.
  • Tafar Kapari: A transfer from Maryland, poised for a leap.
  • Tyler Perkins: The lone returner with Big East scoring experience.
• Quote:

  “My freshman guards have really impressed me...we don’t, I don’t know if we have a superstar, but we have 10 guys at any time that can probably get you.” (08:24, Kevin Willard)

• Emphasizes depth, predicting he could rotate up to 11 players.

  “Yeah, I could go 11, to be honest with you. Yeah, I could.” (09:13, Kevin Willard)

• Explains why modern transfer and eligibility rules let coaches play deeper rotations than in the past.

7. Looking Ahead

• The host recalls a moment from a year prior when Willard felt “lost” midseason, hoping for a smoother inaugural year at Villanova.
• Warm closing:

  “Hopefully you get some, some real rewards in a, in a new spot. Obviously a great, great, great basketball institution.” (09:47, Podcast Host)

• Both agree they have Villanova making the tournament this year.
• "I’ve got you in the tournament, by the way." (10:16, Podcast Host)
  "Yeah, so do I. I’ve got..." (10:18, Kevin Willard)

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Most Notable Quotes

• On Maryland exit:

  “I was just fighting for my program and didn’t really care what the repercussions were, because no matter what, I had to make sure going into next year that I was taken care of.” (02:47, Kevin Willard)

• On the challenge of NIL and revenue sharing:

  “When you lose an AD that's your partner to help you get to the Sweet 16...that changes your perspective and people don't want to look at it that way, but it's as simple as that.” (04:32, Kevin Willard)

• On the need for structure:

  “No, we need structure. We need structure.” (06:50, Kevin Willard)

• On NCAA Tournament revenue:

  “A tournament makes $1.2 billion and none of the kids get the money.” (07:32, Kevin Willard)

• On roster depth:

  “I could go 11, to be honest with you. Yeah, I could.” (09:13, Kevin Willard)

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Key Timestamps

| Time | Segment/Topic | |--------|------------------------------------------| | 00:43 | Willard describes settling in at Villanova| | 02:05 | Expresses no regrets over Maryland exit | | 03:14 | Transparency and public criticism | | 04:05 | Explains the role of NIL, AD in decisions| | 05:33 | Big East and revenue sharing advantages | | 06:50 | Advocates for structure in NIL/revenue | | 08:24 | Roster standouts and preseason impressions| | 09:13 | On unusually deep rotations | | 10:16 | Hosts' tournament predictions for Nova |

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Tone and Style

Willard is open, practical, and candid about the business side of coaching, and hopeful about Villanova’s potential. The hosts are conversational and slightly tongue-in-cheek, bringing banter and genuine curiosity to the discussion.

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Summary:
This episode offers a transparent and behind-the-scenes look at the realities facing top college basketball coaches in a rapidly changing landscape. Willard articulates why Maryland’s shifting administration and uncertainties around NIL/revenue sharing motivated his move, makes a clear argument for tighter regulation in college hoops, and previews a Villanova team built around promising freshmen and veteran depth. For fans of the sport and insiders alike, the episode is a compelling examination of modern college basketball’s business, its ambiguities, and its enduring draws.

Transcript

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[Podcast Host]

Villanova coach Kevin Willard joins us on the ION college basketball podcast. It's great to see you.

[Kevin Willard]

Good to be here.

[Podcast Host]

How. How we doing? How we feeling heading into a season, New job, you know, new digs. Are you settled in with the house? Can you, like, make it to your morning routine to get your coffee with your eyes closed when you're driving now? What's. What's life?

[Kevin Willard]

No, I mean, it's. I'm still living on campus, so it's okay. The commute's great. About 30 seconds right to the office.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. Is this a long term situation?

[Kevin Willard]

No, no, this is. Hopefully get out of there pretty soon, but no, everything's. Everything's been great. Kind of settled in nice. Got the roster set. Love my team. And, you know, I'm really enjoying being a Villanova.

[Podcast Host]

Well, that's rare to talk to a coach in October who says he loves his team, so. I'm glad you're really cutting against the grain there.

[Kevin Willard]

No, I do. I. You know, we have. I have a great group of guys that work hard, they're fun to be around. They enjoy playing the style we're trying to play. So, like, I. I got no complaints right now. I mean, we also haven't played a game.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly, Exactly.

[Kevin Willard]

Ask me. Ask me in November.

[Podcast Host]

Exactly. Okay, let's just rewind the clock real quick. You know, you come to media day, that's gonna be part of it. Then we'll. We'll look ahead here.

[Kevin Willard]

I'm looking forward to next year's media day. I understand. Yeah.

[Podcast Host]

I gotta get through this one before you get the next one. Any regrets on how the whole thing went down? Just.

[Kevin Willard]

No, not at all.

[Podcast Host]

Okay. How you handled it. No, I mean, widely criticized. Yeah.

[Kevin Willard]

And I get it, but I kind of laugh at everybody just for the fact that no one really understood why I was doing it. It was more or less. You know, I had a great relationship with Damon Evans, my ad, and we had plans for the future and what we were going to do and rev. Share nil. And then when he took the SMU job right before the first round, that really threw. That was really? Where I said, oh, wait a second, like, who's gonna be my new boss? What's my Rev share going to be? Are we going to still have the same Nil conversations, or are they going to hire somebody where they're going to put more focus on something else? And so my top donor, who gave. Who gave most of the money for my nil last year, said, you know, you have one chance to go out there and make sure everyone understands you got to take care of your program. So what I did was I was standing up for my program, making sure that whoever came in as AD understood what I was, what I wanted. So I was just fighting for my program and didn't really care what the repercussions were, because no matter what, I had to make sure going into next year that I was taken care of.

[Podcast Host]

Completely understood. And yeah, as a media member, I'll say that was one of the more. That was just one of the more surreal because you and I both know, like, when coaches get new jobs, the way that that process can play out behind the scenes and publicly can. Can be drastically different. And with you in particular, and I do appreciate, like, you know, you're fairly forthcoming as much as you could be in that process. I actually, as someone in the media, I will never fault a coach for being as honest and forthcoming and transparent at the podium as possible. So me, I didn't. I didn't have an issue with it because, frankly, you gave us some interesting copy and some real things to. To talk about there. But, but you and I both know that when coaches switch places, like, the, The. The gears that turn and at the pace at which it happens sometimes can be even faster and wilder than what you went through. But since yours was more public facing, I think you took the brunt of the criticism. That's all.

[Kevin Willard]

Yeah. And I'm okay with that. Like, you know, at the end of the day, like, I had a great job, Maryland's a phenomenal job. And now I'm at Villanova, which is a phenomenal job. And I. I just. I wanted to make sure that Maryland basketball program was taken care of. And in an era where Rev share is really important, especially if you go to the Big Ten side with football, Right? Like, if you don't. If you don't have the Rev Share, then, you know, you can't really be competitive. And with Damon, Damon and I had. I thought we had a great agreement on kind of what we were going to do with Rev Share and Nil. And then when he left, like, it's that's really as simple as it can be, is that when you lose an ad that's your partner to help you get to the Sweet 16 to help you build the program back up and you lose that partner, that changes your perspective and people don't want to look at it that way, but it's as simple as that. I just did not know what my what the future was, especially in the era of Rev Share and Nil.

[Podcast Host]

I asked him English this question. I'll ask it to you as well. You take the Villanova Nova job for a number of reasons, but do you feel as though since you got on campus and you went through the portal process in the spring and then you're obviously on the road in the summer, do you feel as though working at a Big east institution is the opinion of coaches in Big Ten, SEC, Big 12? Not all of them, but many of them are. You know, the Big east is at a certain advantage. They've got a financial advantage with revenue sharing. Have you operated as though that is that is true that for broadly speaking that Villanova is on a tier above others.

[Kevin Willard]

And yeah, I mean, you know Matt, I don't think anyone knows who has an advantage because no one knows if House has teeth like it is a clearinghouse really going to go through and sit there and decline deals right from from collectives. And if the collectives are out of the process and it's true just 20.5 million as true Rev Share, then you know, schools in the Big east should have an should have an advantage. Is it a huge advantage? I don't think it's I don't think it's a big advantage as as everyone says. I mean I know what Big Ten's TV money is. I know the SEC's TV money is ours is good. But it's not SEC and Big Ten TV money because of the football side of it. So depending on what happens with House, I don't think anyone can sit there and say, well we're going to have an advantage because if all of a sudden the first deal from a collective goes through for $3 million and that doesn't get that doesn't get denied and it goes through, then we're right back to where we were this year, which is the wild wild west. No rules and people spending crazy amounts.

[Podcast Host]

Of money on the roster, which one do you prefer? By the way? I asked a number of coaches this over the summer. Would you rather have what you just described the wild wild west where it's just kind of is what it is, but it's barely transparent. Or would you rather have the attempt at some actual structure and boundaries?

[Kevin Willard]

No, we need structure. We need structure.

[Podcast Host]

Okay, but. No, but even knowing that if you do that, there will definitely, like, you will run into situations where you will go against other teams, coaching staffs that are going to break that structure. You'd still. You still take that one as opposed to the way that.

[Kevin Willard]

Absolutely. And I think, you know, and I think the Big Ten in the SEC are trying to do, like, I think there needs to be penalties. Like, I like, we have to get to the point where we can have contracts with kids so we can protect kids from agents, we can give kids the best chance of getting a good education. We can give our alumni and our fans the best product to put on the floor. At the same time, I. I don't think the money should be coming from the schools. I think the money should be coming from the NCAA tournament. So I think we've missed a boat where a tournament makes $1.2 billion and none of the kids get the money. Same thing with football. Like, if I was a football player, there's no way I'd play in a football playoff if I'm not getting some of that money. And I think that's. If you go to that model and you take the money and you make it technically like the NBA, where they get playoff shares and they get that and you have contracts and you make penalties for cheating, real unlike in the past, then I think you have a good product, and I think that's what we should focus on, is making sure that college basketball remains a great product that so many people love.

[Podcast Host]

I like that a lot. Let's talk about your team real quick before you cut you loose. Who has. Who has stood out in, you know, in recent weeks, particularly as, you know, the preseason started in earnest here. What should Villanova fans should be intrigued and excited about? Just give me three or four guys on your roster that, that you're highly confident are going to be impactful players, be it immediately or, you know, that they can grow into something.

[Kevin Willard]

My freshman, my freshman, my freshman guards have really impressed me. Kane Lewis played great the other night. We. We played VCU for the first time. Going out in a real kind of live game, even though it's an exhibition game. He played fantastic, really controlled the game as a freshman. Tafar Kapari, from that I brought over from Maryland, had a great preseason. I think he's ready to take a jump. Tyler Perkins, who stayed, was on, was the only guy that had actually scored in the Big east game last year. I think Tyler's been great. So what I like about my team is we don't. I don't know if we have a superstar, but we have 10 guys at any time that can probably get you. And if we play 10 deep, they have a great attitude and I think defensively could be really good.

[Podcast Host]

A lot of coaches on the 10 deep. You're going to be actually 10 deep. I'm keeping track of all you guys telling me that it's going to be 10 deep and I'm going to check in with you in January and see if that's actually the case.

[Kevin Willard]

Yeah, I could go 11, to be honest with you. Yeah, I could.

[Podcast Host]

He's trying to one up.

[Kevin Willard]

I know. In January. Yeah. Are you going to play 11? Maybe not. But I think again, it's so much different with the portal. Like you don't have four freshmen sitting out like you did in the past. You don't have transfers sitting out in the past. That's why no one played that many guys in the past because you had three transfers sitting out ready for to take over three seniors yet to two freshmen that couldn't play. It's five guys that couldn't play. Now you don't have that and you have to play your freshman at a freshman transfer.

[Podcast Host]

Well, my hope for you is that when we talked a year ago and I did a big story on Derek, you had mentioned, you know, you found me, you know, a year ago, mid January, I was just driving home. I was lost. I was looking for answers. I know it'll probably be a little bit up and down year one, but hopefully you get some, some real rewards in a, in a new spot. Obviously a great, great, great basketball institution. And I'm, I'm looking forward to seeing how it goes in year one and we, and next year when we do.

[Kevin Willard]

This, I won't have to talk about it.

[Podcast Host]

We won't have to talk about it. Okay.

[Kevin Willard]

We'll just talk about hopefully a great year.

[Podcast Host]

Hopefully. So I've got you in the tournament, by the way. Yeah, so do I. I've got. Well, there we go. We, we agree on that. Kevin Willard, I appreciate you joining us.

[Kevin Willard]

Thanks, man. Good to be with you always.

[Siya Najad]

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