Do star front-office hires help or hurt college sports programs?

It's a headline that college sports fans have become accustomed to seeing in recent years. University X hires current or former star athlete Y to serve in a high-ranking front-office role, often as general manager or a similar position.

This has played out at several programs, such as Oklahoma with Trae Young, Davidson with Stephen Curry, Sacramento State with Shaquille O'Neal, and Duke with Jayson Tatum .

The positive side of the coin, especially for the athletes who serve their alma mater, is pretty apparent. Stars of the past can wax poetic about the glory days of when they were on campus, especially if their time in school coincided with a successful run. Star alumni visibility keeps the fan base engaged and can allow for the sale of retro merchandise well after the player donned the jersey in the pre-NIL days.

As with most things, there are levels to this. John Wall was just hired as Howard's president of basketball operations, which appears to be a more serious role that the former Washington Wizards star will sink his teeth into.

With that said, it's hard to know exactly how much time current athletes like Tatum, Curry and Young have to devote to their roles with their respective schools. Are they actively watching footage of potential recruits when they're also tasked with watching film of their upcoming opponents from October through possibly June?

Additionally, while the dollars and cents might add up from a marketing perspective, it could also have negative implications. For example, O'Neal's role with Sacramento State is , but former stars from power conference schools might want to be compensated for their gaudy titles, which adds another business expense to the ledger.