Back in ancient times — otherwise known as the 1990s in terms of college athletics — Pitt coach Jeff Capel thought about transferring from Duke.

“I thought about it one time,” he said, “but my dad talked some sense into me.”

The NCAA transfer portal opened Monday, and more than 2,000 football players entered their names, looking for more playing time immediately, better relationships or more NIL money than their current school can offer. Maybe all three things.

Old School isn’t dead yet, however. The 119-year-old basketball Backyard Brawl — contested Wednesday night between Pitt and West Virginia — lives on, even though it’s new to many of the current players. Four of Pitt’s top eight and three of WVU’s first six were on other teams last season.

“It’s not like you’ve been in a place for three years, and you’ve played these guys and you understand,” Capel said.

College athletics has changed — no breaking news there — and Capel understands that building a roster and a sustainable program gets more difficult every year.

“As a coach, you don’t know what your roster’s going to be,” said Capel, who has benefited from the portal the past two years.

“When I first started at VCU, you could build a roster,” he said of his first head coaching opportunity in 2002. “You had a freshman who eventually became a senior because he knew that if he transferred, he would have to sit. They didn’t want to do that.

“Also, I don’t think guys were in that much of a hurry to get out. They fought through stuff. If you didn’t play as a freshman, maybe you’d stay and work harder. You’d have to do things a little bit different. That’s out the window now.”

The portal and NIL have made redshirting a player a risk some coaches may not want to take.

“Even if you redshirt a kid and he’s hurt, he could transfer, if you sign someone (else) and he thinks he won’t play,” Capel said. “Someone is calling his (high school) coach or his AAU coach or his parents and telling them ‘Hey, I have more for you over here. If you decide to leave, I can give you this or whatever.’ ”

Not only is it more difficult to win year after year, but the same is true of trying to build chemistry on one’s current team — something Capel values as much as anything in his program.

“If you look around college basketball right now, there are some teams that are struggling early because you’re just trying to figure out who you are. Some people aren’t even getting their teams until late August.”

Capel didn’t mention any specific examples, but there are widespread expectations No. 22 Duke (No. 2 in the Associated Press preseason poll) and unranked Michigan State (No. 4 in the preseason) will improve dramatically as the season progresses.

“You’ll see teams get better and better as the season goes on,” he said.

Capel said he is not upset about the state of college athletics. In fact, he has embraced it and used it as a way to upgrade Pitt’s roster.

“You have to embrace it. You have to understand this is the way that it is,” he said. “You can sit back and you can moan about the days of yesteryear or how it was when I played or when I first started coaching. You have to be able to adapt and adjust.”

And be patient, especially when transfers leave holes in the roster, opening avenues for younger, inexperienced players.

Pitt won 24 games and went to the NCAA Tournament last season with freshman twins Guillermo and Jorge Diaz Graham playing important minutes. This season, he is relying on freshman point guards Bub Carrington and Jaland Lowe to run his offense.

“You have to have some patience. You know it’s going to take a little bit of time,” he said.

“You have to understand it’s a process. Very few freshmen are able to come in and be consistently really good. I don’t care if you’re the No. 1 guy in the country. It’s different. It’s an adjustment.”

Part of the problem freshmen face is the existence of older rosters. Players in every sport have the ability to spend five or six years in college, gaining maturity and physical strength.

“It’s very different as an 18-year-old playing against a 24-, 25-year-old guy,” Capel said. “I don’t care how good you are as an 18-year-old.”

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