NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> The athletic director at a mid-sized school that’s making a splash this season has a modest proposal for taming what many say is a transfer-portal system run amok in college sports.

Northern Illinois AD Sean Frazier is talking about a “talent acquisition fee.”

When schools sign players from other teams, they would pay those teams a fee in exchange for the player. It’s not that different from the way transactions go down with what are known as “transfer fees” in European soccer.

It’s an idea that Frazier, admittedly, is still sketching out on cocktail napkins. But he thinks it might help the small guys sustain their programs while adding transparency to deals involving some of the 11,000-plus football players across all divisions who enter the portal — the terms of some of those life-changing transactions themselves pecked out on cell phones in the middle of the night.

“At the end of the day, the kid deserves the compensation and support,” Frazier said in an interview with The Associated Press at the NCAA convention this week. “But the institution, to keep the cycle going, they deserve something as well. We’re not in the situation to continue to do that if we keep losing our best and brightest.”

Arizona Board approves Dillingham deal >> Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham is getting a big raise following the Sun Devils’ unexpected trip to the College Football Playoff.

The Arizona Board of Regents approved a contract extension for Dillingham through 2029 and a salary increase to $5.8 million starting this year, with a $100,000 increase each Jan. 1 for the duration of the term. He made $4.1 million last season.

The contract includes one-year extensions and raises for reaching certain benchmarks, up to a $450,000 increase for an 11-win season.

LSU reserve QB hospitalized after accident >> LSU reserve quarterback Colin Hurley was hospitalized following a car smashed into an oak tree near campus.

His condition was described as “stable” in a statement from his family that was released by the university.

Hurley, a freshman from Jacksonville, Florida, who has yet to play for the Tigers, was found unresponsive behind the wheel but breathing by the Baton Rouge Fire Department just before 3 a.m., according to documentation from emergency first responders.

LSU officials deferred comment to the 17-year-old Hurley’s family because he is a minor.