For the purists, the perpetually altered states of college and professional sports are as digestible as a hot fudge sundae after a double order of clams casino.

Salaried college athletes are serving as hucksters for all types of commercial products and services, the Automated Ball-Strike System is expediting the obsolescence of home plate umpires, and tinkered kickoffs have transformed the NFL into a fancy pants version of Vince McMahon’s XFL.

It’s all enough to foster a new appreciation for the intricacies of North Carolina’s four-corners offense.

Perhaps it’s time to stop throwing hands in the air in frustration and instead, reach out and lock arms with sports in the 21st century.

Even a throwback like UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin is adapting.

“You either change with the times or they change you out for somebody else,” Cronin said. “At UCLA, I was the only one to embrace NIL at the beginning. Only one…When you’re in the middle of something, whether you like it or not is irrelevant.”

This from a guy who insists on wearing a suit during games out of respect for John Wooden, who coached his last game in 1975.

Change goes by many names.

Progress. Development. Advancement. Evolution.

Sometimes change is for change sake. Food and beverage manufacturers are notorious for that with their products and marketing.

Like the corporate sector, sport has a proverbial finger in the air, gauging the way the wind is blowing.

A drop in baseball attendance and television ratings triggered implementation of the pitch clock.

Growing recognition of student athlete rights gave birth to the transfer portal.

Safety concerns introduced helmets in hockey and face masks in softball.

There are certainly times when resistance to change is a matter of principle.

However, clinging to the past when the future is already at hand serves only to frustrate and disappoint.

It’s easy to forget that there was a clamor against the adoption of free agency in baseball and the inclusion of professional athletes in the Olympics.

Maybe the times we live in have conditioned the sporting public to accept change more readily.

We take it for granted that NFL games will be televised on streaming services and fees will be added to event tickets to support NIL programs.

The fourth-year senior in college basketball has become as rare as a full bag of potato chips on grocery store shelves.

Exiting a minor league ballpark just over two hours past the start time is now considered an optimum experience.

And should the game go extra innings, the ghost runner helps to quickly resolve the issue.

However, upgrades, higher standards, improvements, or whatever you want to call them are not to be confused with tradition.

Implementing the shootout in hockey is one thing.

Sewing the names of the players on the back of the Yankees uniforms is quite another.

America has triumphantly returned to the moon, but we’re not reversing the wave of changes that continue to sweep through college and professional sports.

Addressing how to get a handle on the NIL, UCLA’s Cronin said, “We’ve got to start over and figure out how to have rules for this day and this era. Somehow. It’s not going back.”

Using the popularity of the Savannah Bananas as a compass, maybe the path forward is to more thoroughly appreciate the entertainment value of sport while worrying less about its form and function.

Jim Caltagirone writes a monthly column for the Mirror.