FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[sjusection105]

Art & Mad Red Fan +K- useful information as to what is happening on the NIL landscape.
I may be old-fashioned but I prefer the good old days when alledgedly  Texas A&M gave Eric Dickerson a gold Trans Am, he kept it, only to have him flip and go with SMU where mysterious envelopes appeared in his locker from unknown sources. 

[SagatagSam]

Art & Mad Red Fan +K- useful information as to what is happening on the NIL landscape.
I may be old-fashioned but I prefer the good old days when allegedly Texas A&M gave Eric Dickerson a gold Trans Am, he kept it, only to have him flip and go with SMU where mysterious envelopes appeared in his locker from unknown sources. 

The good ol' Trans A&M!

[GoldandBlueBU]

Yeah, the NIL business (and portal too) are just making a mess of college athletics, IMHO.  Hate them both.

Here's a link to information about what Wisconsin is doing. There's a lot there, if you have time you might find it interesting. Not sure it makes the big picture any clearer, but its a window into what goes on.  Some of these kids have a price for making a social media post or sending a personal greeting to someone (like a happy birthday) and on and on, up to being a spokesperson or some such. Scroll down a ways and click on YouDub Marketplace.  It takes you to a "page" where each athlete has a list of what they do and for how much. Click on an athlete's picture to see the "menu". I think its sad, actually, but it is what it is. Welcome to the 21st century.

https://opendorse.com/wisconsin-badgers

I'm a bit torn on both, though I agree with the principle of each - I think a person should be able to profit off of their names (the colleges certainly do in a massive way, so why not the athlete themselves?), and I also don't mind the idea of the transfer portal.  Holding players accountable to decisions that they made when they were 17 seems a bit stringent?  Especially when the situations at the colleges often change with coaches constantly moving around (which they are able to do without sitting out).

That being said, I do recognize the chaos it has caused.  Maybe it will just take some getting used to, and that will become the new normal?  I'm not sure what the solution is.

[MadRedFan]

Yeah, the NIL business (and portal too) are just making a mess of college athletics, IMHO.  Hate them both.

Here's a link to information about what Wisconsin is doing. There's a lot there, if you have time you might find it interesting. Not sure it makes the big picture any clearer, but its a window into what goes on.  Some of these kids have a price for making a social media post or sending a personal greeting to someone (like a happy birthday) and on and on, up to being a spokesperson or some such. Scroll down a ways and click on YouDub Marketplace.  It takes you to a "page" where each athlete has a list of what they do and for how much. Click on an athlete's picture to see the "menu". I think its sad, actually, but it is what it is. Welcome to the 21st century.

https://opendorse.com/wisconsin-badgers

I'm a bit torn on both, though I agree with the principle of each - I think a person should be able to profit off of their names (the colleges certainly do in a massive way, so why not the athlete themselves?), and I also don't mind the idea of the transfer portal.  Holding players accountable to decisions that they made when they were 17 seems a bit stringent?  Especially when the situations at the colleges often change with coaches constantly moving around (which they are able to do without sitting out).

That being said, I do recognize the chaos it has caused.  Maybe it will just take some getting used to, and that will become the new normal?  I'm not sure what the solution is.

I'm not a big fan of the coaches moving around either, but not much to do there.

As for players, I have a couple thoughts that aren't necessarily compatible. One, if a coach leaves, I don't have as much a problem with a player leaving w/o sitting out. Coach leaves, okay to move on.  Didn't earn PT, or got recruited over, okay, you can move on but no immediate eligibility.  Second, seems to me the rules should be the same across all sports.  Makes no sense to me to allow the tennis player or track athlete to be able to transfer and play right  away, but not the hoops or FB player. Make it standard, one way or the other.

And then the NIL, not sure what can be done about that. Allowing the players to make some dough, seems okay. But allowing it to be part of the recruitment process, particularly with a kid already on one school's roster, well, that's getting sleazy it seems. But The new normal??

[GoldandBlueBU]

Agree completely.  The other side effect of NIL that I don't like is that it will basically further increase the gap between the big name and the not-so-big name colleges.  Not only do you get the intangible benefits you got before from making it to a blue-chip school - such as the greater exposure for a potential professional career, and the higher level competition, but you can also make a load more in NIL by going to a big name school, rather than staying local, or going to a smaller name who you might have liked the vibe of, but won't get much NIL exposure.

[OzJohnnie]

They aren't going to school to learn, they're going to work. So like any other work, let them agree contracts. Sign them up to binding contracts with non-compete and termination rights.  The education component of these programs is virtually zero. It's time to stop trying to fit square pegs into round holes.


Education can be one component of the contract.  Let them play pure cash, maybe limited to $150k a season, or take part of that in education.  A "student" can take short term, annual contracts on cash or maybe a four-year deal if they insist on education.  The NFL agrees to not draft anyone with fewer than three years in the college leagues and the feeder system is fed.  Do away with eligibility and all that.  People who want to learn will make it part of their contract.  People who are just looking to play will just take the cash.


And fans who want to enjoy old-time hockey, or genuine amateur football, will find their way to the D3 schools.   Wins for everyone.

[carletonknights]

I think the solution is to do away with the NFL eligibility rule. Kids who do want to get their degree can stay in college for a few years, get their degree, develop and then take their shot at the NFL. Kids who want the immediate money can try their luck in the pros. Is there any other sport that doesn't permit seniors in high school to turn pro?

[Texas Ole]

First of all it is Texas A$M!  Next thing I am going to hear from someone is that Greg Hood was justified in his actions due to what Eric Dickerson did to them.  I have a few friends that knew Greg Hood at A$M.  I like some of the SMU shirts that joke how they were paying athletes long before it was cool.  I mean they did have few athletes that didn't want to leave school and take a pay cut.  What gets lost is that every SWC school was cheating.  It was just some were better at hiding it.

So much of the crap with college athletes today can be traced to the NFL!  The NFL's rules about who can play create an undue barrier.  There needs to be a minor league outside of college for football.  I also firmly believe the NCAA needs to adopt either the hockey or baseball model for all sports.  No more 1 and done.  No more you can't go pro out of college.  If you're good enough out of HS go, but if not you should have to wait.

I don't have a huge problem with NIL, but I think it needs to be regulated.  Right now the highest grossing player to ever come out of Southlake Carroll HS in Texas is playing college football.  That may not mean much until you realize they've produced multiple NFL quarterbacks!  It needs to be capped and spread across the entire athletic department.  I am thinking something that could amount to a student work amount.  I talked with a former D1 coach who was being asked by recruits what NIL deals he was going to offer them.  He ended up retiring.

The transfer portal is a mess, but I sure do love how Sonny Dykes is using it.  The dark secret is that few players who enter it wind up in a better spot than where they left.  I think this needs to be limited 1 free transfer possibly with a loss of a year of eligibility.  I think if a coach leaves all players should be able to leave with limited restrictions, but I am not sure they should be allowed to follow the coach to their new school.  That was crap how Lincoln Riley left OU.  Not only did he leave them without a coach, but he took some of his best players.  I think if the coach gets fired than the kids should be able to follow the coach.  That is on the school! 

As a side note I believe the first coach to ever self report the paying of players was Jim Wacker.  The players were kicked off the team and penalties were assessed.

[sjusection105]

I don't have a huge problem with NIL, but I think it needs to be regulated.  Right now the highest grossing player to ever come out of Southlake Carroll HS in Texas is playing college football.  That may not mean much until you realize they've produced multiple NFL quarterbacks! 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/other-schools/2021/08/31/source-ex-southlake-carrol-qb-quinn-ewers-inks-three-year-14-million-nil-deal-with-gtsm/       $1.4M NIL deal

[Texas Ole]

Some scary news coming out of St. Olaf in recent days. Is anyone else following the story of what appears to be a mass shooting thwarted?

[OzJohnnie]

I don't have a huge problem with NIL, but I think it needs to be regulated.  Right now the highest grossing player to ever come out of Southlake Carroll HS in Texas is playing college football.  That may not mean much until you realize they've produced multiple NFL quarterbacks! 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/other-schools/2021/08/31/source-ex-southlake-carrol-qb-quinn-ewers-inks-three-year-14-million-nil-deal-with-gtsm/       $1.4M NIL deal

Now guys are leaving high school early to get to the NIL money at university.  A perfectly valid career choice, but perhaps we should recognize that sporting is a vocation, similar to being an electrician or welder (only for significantly more cash), rather than an amateur side hustle for a scholar.   I have warmed to the idea of the NFL treating high school talent like MLB.  Maybe the NFL should enter an official minor league arrangement with the university system to enable player development.

[OzJohnnie]

Some scary news coming out of St. Olaf in recent days. Is anyone else following the story of what appears to be a mass shooting thwarted?

Apparently, he was a cross-country runner.  There are always dodgy characters in that sport.

[BiggieSmalls]

Some scary news coming out of St. Olaf in recent days. Is anyone else following the story of what appears to be a mass shooting thwarted?

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/st-olaf-college-student-waylon-kurts-charged-after-cache-found-in-dorm/

Kudos to custodian for being alert!

[SagatagSam]

Some scary news coming out of St. Olaf in recent days. Is anyone else following the story of what appears to be a mass shooting thwarted?

Apparently, he was a cross-country runner.  There are always dodgy characters in that sport.

Looks like he ran during his freshman year and then left the cross country and track teams prior to the start of the 2022-23 school year.

[GoldandBlueBU]

I don't have a huge problem with NIL, but I think it needs to be regulated.  Right now the highest grossing player to ever come out of Southlake Carroll HS in Texas is playing college football.  That may not mean much until you realize they've produced multiple NFL quarterbacks! 

https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/other-schools/2021/08/31/source-ex-southlake-carrol-qb-quinn-ewers-inks-three-year-14-million-nil-deal-with-gtsm/       $1.4M NIL deal

Now guys are leaving high school early to get to the NIL money at university.  A perfectly valid career choice, but perhaps we should recognize that sporting is a vocation, similar to being an electrician or welder (only for significantly more cash), rather than an amateur side hustle for a scholar.   I have warmed to the idea of the NFL treating high school talent like MLB.  Maybe the NFL should enter an official minor league arrangement with the university system to enable player development.

I've heard that idea floated before too, and sort of wonder how it would play out across college.  Might make sense for for some major conferences, but there are also plenty of mid-major type teams that wouldn't fit the "NFL minors" profile, and also have a fair amount of their roster who fit the bill of a true "student athlete" more closely.