"Can't let Michigan Win": Ohio Senate passes NIL bill effective July 1 2021
The Michigan NIL bill, which Gov. Whitmer has bragged about signing, goes into effect a fair amount of time from now: on December 31, 2022. That needless delay has given Ohio an opening; State Sen. Niraj Antani introduced an NIL bill last month that is effective as of July 1, 2021.
"We cannot let Michigan win," said Antani at the press conference introducing the bill. On June 16, the bill passed the Ohio Senate 33 to 0. It now heads to the House.
Is the Michigan legislature going to sit there and allow Ohio to gain yet another recruiting advantage for the 2021-22 academic year?
It's the wrong reaction because we shouldn't be striving to care about football as much Ohio does. When your worldview revolves around winning a meaningless game you run into real-life meaningful issues, or so it seems.
or......we could just let morons be morons?
You do realize that OSU nation had this same level of culture (and obsession) when Michigan was dominating the rivalry in the 80's and 90's, don't you?
Back then it, didn't matter. Now it does.
It's not the same though IMO. I think much of the vitriol and resentment STEMMED from the dominance we had during that time period. They know we were better academically so get owned on the playing field literally drove them nuts with rage.
I've live here since 87 and have witnessed it first-hand. And, I absolutely do not think Michigan approaches the game with the same level of hatred & intensity for OSU as OSU does for us. And it's not particularly close as I pointed out in my post.
One school will do ANYTHING to win. One school will not.
Guess which school wins?
Just my .02 cents... but your comment is more (at least for me) representative of why OSU fans are obessesed with beating UM every year, specifically the arrogant nature of a lot of UM fans, than it is about hating the UM program. "We have a better school", "we do it the right way", etc. I'm not trying throw stones at a glass house, but UM has one of the largest sexual abuse scandals in history going right now, and a first page forum post about a former football player literally arrested with an Uzi. We recruit the same athletes... but when they choose OSU, they're low-character and clearly got paid, right? The supposed moral highground, from my perspective, doesn't really exist... UM has the same problems, oversights, and questionable behavior from student athletes and administrators that other schools have.. but that won't stop a certain contingent of the fanbase from popping off about being on the moral highground.
I have a lot of respect for many of my UM fan friends, the last 15 years hasnt been easy... but I also know a few who really, really make it enjoyable watching OSU beat the hell out of Michigan.
As for "doing ANYTHING" to win, Ohio passed a bill in line with what California, Florida, etc have already passed. Yeah we want to beat Michigan, but Ohio also have to keep up with other states... I don't think it's fair to imply Ohio passed this bill specifically to beat Michigan.. just keeping up with the Jones's today.
Just my humble internet opinion, take it however you wish.
We have a better school", "we do it the right way",
We DO have a better academic school. That is as undebateable as your dominance over us on the football field. That isnt being arrogant - it's simply a fact and there isnt a single ranking service in the world that has OSU ahead of Michigan for academics. That being said I'm taking my 16 year old son on an OSU campus tour July 18th so it's not like I think the place is horrible. It's just not as good as Michigan.
You are 100% correct on the ridiculous "we do it the right way" nonsense. We have just as many losers, felons, sex abusers, you-name-it, as any other school. And I'm sure we also have bagmen and loads of people who "help" our athletes remain academically eligible.
Didn't mean to imply UM isn't a better academic school overall, it certainly is. If it came off that way, my apologies, I could have expressed it more clearly. But *some* UM fans like to talk about OSU like it's a third rate community college.. which simply isn't true. Coincidentally, a lot of those same UM fans often didn't actually go to school there.. go figure.
To add to my point earlier... there is a difference in knowing you have great academics versus spouting off to anyone and everyone about how superior your academics are... kinda makes for an easy villain for anyone outside of the of UM circle. OSU fans just take it up a notch.
Hope your son enjoys the visit to Columbus.
Me too. FWIW for all the silliness people post here it has improved dramatically academically over the past 10 years or so and is now just a bit behind Miami (our 2nd stop on the tour) for best public university in Ohio. I've had a lot of fun on campus (my BF is a HUGE OSU honk - goes to every home & away football game and most home basketball games) and he's given me the insiders tour. It's a good school.
And if we're being totally honest undergraduate degrees, outside of Ivy league, Stanford and a handful of private schools, dont mean a whole lot these days if you go to just about any decent college. My hope is he goes to either OSU or Miami for undergrad and then goes to Michigan, U of Chicago or Northwestern for Law or an MBA in Finance.
Love and Honor!
I chose Miami U over OSU, at the time it was just a better fit for me coming out of HS. Best of luck to him with his decision, sounds like he has some nice options!
Dude, there is a lot of truth here, but your legislator is literally quoted as saying this bill is about Michigan. Your 11 Warriors site runners admitted OSU is obsessed with Michigan. Your program has been feasting on our blood and souls successfully with this obsessive strategy, so don't pretend it's not there. It is there, and it is working.
To OSU, "keeping up with the Joneses" means kicking your neighbor to the north's ass.
That said, I agree with 90% of your moral high ground rant. And the only reason I don't agree with 100% is because I'm afraid the University of Michigan is too snooty to hire someone like Urban Meyer.
No argument from me... OSU fans are obsessed with beating Michigan.. mostly for the reasons I listed above. To go back to grade school playground days... when someone talks down to you and makes fun of where you live.. you want to punch them in the mouth, right? For the last 15 years, OSU has been doing just that.
As for the NIL bill... politicians are going to pander to their constituents, that's hardly novel nor surprising. While beating Michigan is undoubtedly a priority, leveling the recruiting field with other states who have passed NIL legislation was the main driver of this. When a NC is expected every year, the legislature isn't going to get in the way of the public's interest, so they did what they were expected to do.
Agree with everything Rabbit is saying here except I do think UM has a tendency to trip over themselves as well to create the facade of "doing things the right way" - see Worthy, Xavier as a great example of how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
If UM is bagging at the level of Bama or OSU, they are really, really bad at it and need to hire a new bagger in chief. Since I do believe UM does indeed bag and engage in other shenanigans, I do think it's pointless and arbitrary to limit the activity. Either go all in on NFL football factory or be like Northwestern.
Per Bo, no arguments here - even though my username may not check out. The Michigan Man bs has been going on far too long and hopefully now the hero worship of a guy that clearly didnt "do things the right way" can end.
You do realize that OSU nation had this same level of culture (and obsession) when Michigan was dominating the rivalry in the 80's and 90's, don't you?
Back then it, didn't matter. Now it does.
Agreed with MGrowOld that the losses during the Cooper era has further fueled their hatred for UM. Also, Tressel & Meyer have Woody level hatred for UM that Cooper lacked and Day is simply following Meyer's blueprint. In the 90s OSU had a coach who didn't get the rivalry. They still had very good teams, but Cooper didn't value beating UM the way Woody/Tressel/Meyer/Day have and often slipped up against lesser UM teams. Also OSU's recruiting has reached higher than historic levels under Meyer and now even further under Day whereas UM remains historically about what it has always been. So, it's both culture and recruiting talent. We are missing our Bo to match their Woody. Our RR/Hoke/JH have not matched their Tressel/Meyer/Day level of hatred for the other nor kept up with their recruiting post-Tressel. Tressel/Carr was pretty equal talent, but Tressel won close games on culture. Since Meyer got there OSU has won on both culture (minus Hoke years where they won on competency) and on talent. There is now a bigger talent gap than ever as well.
Oh give me a fucking break. They've beaten the shit out of Michigan for ten years because they have had WAY better coaching and talent, not because Hoke isn't selling enough jersey's in Ohio.
I think 2018 and 2019 changed many people's perception. They have been beating UM for almost two decades, but many of those games were good prior to 2018. 2012, 2013, and 2016 were some of the best games in the history of the rivalry. OSU won them all, but they were great games. Hoke only won 1/4, but also only lost two more by an average of 3 pts. The average score of Hoke's 4 years in the rivalry is OSU 36, UM 32.5.
Even when Ohio does the right thing, they find a way to do it for the wrong reasons.
OSU has a very unique position with this. If you use a player from the roster to advertise there isnt a split fanbase in the entire state of Ohio. You dont have to worry about 1/2 the audience not liking who is repping your company. I cant think of another state of that size where you have a captive audience like that. That is going to be another huge advantage.
This is why I don't think this NIL is going to go as well as Michigan fans think. OSU will still be light-years ahead. Everybody in that states loves OSU and is willing to put all of their resources into it.
I think this overlooks alumni wealth … or the delta for each school between “enthusiasm to spend wealth on athletes when the rules prohibit it” vs “enthusiasm to spend wealth on athletes when the rules permit it.”
I’m not concluding the M comes out on top in that comparison, because I have insufficient data for that conclusion, but it would definitely be my opening hypothesis.
Having one main state school, a bunch of shitty pro sports teams, and the rest of your state being a shit hole and having nothing to offer is definitely an advantage for OSU
Eh, it's obnoxious how obsessed the entire state of Ohio is with the University of Michigan, but really two things here that doesn't make this a very big deal at all:
1. This really doesn't matter now that we're firmly in the 2022 recruiting cycle. The '21 class is on campus, this will not give OSU an additional leg up in recruiting because by the time the '22 class is here the Michigan NIL laws will effectively be in place. It would be a wise showing of goodwill, however if Michigan expedited ratifying the law for the players on campus to start earning NIL contributions
2. It would be relatively easy for Michigan state legislators to respond by holding a special session to fast track enactment of the bill. You would hope Warde and Jim (and the MSU contingent as well) are speaking with the regents asking them to wield some political capital to make this happen. You certainly would hope the are thinking in this capacity anyway
By and large, this is an easy fix and not one that is going to damage recruiting in the first place. As a Michigan fan and resident however, it would be frustrating to not take advantage of the opportunity to tell the state of Ohio to go fuck themselves.
As a Michigan fan and resident however, it would be frustrating to not take advantage of the opportunity to tell the state of Ohio to go fuck themselves.
i'm not sure why we need the legislature to do that, though - i, for one, have done it on multiple occasions, and i didn't even need a masturbatory law to do so!
I as well frequently shout this into the ethers. While it's definitely cathartic, state legislations actually have the ability to make an impact.
i agree with your post, fwiw...the difference between doing this now and a few months from now is almost certainly negligible. i was mostly just being a smartass.
lol.
yes, i'm sure the michigan legislature is SUPER worried that ohio will "gain yet another recruiting advantage for the 2021-22 academic year."
Gonna be that much sweeter, when we beat them this season. We have a QB, and the defense with no DL, is finally gone.
Hmmm... new starting starting QB, defense learning a new system, overall team talent lacking... I see OSU marching into a mostly pro-OSU big house and spanking us 101 - 3. Final nail in the Harbaugh coffin! Good riddance, lets move on, 7 years is enough!!!
What dline guys do you see there this year that werent on the field last year? Personnel matters and we havent changed that. Don Brown wasnt holding back a fleet of awesome Dtackles. Also the same d line coach as well.
That's some Grade A wartime propaganda right there.
My dad said last night that my great grandfather played football at Ohio State...and I'm bummed.
So they are just making it legal now?
Right! Jokes on Buckeye nation. Now the OSU players get taxed on the money they “found from an uncle” starting July 1.
I don't really care about NIL stuff, but it seems dumb to have delayed its implementation until 18 months from now. Why wait so long?
To ensure Harbaugh doesn't save his job with it. Whitmer is a Sparty after all.
I absolutely think Michigan can take more games off of OSU than we have over the past 15 or so years. But also, it's literally the case that the entire state of Ohio--up to and including the highest levels of state government--have decided to everything they can to never lose to us again. So hey, we've got our work cut out for us
None of these schools need a law for NIL; they can just allow it today. So, what's the NCAA going to do about it? I guess they could try declaring the player ineligible or punishing the school. But, that's going to end up in court, where the NCAA is going to lose.
Big Gretch chose the date because she knew Matt Campbell would be hired next December.
Like I said before why do I have the feeling Michigan football will be trying to play catch up after the athletes get their share! Been playing catch up in football for 15 plus years, yet people still pay sky high prices for a mediocre product.
Is this really going to push us over the edge to beat OSU this year or next? If so - have at it and fight. If not, zzzzzzzzzz.
Lol like they weren't already paying players
Won't matter. The delusions of the UM $ cannons changing anything due to NIL are just hopium.
The NIL $ will simply be like a year end bonus for players at OSU, Bama, Clemson, $EC, etc.
Unless we get serious about football factory (not here to debate yay or nay on the topic), they will continue to out-talent us by a significant margin.
Add in that they have been out-coaching us as well, and there you have your 2 decades of futility.
We could have had 5-6 wins in the past twenty years given proper coaching and some lucky bounces, and have been more competitive like Auburn vs. Bama, but that is the best we can hope for given the differing institutional approaches by the respective football programs.
We have chosen not to be a minor league for the NFL, while certain universities including OSU have decided to do so. Hopes of the playoff expansion or NIL changing this paradigm are just delusions.
Target all the 5*s and pay up like the big boys or continue with the current model of where OSU players are getting drafted in the first and second rounds and ours are primarily late round picks.
Talent matters and they have more of it and will continue to have more of it regardless of NIL.
Given the different institutional approaches to the respective football programs, I would be ecstatic if we could win 25%-30% of the time against OSU, but even that low bar seems an uphill battle at this point.
I couldn’t have said this better with hours of thought.
so my simple question is: is all the energy put into this blog and caring about M football a waste of time or not? My feeling is that the University leadership and our (yes idiot) governor say yes. But they hope we don’t notice this.
It just means more to them. It is what it is, and I'm not going to pretend Michigan is something that it isn't.
WTF Whitmer?
MGrowOld hits the nail on the head multiple times in this thread. I am 41 and I extremely confident that Michigan will never beat OSU in football again in my lifetime. I guess it was good I was at the game in 2011.