Head of Minnesota NIL collective believes it will play much larger role in hockey soon
Derek Burns, co-founder and president of Dinkytown Athletes, the official NIL collective of Gophers sports, sees the change in hockey coming in the not-too-distant future.
"It's only a matter of time until hockey is massively influenced by NIL," Burns said Tuesday, adding, "I don't have a crystal ball, but sometime in the next 18 months, things are going to pick up significantly."
One area in which NIL deals become important in college hockey is how they can bridge the gap between the 18 full scholarships allowed and the roster size of 25-28 players. Coaches can divvy up the scholarships by awarding less than full rides to some players, and NIL deals could fill deficits.
Michigan coach Brandon Naurato hopes the focus stays on the program rather than what players can receive in NIL deals.
"We want people at Michigan that are here for all the resources that this school provides, and there's a lot of them, especially academically," Naurato said. "And from a hockey standpoint, our pitch would be that we're going to develop you, and our style of play will help prep you to be a National Hockey League player."
I mean, isn't it his job to say that his job will become more important than it currently is?
Yes, although he doesn't need to signal that the collective is moving more into hockey. It is interesting that he is.
It’s Minnesota though; hockey is basically all they have
April 11th, 2024 at 12:33 AM ^
Not to be that guy, but I don't think that's what he's saying at all. I think the title of the OP is misleading--the object of the pronoun "it" could be taken to refer to the Dinkytown collective, but reading the article in situ he means he (himself) is predicting NIL (itself) becoming a major factor in hockey.
While I do appreciate the 'old-school' approach that Coach Naurato expressed, why not combine both approaches?
Because then they wouldn't be able to pretend that Michigan offers something that no other university in the country can offer. No dollar amount can be placed on the transformational experience.
I'm sure they are...but in the current world its the 'transformational' pieces that, all else being in the same ballpark, can set UM apart from others.
There is zero chance that UM with its massive athletic department and budget isn't going to NIL too. Those suits with all of their consultants have a LOT more to lose if it doesn't work than any of us keyboard warriors.
I just wish/hope that UM (Warde, Oto, etc.) would be/is leading the way to something much more sane than the current landscape.
Minnesota would be wise to move all their NIL capital from football and basketball to hockey.
Dinkytown is an interesting name choice. It's a commercial district in next to the University of Minnesota for anyone else that's wondering.
April 10th, 2024 at 11:44 PM ^
You can have Dinkytown. I'm heading over to Funkytown.
April 11th, 2024 at 12:31 AM ^
won't you take me too
Thanks for clearing that up. I thought it was just Tom Izzo's neighborhood.
Dinkytown is where I take my S.O. every night.
"Hey babe, I am going to take you down to DinkyTown"
Maybe? I mean Minnesota and NoDak should definitely be able to back up the Brinks truck. Football challenged Minnesota and BC should focus their money there. Prominent non-football schools like BU and NoDak should be able to too,
In football and basketball NIL has leveled the playing field in some ways (and not in others). Hockey, however, has only a handful of programs that could wield NIL in any meaningful way, so I suspect more NIL involvement in hockey would increase the disparity between the haves and the have nots, rather than decrease it. Michigan being one of the "haves" in hockey, I'd guess most people wouldn't mind that too much, but I do know that many here miss the days of the old CCHA and WCHA, pre-B1G, when you could have weird rivalries like Michigan-Ferris State, and NIL getting more involved in hockey is going to move the sport further from those days rather than closer.
Obviously, as a fan of a small school, I have my own opinions on this, but I don't think anything I said above is controversial in terms of facts and projections.
Guess this is relevant here. Have heard rumors that the majority of the sophomore class might be back next year.
Nothing official, but sounds like @umichhockey Gavin Brindley, a 2nd round pick of #CBJ last summer, is leaning toward another year in Ann Arbor.
Wolverines playing this weekend in the NCAA Frozen Four.— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) April 10, 2024
April 10th, 2024 at 11:18 PM ^
One area of significance is that NIL totally flips the already-changing field with Major Junior. Leaving aside that powers-that-be are thinking of making Major Junior players eligible for college, it used to be that the cash packages favored Major Junior, since they didn't have the sort of boundaries that NCAA teams did. Now, though, you have some significant programs and fanbases able to throw around real cash in a way that that the CHL just can't. Major Junior teams just don't have the sort of substance that a major college athletic program has, especially now with network revenue.
Add in that big-time college programs increasingly look like legitimate places to develop for future NHL talent and you have a situation where the personnel dynamic in college hockey is changing rapidly. An NHL team can stash a player in college for extra years, count on him to get developed, and he can actually make reasonable money (so, not impatient) while doing so.
Frankly, I think this is *already* a big factor. The big change coming is how it affects recruiting and transfers.
And in that realm it feels like Minnesota and North Dakota are poised to dominate the hockey world. Michigan (and Michigan State and the Boston schools; a program like Maine can also benefit significantly) can be competitive too, but this is one area where having a really good program in another sport drawing NIL money can be a bit of a detriment. NoDak is a premiere sports program in its state; Minnesota is a big deal statewide in a way unlike any other college hockey program, as well.
How imbalanced kind of depends on how some smaller programs that potentially serve as the one major program of a smallish market make the transition. I'm in Duluth, and NIL could potentially be a game-changer here, or it could be a nothingburger. Marquette has that potential for NMU, too. Small tv markets with no other major-level sport--fertile ground for some interesting dynamics.
April 11th, 2024 at 11:35 AM ^
Tech hockey is THE sport in Houghton (where I am) as well, but is there enough money in a 20,000-person micropolitan area to fund any kind of competitive NIL? Probably not, especially when considering that Yoopers are some of the most crotchety, old-fashioned, get-off-my-lawn people in existence. Marquette is a bit more modern and cosmopolitan (by Yooper standards) but I still don't think it's enough.
I'd say we're heading for a P5-G5 style split, but I'm not sure there are enough P5-style programs in college hockey to actually make that happen.
Did they get a corporate sponser? I want to see some 3M logos, because nothing says college football more than 3M. 3M means you're strong up the middle!
The campaign underscores 3M’s commitment to advance and expand its purpose-driven strategy to tackle problems, big and small, in pursuit of its vision to improve every life.
Not necessarily disagreeing about NIL - but,in hockey there is one consideration - international players. I haven’t looked deeply at Michigan’s - or other “stronger” teams rosters - but, is a notable segment of the team composed on non-US players / students?
April 11th, 2024 at 11:37 AM ^
I know at times MTU's roster has been up to half Canadian, and more recently we've had Swedes, Finns, and Australians as well. Programs like UM tend to be more American, but still fill out with at least a handful of Canadians and usually one or two from further abroad.