Michigan Regent “It’s time to embrace NIL.”
August 7th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
Colt,
Im sure others feel like you do but I have a different opinion.
I am not in favor of parity and could not care less about BYU. I want exclusively Michigan to dominate football always and forever. I don’t care who finishes second or anywhere else. Beyond that, I want Michigan to win every game by a blowout score. 42-3 sounds good to me every week forever.
I hear you, but as long as these (https://www.bannersociety.com/2014/4/10/20703758/bag-man-paying-college-football-players) guys are around there ain't gonna be no parity. Unless you bring as much above ground as possible ...
August 4th, 2022 at 11:41 PM ^
Technically it's past time to embrace NIL, but good on ya.
August 4th, 2022 at 11:57 PM ^
In other words, Stephen Ross called him up and said, "I'm all yours for the next few months."
August 5th, 2022 at 12:14 AM ^
Sounds like a transformation
August 5th, 2022 at 12:58 AM ^
It's not hard. You have that massive stadium and hundreds of millions of dollars on top of that tied to the athletic department of the university.
You can let it rot or you can keep those things viable by doing what is legal to do, what everyone else is doing. You can't moneyball your way to championships in the age of paying players. You can spend smarter! You can do a lot but you cannot avoid paying players and win. You can't even do it in the current sense of "you maybe likely kinda depends on stuff get paid once here" and win long-term.
This posturing is totally performative. Just do what we all know you have to do already. Again, do it or let the facilities rot.
Even long before all the NIL talk, I always had some apprehension about just how protective of its own brand the University was, and when NIL became a thing after many years of theorizing that it would become a thing, I figured that would be the primary reason that such a concept would be implemented at a slow pace in Ann Arbor. It is great to see folks at the Regent level giving full support to it in the open though. Hopefully, that kickstarts a few things.
YAY!!! A Regent writes that we should embrace NIL!
Key phrase: "A Regent"
Wake me up when 7 more Regents and the AD get on the same page...
How many regents are there exactly and do they have to just have a majority vote on such issues to change issues like NIL?
August 5th, 2022 at 10:34 AM ^
I thought there were, like, 9 or 11 Regents, but I really have no idea. And there isn't a vote, outright, that needs to happen. I think it's more of a general feeling that it's okay to play a little loose with whatever 'rules' you think are in place (ie: fully embrace NIL). I don't think there is a consensus on that idea right now. But the more Regents, the more highly placed administrators, there are that do embrace NIL, the more likely it is that Michigan athletics will begin to play a little looser.
Don't hold your breath, though. Such a change won't happen for a few years, if at all...
Va - perhaps Warde Manuel and leaders of the key Collectives should get prepare something for the Board of Regents. And, one approach would be to show the “plan”, which may be a “crawl, walk, run “ approach, since it seems like we’re crawling today.
August 5th, 2022 at 11:02 AM ^
It’s nice to hear a Regent expressing an opinion about this. A couple things to note.
First, the University does not contribute money to the Collective.
Second, Regents interest in - and support for - an NIL program - is certainly a good thing.
Third, it would be “best”, and in Michigan’s case - a requirement - to have an NIL program that aligns the University Academic Leadership, Athletic Leadership, and Collectives’ leadership.
Again, a program - transformational - not a transaction.
Michigan just needs to decide what it wants. If its not going to dive head first into NIL then so be it. But then don't get upset when you're not winning championships and can't recruit the players necessary to win them.
If you don't want the transactional experience, that's fine. But then you need to be okay with going to the Citrus Bowl or Outback Bowl in any given year. You need to be okay with not being able to recruit that game-changing, NBA-caliber point guard who can take games over by himself and get you to the Final Four by himself. You need to be okay with losing to OSU 8-9 out of 10 tries and MSU surpassing you on the field because they were willing to do what it took to win and you weren't. You need to be okay with watching OSU win national titles while you aren't.
The solution is in front of you. Take it or don't. But if you don't, then don't cry that the world isn't fair when you don't achieve the goals you set out for yourself.
Honestly if UM wants to decide it's an academics-first, uh, academy, fine. . . but if that's the case, I'd rather see them demote themselves to the FCS now than lose to OSU thirty times in a row before someone finally realizes something may be amiss.
I mean, I'll miss Michigan football and basketball. . . but these are things we can live without. But FFS, I really wouldn't put it past these jokers to not figure it out for another twenty years, during which -- once we reach a point of no return -- we are going to collectively lose hundreds of games against our rivals.
It's sad that this is considered progress for Michigan.
There's nothing to "embrace" here. NIL is here. In its current form, it might as well be a virus, or an ocean -- it just is. It doesn't care about your silly stances or delusional beliefs; it's driven by economics. You're either in the market, in which case you're a professional organization; or you aren't, in which case you're a volunteer organization. Which would be fine, except the volunteer orgs and businesses are in a formal competition.
You're either living in reality or you're not, and using language like "embrace" tells me the most progressive UM Regent is still a shade shy of getting it.
we've heard various iterations of this for months. Perhaps things are better, or perhaps they were never that bad. One thing I'm confident of... nothing is likely to be different. Remember the marketplace/exchange that was going to be a game changer?
Not being cranky, just honest about how nimbly and quickly this school moves to adjust to the times.
Lastly, saying they're going to embrace still doesn't address the biggest issue (whichever side you land on) -- is Michigan going to facilitate / allow payment of high school prospects to entice them to sign here. If not, then I don't see any embracing happening.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:17 AM ^
Tesla, what does the state law in Michigan allow / disallow for NIL?
I’m not being contentious - I honestly don’t know. My guess would be, other states’ NIL laws offer greater flexibility and room for interpretation.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:43 AM ^
I don't either. But i refuse to believe that ONLY schools in states that allow $$$$ to be thrown around are doing it. Right? I mean, if that was the case, then there would be a large noisy contingent of schools banding together to complain that the playing field was not level. But they arent. The only thing I see is people complaining about A&M and the like paying so much more than they are willing or able to do....
So, I get the issue - but Michigan and Ohio, as states, are pretty similar - do we have strict rules that greatly differ?
If they want to excite the population, they should come out and say - we are going to go get the best football team money can buy. They will be outstanding students and we will ensure they get the University experience. That said, to compete in the new era of NIL, we are now embracing all aspects, including paying our players outright (for some paltry thing, like jersey signing), and will allow bidders of all types to help us recruit the best talent here. We will hit 5x what Ryan Day wanted and blow them out of the water.
Say that - and I'll believe shit is changing.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:59 AM ^
Tesla, I think certain schools are complaining. Saban brought it up during SEC media days, and Ryan Day mentioned he’d need another $13M.
Your point about A&M is fair - essentially they have raised more money and are willing to spend it to get players to commit. And, as Jimbo Fisher said in a conversation with Paul Finebaum - certain athletes have been being paid (by bag men) for a while. The SEC is probably the most experienced conference when it comes to this.
The schools with money won’t complain. The schools that don’t have enough money WILL complain.
Let’s see what everyone agrees to over the next few months.
August 5th, 2022 at 11:07 AM ^
I don't think we need to facilitate payment of high school prospects. If we go full bore with NIL, the prospects should see that freshman ON THE TEAM are making good money and the top recruits are making even better money, then that should be adequate. At this point I don't even care if we entire high school prospects but we need NIL money to filter down to the freshman and top recruits once enrolled and then the problem kind of takes care of itself.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:14 AM ^
The Pearson drama should be enough to can Warde and hire an AD who is pro-NIL
August 5th, 2022 at 10:39 AM ^
What should Michigan’s approach to NIL be?
Develop a comprehensive program, that informs, educates, and delivers to student athletes. Some of this might be able to take place prior to commitment - I honestly don’t know if that’s permissible.
For instance, you get a few Department leads that represent key aspects of a contract / agreement / program - together, to identify what all the potential issues are. I think, or hope, this has already been done. One element is delineation between the University Academic leadership, the Athletic Department leadership, and the Collectives - essentially, “who’s who in the Zoo.”
Faculty leaders, thought leaders, provide clarification on the key points. And, an introductory program - it could be a single seminar delivered in person, or - via a “Zoom like” session- would be offered. The subject - “What a prospective student athlete and their family needs to know about NIL.”
An “in person” seminar for an hour or 90 minutes would be great - but, I’m unsure if it would be permissible during an OV.
What topics are covered? It would seem, logically, that Marketing, Contracts, and Tax - are basic topics. Those prospective student athletes and their families involved in those decisions may not have great exposure to those items - especially when seven figure deals are involved.
This might be an opportunity for Michigan to address three items - 1) the school’s focus on, and commitment to, the student athlete, 2) illustrate how NIL is implemented at Michigan (perhaps contrasting to other schools - without disparaging them), and 3) using the University’s resources to foster NIL thought leadership - building upon the ideal of “Leaders and Best.”
Michigan is one of the finest schools in the country that balances academic and athletic leadership. NIL is an opportunity to bring that to the forefront.
August 5th, 2022 at 10:39 AM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if incoming U-M President Santa Ono voices this as well. There is hope.
August 5th, 2022 at 12:02 PM ^
Let's go!
That’s good news but it would be nice to hear there is a consensus decision from the entire board.
I assume Acker was tasked to put it a statement that says Michigan is 100% committed to dominatant NIL. Every previous Michigan statement has been interpreted to be wishy washy and covering for relative failure.
Already?
August 7th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
The NBA totally subsidizes the WNBA, I think it would be in the NCAA members best interest to strong arm the NFL and NBA into subsidizing, at least in part, NIL.