The Impact of N-I-L on the Big East

[Xudash]

I know we have another thread related to this, but it posed a specific question: Who would've gotten big NIL since NBE?

What I would like to see us discuss here are our thoughts and opinions on what we believe the N-I-L impact will be on our schools and conference.

Read this on Xavier's message board today: Oscar Tshiebwe setting the early NIL bar. Getting a $2 Million deal and a new Porsche to return to Kentucky. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Now, that obviously is an extreme outcome at the top of the pyramid, but what are your thoughts on how this will playout over, say, the next five years?

It's the off-season; what the hell.

[DudeAnon]

I am the outspoken and annoying proponent of NIL. But I really don't think much will change. Athletics budgets tracks almost 1 to 1 with recruiting and it will continue to do so. Only difference is kids will be getting a bigger piece of the pie.

[Xudash]

I want to be careful about blasting away with copyrighted material here (the article came up from behind a paywall site, so I figured I could at least share some of it), but thought I would share some excerpts from a very interesting article from the Cincinnati Business Courier: "College athletics: Staying true to the mission in a time of transition"

Jackie Reau, CEO of Game Day Communications, hosted a panel on college athletics, asking the athletic directors to discuss the role of athletics on their campuses and how they affect public awareness, admissions, fundraising, and other university-wide efforts. The panel was comprised of Greg Christopher of Xavier University, Ken Bothof, athletic director, NKU, John Cunningham, director of athletics, UC and David Saylor, Miami University athletic director.


Greg Christopher, Xavier University’s vice president of administration and athletic director, called athletics “the front porch of campus.”

“It's certainly not the most important thing we do at Xavier, but it probably is the most visible thing that we do,” he said. “So it's important for us to do it the right way.” He said Xavier’s affiliation with the Big East Conference has been more important for the university than it has for the athletic department because it's opened a corridor for enrollment and admissions along the East Coast. About 60% of Xavier's enrollment now comes from the East Coast, he said.

.....

With the advent of new NIL (name-image-likeness) rules, college athletics is “in many ways, a post amateurism world,” he said. He mentioned “collectives” being formed by donors to skirt NCAA rules and pay players. “That's a really scary proposition,” he said. “As we look at the future of college athletics, there seems to be no regulation, there seems to be no teeth around being able to prevent any of that from taking place.”

Miami’s Sayler said college athletics is “heading further away from the educational side of what we do,” as compensation for student athletes becomes more prevalent. “Do we want to become semi-pro sports, minor league sports? That's not of interest to me,” he said. “It's not of interest to Miami University.”

...

Reau asked the group to think ahead five years and forecast what issues college athletics will be discussing then.

Miami’s Sayler said the pressure on schools to pay athletes will increase, largely driven by a media narrative. “It’s going to lead to more pressure to keep up,” he said. “The media driving this national narrative in five years is going to take us into a really dangerous place,” he said.

UC’s Cunningham was optimistic that colleges would regain some control over finances and athletics. “I believe that in five years, we're going to make some real headway on something that's sustainable,” he said. “It's not sustainable right now. You've got to take some control back and we've got to have some strong leadership at the top to be able to do that.”

NKU’s Bothof said he hopes we won’t be discussing the end of the NCAA basketball tournament as we know it. He said he hopes mid-major schools like NKU will continue to have access to the NCAA tournament and that two separate tournaments are (not) created.

Christopher noted that higher education may undergo a wave of consolidation similar to what the healthcare industry experienced in recent decades, as the number of college-age students decreases.

[stever20]

I think a change that could impact things is you're seeing more guys sticking around in college with it. So going to have more older teams in other big schools. That would mean more experienced teams from other power conferences that we maybe haven't seen before. With that- teams might be tougher earlier on the season which would impact things a lot.

[DemonBaby]

State of California was the first to pass laws requiring NIL and now they want to pass another that requires college with revenue sports distribute a portion of their earnings back to the players. Things could get wacky soon.

[Husky_U]

John Craven
@johncraven1
JUST IN: CT lawmakers give final approval to bill letting student athletes use their school's name, logo, and mascot in endorsement deals -- with school's permission. Supporters say it'll help schools like @UConn recruit
12:13 PM · Apr 28, 2022

[butlerguy03]

John Craven
@johncraven1
JUST IN: CT lawmakers give final approval to bill letting student athletes use their school's name, logo, and mascot in endorsement deals -- with school's permission. Supporters say it'll help schools like @UConn recruit
12:13 PM · Apr 28, 2022

If UConn doesn't demolish the rest of the Big East in the coming years, you'd have to be very ashamed of your alumni base. Pure size of state schools will be the ultimate separation.

[DudeAnon]

John Craven
@johncraven1
JUST IN: CT lawmakers give final approval to bill letting student athletes use their school's name, logo, and mascot in endorsement deals -- with school's permission. Supporters say it'll help schools like @UConn recruit
12:13 PM · Apr 28, 2022

If UConn doesn't demolish the rest of the Big East in the coming years, you'd have to be very ashamed of your alumni base. Pure size of state schools will be the ultimate separation.

Would definitely seem that way. But UConn is still middle of the pack in attendance and while our schools are private, they are all located in metropolitan areas. Going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

[Xudash]

https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/i-dont-know-what-the-solution-is-isaiah-wongs-money-demands-exposed-college-sports-complicated-nil-issue/

[DudeAnon]

Sounds like Creighton came in big with NIL for Baylor and Marquette alums just announced an NIL coalition. So it seems NIL support tracks with attendance so far.