SI Story with Saban and SMU

dodgefan · July 15, 2022

https://www.si.com/college/arkansas/hogs-football/arkansas-razorbacks-nick-saban-smu-mustangs-alabama-crimson-tide?fbclid=IwAR1CoQ0sz6pRAx6_ugBu89K4Y0uss9sixtGMZtf0mIetbUPI4tHffq0EhI0

"What really strikes fear in Saban's heart is what will happen to his program if the sleeping giant in the University Park suburb of Dallas wakes up. If Saban is tossing his cookies at the thought of the damage boosters at Texas A&M and Texas have done, wait until those boosters' bosses who support SMU start throwing money around."

SMU2006 · July 15, 2022

OK I have to laugh at this. I can't imagine any scenario where Nick Saban is actually "afraid" of SMU. I doubt he's thought about SMU for more than five seconds in his entire coaching career.

That said he's 100% correct that no school in the country is better positioned to benefit from NIL and the transfer portal than SMU. Between our two NIL initiatives we're already at north of $3mm fully funded annually at the grassroots level and more than double that among the high-level booster group.

Facilities are great no doubt but $100,000 is a lot more fun (especially for 18-22 year olds).

Cr1028 · July 15, 2022

What qualifies this guy to tell us what Nick Saban is afraid of?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kent-smith-01b9376b?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

LitMedallion · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, SMU2006 said:

OK I have to laugh at this. I can't imagine any scenario where Nick Saban is actually "afraid" of SMU. I doubt he's thought about SMU for more than five seconds in his entire coaching career.

That said he's 100% correct that no school in the country is better positioned to benefit from NIL and the transfer portal than SMU. Between our two NIL initiatives we're already at north of $3mm fully funded annually at the grassroots level and more than double that among the high-level booster group.

Facilities are great no doubt but $100,000 is a lot more fun (especially for 18-22 year olds).

Considering Bryce Young is the heisman and a high 6 figure NIL earner, I doubt Saban or Alabama has SMU on the radar. SMU will never out do aTm with their money AND 72K students. Media trying too hard here.

cousin oliver · July 15, 2022

17 minutes ago, LitMedallion said:

Considering Bryce Young is the heisman and a high 6 figure NIL earner, I doubt Saban or Alabama has SMU on the radar. SMU will never out do aTm with their money AND 72K students. Media trying too hard here.

Agree but keep in mind SMU was able to pull this off back the SWC and they had a much smaller enrollment back then as well. The NIL is tailor made for a program like SMU.

UNTLifer · July 15, 2022

Saban was asked about smu recently. His response, "SMWho?"

meangreenfaninno · July 15, 2022

It’s not fair that a team who brings about 500 fans to Apogee is positioned to be a leader in this new hierarchy? The NCAA need to get their 5hit together.

DeepGreen · July 15, 2022

17 minutes ago, meangreenfaninno said:

500 fans to Apogee

501 smut fans at a game in Tuscoloosa.

SMU2006 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, meangreenfaninno said:

It’s not fair that a team who brings about 500 fans to Apogee is positioned to be a leader in this new hierarchy? The NCAA need to get their 5hit together.

We had 5,000 at our game against Michigan in Ann Arbor.

You may not want to hear this but for someone in Dallas a trip to Denton to play a team that we have a 34-7 record against historically in early September isn't exactly a great way to spend a Saturday.

SMU2006 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, meangreenfaninno said:

It’s not fair that a team who brings about 500 fans to Apogee is positioned to be a leader in this new hierarchy? The NCAA need to get their 5hit together.

And what's not fair about it? You wanna raise a huge NIL fund? Go for it. Seize the day. The rules are the same for everyone. Maybe stop whining about SMU and raise the money.

untphd · July 15, 2022

6 minutes ago, SMU2006 said:

We had 5,000 at our game against Michigan in Ann Arbor.

You may not want to hear this but for someone in Dallas a trip to Denton to play a team that we have a 34-7 record against historically in early September isn't exactly a great way to spend a Saturday.

Your largest home attendance last year was against UNT.

NT80 · July 15, 2022

15 minutes ago, SMU2006 said:

You may not want to hear this but for someone in Dallas a trip to Denton to (watch their home team play) isn't exactly a great way to spend a Saturday.

This is really what you meant. No fan following outside the Park Cities limit, or within for that matter either.

keith · July 15, 2022

17 minutes ago, SMU2006 said:

And what's not fair about it? You wanna raise a huge NIL fund? Go for it. Seize the day. The rules are the same for everyone. Maybe stop whining about SMU and raise the money.

I'll admit that I don't know the ins and outs of the NIL program, but I thought the intent was to allow the student-athletes, if they were so motivated, to be able to capitalize on their "notoriety" and earn and generate income during their time in college outside of the game itself. The key piece being that the individual had to put forth some amount of effort to seek out various business opportunities and take advantage of them. It wasn't supposed to be a bunch of boosters establishing a "slush fund" and then finding creative ways to funnel these funds to the students for doing nothing other than playing for the school.

Edited July 15, 2022 by keith

Cr1028 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, keith said:

I'll admit that I don't know the ins and outs of the NIL program, but I thought the intent was to allow the student-athletes, if they were so motivated, to be able to capitalize on their "notoriety" and earn and generate income during their time in college outside of the game itself. The key piece being that the individual had to put forth some amount of effort to seek out various business opportunities and take advantage of them. It wasn't supposed to be a bunch of boosters establishing a "slush fund" and then finding creative ways to funnel these funds to the students for doing nothing other than playing for the school.

Wren Baker said as much in his interview with Harry. The collectives are considered boosters and by NCAA rules are supposed to be prohibited from enticing recruits to go to a particular school. We know it happens anyways but the rules say otherwise.

SMU2006 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, keith said:

I'll admit that I don't know the ins and outs of the NIL program, but I thought the intent was to allow the student-athletes, if they were so motivated, to be able to capitalize on their "notoriety" and earn and generate income during their time in college outside of the game itself. The key piece being that the individual had to put forth some amount of effort to seek out various business opportunities and take advantage of them. It wasn't supposed to be a bunch of boosters establishing a "slush fund" and then finding creative ways to funnel these funds to the students for doing nothing other than playing for the school.

There are ways to structure it and be within the guidelines. Every school in the country that has deep-pocketed alumni is doing it.

Get with the times or get left behind.

Edited July 15, 2022 by SMU2006

NT93 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, keith said:

I'll admit that I don't know the ins and outs of the NIL program, but I thought the intent was to allow the student-athletes, if they were so motivated, to be able to capitalize on their "notoriety" and earn and generate income during their time in college outside of the game itself. The key piece being that the individual had to put forth some amount of effort to seek out various business opportunities and take advantage of them. It wasn't supposed to be a bunch of boosters establishing a "slush fund" and then finding creative ways to funnel these funds to the students for doing nothing other than playing for the school.

NT80 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, SMU2006 said:

Every school in the country that has deep-pocketed alumni is doing it.

Get with the times or get left behind.

Didn't Smut say that in 1980....

Mustangs Texas A&M Football

rcade · July 15, 2022

Have SMU fans considered the possibility that all of their boosters who envision the school as a big-time football program are either hanging out at Restland or being spoon-fed applesauce by their children as they anticipate a big inheritance?

SMU isn't going to win NIL after 35 years in the wilderness. The mountain is too big to climb. The program's mediocrity is too deeply engrained in the public's perception. A potential recruit today could have a father who isn't even old enough to remember when SMU was a football power.

DentonStang · July 15, 2022

24 minutes ago, rcade said:

Have SMU fans considered the possibility that all of their boosters who envision the school as a big-time football program are either hanging out at Restland or being spoon-fed applesauce by their children as they anticipate a big inheritance?

SMU isn't going to win NIL after 35 years in the wilderness. The mountain is too big to climb. The program's mediocrity is too deeply engrained in the public's perception. A potential recruit today could have a father who isn't even old enough to remember when SMU was a football power.

SMU is not going to go out and buy the #1 class in the country and blow out the wallets of ever booster at Alabama, obviously. But we CAN make up for our size and other disadvantages by leveraging a large number of very wealthy alumni. We're sitting on a top 20 transfer class and we haven't even really started using the big money donors for NIL, just the small/midrange donors. It's a tool that can make us very competitive in the top echelon while we build the brand, infrastructure, fanbase, etc. It's a godsend

emmitt01 · July 15, 2022

5 hours ago, SMU2006 said:

We had 5,000 at our game against Michigan in Ann Arbor.

You may not want to hear this but for someone in Dallas a trip to Denton to play a team that we have a 34-7 record against historically in early September isn't exactly a great way to spend a Saturday.

Apparently a trip toFord Stadium isn’t high on their list of “a great way to spend a Saturday” either. More importantly, nobody in a city of 1.4M can be bothered to cancel brunch plans either.

Rudy · July 15, 2022

Spider Man Lol GIF

Mike Jackson · July 16, 2022

6 hours ago, SMU2006 said:

There are ways to structure it and be within the guidelines. Every school in the country that has deep-pocketed alumni is doing it.

Get with the times or get left behind.

Please go to your school's board and tip toe through the land of NIL Oz where a Manning level QB snubs, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, LSU Texas Oklahoma USC, Ohio State, Penn State, Clemson, Florida State, Florida, Tennessee, and 'my fingers are too tired to list more' University and stop slumming in the real world gmg.com.

Guardrails will be put up soon or else all the programs below those elite will be in big trouble. I think the day of a freshmen or transfer stepping on campus and then being handed a 5 figure check day 2 will quickly come to an end. Minimally I think NIL will only be available to athletes at the start of their second academic year on the same campus. Or they will be required langauge in any approved NIL deal that continues to pay an athlete even AFTER he transfers from a school but still enrolled and academically eligible.

Oz is great until Dorthy comes along and drops a house on you. You would think SMU people would have learned their lesson--- oh my bad I should have said "until Dorthy throws water on you". Now I have to prepare that melting witch gif for when SMU gets busted again. 🤷🏽‍♂️

Edited July 16, 2022 by Mike Jackson

NT80 · July 16, 2022

3 hours ago, DentonStang said:

It's a tool that can make us very competitive in the top echelon while we build the brand, infrastructure, fanbase, etc. It's a godsend

I have heard that at Smut before;.... sometime.....humm, when was that?.....

Former SMU football coach Bobby Collins dies at 88 years old

Mike Jackson · July 16, 2022

4 minutes ago, NT80 said:

I have heard that at Smut before;.... sometime.....humm, when was that?.....

And things have changed big time in politics. I doubt a Texas governor or state level official would again involve himself in such ridiculous and possibly career destructive cover up Shenanigans for less than a couple of million go into his personal account. School pride only goes so far.

NT80 · July 16, 2022

I was actually sad to hear former USM and Smu coach Bobby Collins had passed last November. I did admire him at USM when they beat some Big name programs. I think he was a good coach. He got hired next at Smu during their scandal, and did have knowledge of it later.

I noticed in the article he is a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and the USM Hall of Fame, but is not in SMU's Hall, even with a 43-14 record.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10018520-former-college-football-hc-bobby-collins-dies-at-88