NIL $$$

Wag Tag · July 15, 2022

How important is the NIL dollars on the ranking of importance on where a kid goes to school? If the dollars are available I feel it could be the top reason. At this time SMU will have the most NIL money of any G5 and by a long shot in the AAC. UNT and other conference mates will not be able to compete against their dollars, the level playing field is gone. NIL money has to play into conference affiliations and for that reason I thinks SMU has a shot at a P3 conference. At a P3 level they will have more NIL dollars than a lot of those teams and be competitive with the upper level teams. I now hope SMU gets into another conference so we are playing teams with similar resources. GMG

SMU2006 · July 15, 2022

10 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

How important is the NIL dollars on the ranking of importance on where a kid goes to school? If the dollars are available I feel it could be the top reason. At this time SMU will have the most NIL money of any G5 and by a long shot in the AAC. UNT and other conference mates will not be able to compete against their dollars, the level playing field is gone. NIL money has to play into conference affiliations and for that reason I thinks SMU has a shot at a P3 conference. At a P3 level they will have more NIL dollars than a lot of those teams and be competitive with the upper level teams. I now hope SMU gets into another conference so we are playing teams with similar resources. GMG

NIL is the new coin of the realm. It'll matter more than coaches, facilities, tradition, etc. Obviously those other variables will be important but NIL has forever changed the game. Specifically with respect to SMU it is quite literally program-altering. SMU has more billionaire alumni per capita than any school in the country with 2 NFL owners (Clark Hunt and Jim Irsay). NIL allows us to play a completely different ballgame when it comes to recruiting and magnify the transfer portal. It is the golden goose.

FWIW, there is no reason UNT can't have a very strong NIL initiative.

meangreenfaninno · July 15, 2022

I thought I heard wren say on @Harry podcast yesterday that SMU has a $70 million budget and ours is 40? If so they almost double us on budget alone. The NCAA has got to realize that the NIL will create a caste system that will only benefit the richest schools.

On a positive note, I was encouraged with Wren’s comments on enrollment growth. That is what keeps us in the conversation as not every college will experience growth in enrollment post Covid.

meangreenfaninno · July 15, 2022

36 minutes ago, SMU2006 said:

FWIW, there is no reason UNT can't have a very strong NIL initiative.

I appreciate that comment and agree. The difference is our NIL bank will need to be made up in sheer numbers although we do have some very wealthy alums as well who could jump start or perhaps offer a matching incentive.

LitMedallion · July 15, 2022

57 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

How important is the NIL dollars on the ranking of importance on where a kid goes to school? If the dollars are available I feel it could be the top reason. At this time SMU will have the most NIL money of any G5 and by a long shot in the AAC. UNT and other conference mates will not be able to compete against their dollars, the level playing field is gone. NIL money has to play into conference affiliations and for that reason I thinks SMU has a shot at a P3 conference. At a P3 level they will have more NIL dollars than a lot of those teams and be competitive with the upper level teams. I now hope SMU gets into another conference so we are playing teams with similar resources. GMG

If you go by endowment, then Rice University will have the most of the G5s. I believe NIL will help kids on the fence and the money has to be big enough to convince a kid to choose a hot garbage team over a winning team. UTSA lost a transfer QB battle to UAB due to NIL money. Something like 35K. At the same time, one of our WRs didn't transfer - even though he was offered NIL to do so.

cousin oliver · July 15, 2022

25 minutes ago, LitMedallion said:

If you go by endowment, then Rice University will have the most of the G5s. I believe NIL will help kids on the fence and the money has to be big enough to convince a kid to choose a hot garbage team over a winning team. UTSA lost a transfer QB battle to UAB due to NIL money. Something like 35K. At the same time, one of our WRs didn't transfer - even though he was offered NIL to do so.

You are right about Rice as they have a huge endowment but the word I have always heard is they are not allowed to tap into that for athletics. The players still have dreams of playing in the NFL, so in the big scheme of things being in a good place where you can be successful is as important as NIL in most cases. I think KD was offered money but had no guarantees he could get the same playing time or NFL attention stats at TU or TAMU.

LitMedallion · July 15, 2022

1 minute ago, cousin oliver said:

You are right about Rice as they have a huge endowment but the word I have always heard is they are not allowed to tap into that for athletics.

That would be tax fraud for everyone involved. Rice has very rich alumni. Would that alumni base be willing to "pay players", that remains to be seen. We know SMU has in the past. 🙂

NT80 · July 15, 2022

I don't believe NIL will have much affect at schools that don't attract Top100 National prospects, which is 95% of the FBS. $mut has rich donors but they have other issues that keep recruits away such as campus culture, aloof fanbase, religious affiliation, etc.

Vanderbilt has $$, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Stanford, Rice, etc but they don't have huge fanbases nor are football powers. In other words, they don't attract media $ nor Top100 recruits.

keith · July 15, 2022

I suspect that SMU will not be able to help themselves (old habits die hard) and they will drift toward "pay-to-play." Enforcement of NIL rules and intent, if that will ever be a thing, will be important and they may find themselves on the wrong side once again if they are not careful.

Cr1028 · July 15, 2022

32 minutes ago, NT80 said:

I don't believe NIL will have much affect at schools that don't attract Top100 National prospects, which is 95% of the FBS. $mut has rich donors but they have other issues that keep recruits away such as campus culture, aloof fanbase, religious affiliation, etc.

Vanderbilt has $$, Wake Forest, Northwestern, Stanford, Rice, etc but they don't have huge fanbases nor are football powers. In other words, they don't attract media $ nor Top100 recruits.

Oh it will have an impact but the impact as we’ve already begun to see will be seen in the outflow of players rather than inflow. The biggest thing those 95% of schools can do is keep their star players happy through NIL, etc.

Wag Tag · July 15, 2022

6 minutes ago, Cr1028 said:

Oh it will have an impact but the impact as we’ve already begun to see will be seen in the outflow of players rather than inflow. The biggest thing those 95% of schools can do is keep their star players happy through NIL, etc.

The 2 most important items with this young generation is money and social media. I’m a regular donor and I think it will be a tough sell on the $40m facility when putting money in a NIL program may be more of a direct benefit to the players. I still think if we moved the weight room and rehab area to a separate new building ( create more space)and remove the scoreboard we could save a lot of money.

NT80 · July 15, 2022

44 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

I still think if we moved the weight room and rehab area to a separate new building ( create more space)and remove the scoreboard we could save a lot of money.

Wren mentioned they recently revised the athletic center renovation drawings to add more office space for various new positions. Was a floor plan available online previously?

One thing players like and I've seen noted in other facilities is an all-inclusive style athletic complex. Weight/workout, tutoring, lockers, medical, admin offices, food, possible dorm....all connected or close by. That's what most of these new/renovated mega-$ endzone complexes are becoming.

NT80 · July 15, 2022

1 hour ago, Cr1028 said:

Oh it will have an impact but the impact as we’ve already begun to see will be seen in the outflow of players rather than inflow. The biggest thing those 95% of schools can do is keep their star players happy through NIL, etc.

Agree. Any NIL funds NT generates should go to retention of athletes already in the program that develop into star players, rather than recruitment of star high school players. Too many high school stars fizzle at the college level or can't adapt to a coach or system.

greenminer · July 15, 2022

@Wag Tag Where did you get/read "P3"?

Wag Tag · July 15, 2022

7 minutes ago, greenminer said:

@Wag Tag Where did you get/read "P3"?

Just my opinion. You are going to have the P2, Big10, SEC super conference and you are going have what's left maybe the PAC, ACC and Big12, lower division.

7 minutes ago, greenminer said:

@Wag Tag Where did you get/read "P3"?

keith · July 15, 2022

45 minutes ago, greenminer said:

@Wag Tag Where did you get/read "P3"?

32 minutes ago, Wag Tag said:

Just my opinion. You are going to have the P2, Big10, SEC super conference and you are going have what's left maybe the PAC, ACC and Big12, lower division.

Screw P6, we've moved up to P4, damnit. LFG! 🤪