UNT NIL Collective "Light the Tower" interview with Executive Director Rick Villarreal

Harry · July 30, 2022

Join Harry as he visits with the Executive Director of the newly formed North Texas NIL Collective "Light the Tower" Rick Villarreal.

audio link: https://traffic.libsyn.com/gomeangreen/ringr_180539_182839.mono.mp3

Side.Show.Joe · July 30, 2022

Great interview! Thanks for doing this Harry. RV and the heavy hitters will do a wonderful job. So glad to see Craig Robertson is a major force in this thing too. Can't wait for the site to go online.

Here is a great article about NIL's in the AAC. At the time of this article only a few of our future conference-mates had NIL's. They were SMU, Memphis, Tulane, & UTSA (yes, UTSA already has a collective... But I think it's only something like every player that signs with UTSA gets a bucket of KFC and $5 gift card to Taco Bell). Here is a link to the AAC NIL article...

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2022/4/5/23008827/nil-collectives-how-prevalent-are-they-in-the-aac-name-and-image-likeness-american-college-football

Edited July 30, 2022 by Side.Show.Joe

Jonnyeagle · July 30, 2022

Great stuff. Glad to have RV back in the fold.

PlummMeanGreen · July 30, 2022

Great podcast discussion, Harry & Rick Villarreal! I’m sure we all know a bit more about this NIL project. 👍👍

👍👍 Harry, the 2 podcasts you did with AD Wren Baker were also spot on & very informative.

❇️🦅❇️ Exciting times ahead for the entire Mean Green Nation!

Mean Green 93-98 · July 30, 2022

I very much appreciate the zeal of folks like RV and Don Lovelace and their willingness to sacrifice to help our program.

At the same time, this whole thing makes me sick. The whole reason for NIL was supposedly so athletes could utilize the fair market value of their names, images, and likenesses. But within 30 seconds, it has clearly become about throwing money at athletes as incentive to play at a particular school regardless of the actual market value of their names, images and likenesses.

GrandGreen · July 31, 2022

7 hours ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

I very much appreciate the zeal of folks like RV and Don Lovelace and their willingness to sacrifice to help our program.

At the same time, this whole thing makes me sick. The whole reason for NIL was supposedly so athletes could utilize the fair market value of their names, images, and likenesses. But within 30 seconds, it has clearly become about throwing money at athletes as incentive to play at a particular school regardless of the actual market value of their names, images and likenesses.

Shows the utter stupidity of the court system getting involved in the management of athletics. The NCAA is afraid of challenging the decision because it will spawn something worse.

The biggest problem IMO is that it is going to severely limit the dollars going to the athletic department for things like infrastructure, ships, etc.

Now most schools are going to lose tons of donated money because their big supporters are having to directly buy players.

The main argument for the new NIL is that it puts out in the open what has went on since college football was established. That is true for a lot of programs, but does that make it right?

The logical extension of this is that lower tier schools, G5's and perennial losers in the P5, will become even less competitive and the fans will become less interested. In time there will be the SEC and probably one other conference to be determined that will be major college football.

I think those schools will also become less important as their fan base dwindles preferring the NFL to watch pro players. At least the NFL have rules that foster competition.

untcampbell · July 31, 2022

I was sitting next to a TTU alum last night at a wedding reception. He told me one of the alumni foundations (may be the only one...I didn't ask for detail) raised money to provide $25,000 to every player on the TTU football team, including walk ons, and the women's basketball team. He said they were trying to raise money for athletes in all other sports also. We got interrupted so I was unable to clarify if men's basketball was considered an other sport in Lubbock.

One time payment that they allegedly will try to fund each year.

GMG

greenminer · July 31, 2022

15 hours ago, GrandGreen said:

The biggest problem IMO is that it is going to severely limit the dollars going to the athletic department for things like infrastructure, ships, etc.

Now most schools are going to lose tons of donated money because their big supporters are having to directly buy players.

Had not thought of this and I think it's important.

jdennis82 · August 2, 2022

Thanks for making this happen, Harry. I've largely been against collectives based on an assumption that at most schools they're simply handing kids cash and asking nothing of them off the field. Loved hearing RV's vision of using this to further develop these students' skills and community connections.