NIL Collective

[1946TobaccoBowlMVP]

I'm sure many of the people on this board may have already read this Albany TU article. But I think it's an important piece to see what our peers are doing. And if you don't believe Siena is a peer than at the very least what the floor should be for Bonaventures NIL expectations.

It also shows the mindset for a lot of the kids who are going into the protocol.

Outside of hearing the ridiculous sums that the one UM booster is paying this is the 1st time I'm seeing hard numbers attached to the NIL.

Siena collective, Javian McCollum couldn't agree on NIL deal

Frank Ambrose said Saints March On offered an NIL deal that would have paid McCollum...

www.timesunion.com

 

[brownindians85]

This is all just flat out disgusting.

 

[Bill Russell]

We have a collective.

And yes, all of this is totally disgusting and exists as a festering cesspool across the country.

 

[3rdShayCripSet]

Find it hard to believe we will ever have an above average 4-yr. player ever again.

The only thing I hope can come from this is that the NCAA enforces the one-time transfer. If not, then our future prospects are virtually zero.

**EDIT**
Should not have been so doom and gloom.

While it's nice to have a NIL collective for players, let's be honest, if we have a stud freshman and we are willing to shell out $50-60K for him, then some other crap P5 like Iowa State or Nebraska will probably pay double that.

We will sink link a lead balloon if we try to jump in that deep end. It's lipstick on the pig to throw $250-$400K into a bunch of guys like we had last year. While we can have something decent set up for current players to be comfortable, now is the time to pump $$ into everything around the program. Scheduling, arena, practice facility, travel accommodations, nutrition/food programs, etc. We need to up all of that big time.

SBU never has and likely never will be able to outdo the big dogs in the D1 ranks, but that doesn't mean we can't improve our standing. Let's aim to dance 4-5 times a decade and be smarter with our funds.

Don't be like the Mets who throw a ton of $$ at their problems but never fix their structural issues. Try to be like Cleveland, who while small market, scouts and develops talent with the best of them and knows when to cut ties with damaged goods. Hire good coaches and front office personnel to fit your culture and goals.

We can't think like all of these other schools and expect to compete. Whether it be in the A10 or for an at large bid. Have an identity and stick to it. Last year was unprecedented in terms of roster turnover, but we can't go into panic mode. An exodus like that was happening either last year or this year.

 

[Community Bank 3Pt Tee]

This all sucks, but it’s all new. Like anything, equilibrium eventually finds its way. The number of roster spots, NBA draft picks, players on the court and minutes in a game are all not changing. There will always be guys who chase a highest bigger payday. There will eventually be (and already are) guys who realize that being a centerpiece for less money now will pay bigger dividends for their goals tomorrow, than will being a complimentary guy today, for more money.

It's fair to wonder if we’ll ever have a 4 year high level contributor again. Do Jay or Nicholson stay after their sophomore seasons? Tough to imagine, especially Jay. I have no illusions of Farrell being a 4 year guy at this rate.

Schools in similar situations to us will figure out ways to be successful. I wont pretend to know exactly what that adaptation looks like, but it will exist. If we don’t figure it out, it wont only be because we’re innocent victims.

 

[1946TobaccoBowlMVP]

Has Bonas keept a 4 year player their entire 4 year carrer(not counting 5th season) since the guys from the HS class of 2018?
I think Rumple has been at Bonas longer than every other player.

You can now remove Rumple from the mix

 

[Community Bank 3Pt Tee]

No, we haven’t. Winston and AJ were the only two in ‘20. We had no freshmen in ‘21. We have no one left who was on the team in ‘22.

I’m worried for the welfare of many BW posters with this rumple news.

 

[Bonafanatic]

What's making this landscape so especially challenging is that the NCAA has set up few rules around NIL and the ones that exist are not being enforced. Schools are flat out calling guys up who have not even entered the portal and are offering salaries. Although the check isn't coming from the school, they are coordinating with these collectives to provide the promised sums to the players. I have no illusions that bonaventure isn't also doing this (aside from speaking with guys who haven't expressed their wish to transfer) but the reality is that our school will never be able to compete on a financial scale and will act as purely a testing ground for bigger schools with millions in their "NIL Fund"

 

[1946TobaccoBowlMVP]

As 4/20(BAF giving day) approaches I thought this was an interesting article about the NIL and gifts to athletic departments..

Battle between athletic departments, NIL collectives over donor dollars real

Top executive at data management company Affinaquest discusses best practices for athletic departments amid a challenging landscape.

www.on3.com

 

[Bonafanatic]

How is our collective doing? I went to the web site and they have some decent perks for donors. Glad some of our fans are working hard to keep us competitive in this environment.

 

[3rdShayCripSet]

Pardon my ignorance here because I am not informed like others on this topic, but I feel like the trajectory of our program would be better served investing into the infrastructure our program than into individual players' NIL deals.

We are never going to outbid the top teams in our conference for talent let alone any of the "powers" so I always thought it made sense to improve what we can control.

Are guys like Wood and Pride really getting significant $ from SBU? I feel like PT and the chance to play in the NCAAs is our biggest selling point right now. If it wasn't and it didn't matter, Pride probably would be at Minnesota.

Not saying we should do nothing with NIL because that obviously would be dumb, but it just seems like a losing battle to have a select few donors through cash at rental players.

On a side note, man, does Plasssmann look nice now!

 

[Bona03]

The collective is more about keeping guys like Farell, I think. This is the new normal. Find guys who want to be here but be ready to entice them not to leave. The infrastructure of the program can only do so much.

I am really looking forward to seeing Plassman. I was there in early June and saw they had it all torn apart.

 

[Bill Russell]

The collective is more about keeping guys like Farell, I think. This is the new normal. Find guys who want to be here but be ready to entice them not to leave. The infrastructure of the program can only do so much.

I am really looking forward to seeing Plassman. I was there in early June and saw they had it all torn apart.

Exactly. We aren't going to be out there poaching players. It's all about keeping our own guys once they display real A10 chops.

 

[Community Bank 3Pt Tee]

I have no experience fundraising.

That said, NIL collective is a very specific description. BAF, Bona Athletics etc are all broad-brushed. You're likely attracting different types of donors, different types of donations, using an entirely different targeting approach. Not to mention, infrastructure projects and their funding necessarily includes extensive bureaucracy. NIL seems to be about cold hard cash. I would guess there's a lot of different rules and considerations for how funds can be raised, and used, towards one cause vs the other.

Also, I just visited the BW for the first time in a couple of months. Canada's not the only place on fire this summer, holy shit.

 

[Bonafanatic]

I do wonder how much money is being diverted from NIL donors who otherwise would give to the school. I recognize both are important to the success of the program and the school at large but my inbox now has requests from two separate entities with the same goal.

 

[Bill Russell]

I do wonder how much money is being diverted from NIL donors who otherwise would give to the school. I recognize both are important to the success of the program and the school at large but my inbox now has requests from two separate entities with the same goal.

This is a consistent issue at SBU. Competing fundraising efforts simultaneously. I’ve even been told some of the upper echelon (see: BoT; President) types have actually told athletics they can’t contact certain donors (many of whom would be happy to donate to athletics) because they want those “whales” for the “Bolder Bonaventure” campaign. Some really fucky people/ideas roaming around our beloved campus, it seems.

In terms of NIL, a school like Bona needs the money. Build up program infrastructure first. In the long run, building up facilities, coaching salary endowments (UD and many other solid programs do this), etc. would yield MUCH better returns than lassoing cash for some random one-off hoops transfer.

 

[sbu79]

This is a consistent issue at SBU. Competing fundraising efforts simultaneously. I’ve even been told some of the upper echelon (see: BoT; President) types have actually told athletics they can’t contact certain donors (many of whom would be happy to donate to athletics) because they want those “whales” for the “Bolder Bonaventure” campaign. Some really fucky people/ideas roaming around our beloved campus, it seems.

In terms of NIL, a school like Bona needs the money. Build up program infrastructure first. In the long run, building up facilities, coaching salary endowments (UD and many other solid programs do this), etc. would yield MUCH better returns than lassoing cash for some random one-off hoops transfer.

I believe the point you make in your 2nd paragraph is the logic behind the situation you describe in your 2nd sentence (in 1st paragraph).

In some cases, there’s only so much money to go around. For me, personally, I have given to the “Bolder Bonaventure“ campaign. I pledged to one of the objectives other than Athletics (now the practice/fitness train center) and have competed my pledge. I will continue to give to BAF and the Annual Fund every year like I always have, but I’m now tapped out for capital campaign sized gifts. They need to target the “whales” if they’re going to get that facility build and then rely on loyal, regular donors for the other campaigns.