Gopher Basketball Portal Money - $1 Million

I'm telling you guys - this goes above Ben. Developing and Orchestrating NIL is the key to success now and it is not a part of Ben's Job Description. Certainly a big coaching name can help but nurturing NIL falls squarely on the shoulders of Coyle. ...and we are way, way, WAY behind.

People here should be firing off emails to the interim president asap
So the BB board is full of disgusted folks many of whom are saying, "I'm seriously thinking of being done with with college basketball." (I'm one of them.)

And the FB board is mostly pleased with folks saying, "Next year could be really fun because we're getting some good transfers." (I'm also one of them.)

So how can Coyle be screwing up basketball while at the same time doing such a solid job on football if he's the one shouldering the responsibility for NIL? Seems to me the coach might be a much bigger factor.
 


It seems like the better strategy is to decide say, 2027, is going to be the year we're good. Raise a bunch of money and spend none of it, then deploy it all in the transfer portal for the 2027 season.

Win the Big Ten and go to the Final Four. Then do it all over again.

Pro GMs use this strategy all the time.
Excellent excellent idea.

$1M per year. But use none of it for 4 years. Sign all Canadian players or low-level DII guys.

In Year 5...sign our starting lineup at $1M each.
 


Well the way things are now...if Asuma plays well his freshman year...he's gone the following year.

Correct or incorrect?
Perhaps, or perhaps not.

Either way, so be it.

That's the climate the U like every other program has to find a way to naviagate and survive. ... year by year. No more 3- or 4-year "building" plans.
 


It’s probably not that crazy when you talk about the overall money that P6 bball programs take in (revenue not profit), including parsing out from the overall TV contracts the value paid for bball games, and March Madness credits paid to conf.

What has happened is that it is a ton of change really fast. Change over time is OK, change fast screws people up.
Schools shouldn't be paying the students. Period.

They're perpetrating a fraud. Saying these players are students is fraud. Because they know we watch our school...and we wouldn't watch a minor-league pro team.

Games need rules. Games aren't like the rest of America where we want freedom. For instance...if I'm playing the Monopoly board-game...I can't just pull a $10 bill out of my pocket and buy a property from someone. Or in a beer-league softball game...a team shouldn't hire a bunch of great players to play on their team.
 

The Gophers already have a NIL base and they don't need to hire a big name coach.

Next year the Gophers can definitely hire a coach with head coaching experience who has had a lot of success at a lower level, like they did with PJ in football.

This is still an attractive job and a huge step up for a coach like that, and it will be a massive upgrade over what we have today.
You're taking your trolling to an even worse new level of absurdity now LOL.

Saying we have NIL when all of our best players (except 1...so far) are leaving...we can't even sign a guy like Morgan...and we can only sign Canadians. LOL.
 

So the BB board is full of disgusted folks many of whom are saying, "I'm seriously thinking of being done with with college basketball." (I'm one of them.)

And the FB board is mostly pleased with folks saying, "Next year could be really fun because we're getting some good transfers." (I'm also one of them.)

So how can Coyle be screwing up basketball while at the same time doing such a solid job on football if he's the one shouldering the responsibility for NIL? Seems to me the coach might be a much bigger factor.

FB and BB are very different situations.
FB - 22 starters with 85 scholarship players
BB - 5 starters with 13 scholarship players

in FB, adding one or two players cannot make or break a team. even if you have a stud QB and RB or WR, you still need an OL and a defense, plus quality depth to account for injuries.

in BB, adding one or two players can transform a team.

likewise - one or two players leaving in the portal can impact a FB team - but one or two players leaving in the portal can gut a BB team.

beyond that - the Head Coach and AD are not "responsible" for NIL. under the current rules (yeah, I know), the Coach and/or the AD cannot directly solicit NIL. they can suggest that a booster make a donation, and introduce the booster to someone from the collective, but the Coach or AD are not supposed to go to Booster Bob and say "we need $250K to land Recruit X."

the Coach can get a recruit interested in the school. but if NIL is a deciding factor, it's up to the collective or a big donor to come up with the money to "help" the recruit decide to sign with that school.

it's not just the coach. it's not just the money. it's a combination of the Coach + the money.
 

So the BB board is full of disgusted folks many of whom are saying, "I'm seriously thinking of being done with with college basketball." (I'm one of them.)

And the FB board is mostly pleased with folks saying, "Next year could be really fun because we're getting some good transfers." (I'm also one of them.)

So how can Coyle be screwing up basketball while at the same time doing such a solid job on football if he's the one shouldering the responsibility for NIL? Seems to me the coach might be a much bigger factor.
Admittedly, I am not that big of a Gopher Football fan but here is my understanding. Coyle has elevated the Football team from a 52% (Kill/Claeys era) to 59%(Fleck) winning percentage and the trend is down a bit over the last 2 years (I think). Is that respectable? From the football fans - what am I missing? Are we on the verge of something big? I'm not unhappy with Fleck but what do I know...

Ohio State has a lifetime average of 73% and obviously the good years are far above that.
 




Discussions like these are a reminder that DTA and other collectives have no obligation to be transparent. True non-profit organizations do have that obligation, and it allows donors to understand the impact of their support. Transparency also ensures current and prospective donors know how money is spent by the organization, which reveals its priorities. I think NIL collectives are detrimental to the broader non-profit fundraising landscape and am hopeful that they become subject to additional transparency through IRS (or similar) regulation.

I'm sure several will accuse me of being an inadequate fan, but the above is why I will not "donate" to DTA directly. I'm happy to support via product purchases (Duck Duck, etc.), but I will not give money without an understanding of its impact or where other dollars are going. Of course, I do not begrudge anyone who feels differently.
 

Schools shouldn't be paying the students. Period.
Well, that’s coming rapidly.

I predict the U athletic dept will be paying athletes for their NIL directly within a couple years.

Then fans should donate to the athletic dept, and not DTA, to achieve the exact same purpose.

They can hire Derek Burns to run it, if that chaps peoples’ buns.
 

FB and BB are very different situations.
FB - 22 starters with 85 scholarship players
BB - 5 starters with 13 scholarship players

in FB, adding one or two players cannot make or break a team. even if you have a stud QB and RB or WR, you still need an OL and a defense, plus quality depth to account for injuries.

in BB, adding one or two players can transform a team.

likewise - one or two players leaving in the portal can impact a FB team - but one or two players leaving in the portal can gut a BB team.

beyond that - the Head Coach and AD are not "responsible" for NIL. under the current rules (yeah, I know), the Coach and/or the AD cannot directly solicit NIL. they can suggest that a booster make a donation, and introduce the booster to someone from the collective, but the Coach or AD are not supposed to go to Booster Bob and say "we need $250K to land Recruit X."

the Coach can get a recruit interested in the school. but if NIL is a deciding factor, it's up to the collective or a big donor to come up with the money to "help" the recruit decide to sign with that school.

it's not just the coach. it's not just the money. it's a combination of the Coach + the money.
Surprised you didn't tell me that football is played outdoors on grass or turf and basketball is played indoors on the hardwood.
 



Surprised you didn't tell me that football is played outdoors on grass or turf and basketball is played indoors on the hardwood.

you were the one asking why people seemed relatively happy with the FB situation and unhappy with BB.

I was pointing out - in my usual, long-winded fashion - that FB and BB are very different sports with very different situations.

It's not just a matter of the right coach. Yes, the right coach helps. but with NIL, you have to have people with money, and beyond that, people with money who are willing to give money to a specific sport.

If the U fired Ben Johnson tomorrow, do you really think donors would come out of the woodwork and start shoveling money into the basketball program? It might make a little difference, but I don't think it would make as much of a difference as you think.
 

It seems like the better strategy is to decide say, 2027, is going to be the year we're good. Raise a bunch of money and spend none of it, then deploy it all in the transfer portal for the 2027 season.

Win the Big Ten and go to the Final Four. Then do it all over again.

Pro GMs use this strategy all the time.

You're on to something here Nate, especially for a program like ours. To pull this off, we need a big vision leader, which we lack. But I like the idea behind it, especially in basketball.

And if we had an "all in" year and got to an Elite 8/FF, the funds will be there more regularly.

Go Gophers!!
 

If it’s a million dollars it’s bottom two
Not sure that Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn St., and NW have a million to spend on NIL basketball.
Does Maryland and Purdue have more than that to spend?
 

Not sure that Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn St., and NW have a million to spend on NIL basketball.
Does Maryland and Purdue have more than that to spend?
Maryland had a pretty major sugar daddy with the founder of Under Armour, but I think his success has fallen off quite a bit. Still, as a company they could fund that money.
 

You're taking your trolling to an even worse new level of absurdity now LOL.

Saying we have NIL when all of our best players (except 1...so far) are leaving...we can't even sign a guy like Morgan...and we can only sign Canadians. LOL.
Don't sign Canadians. Sign a bunch of 8 foot tall guys from Serbia.
 

Admittedly, I am not that big of a Gopher Football fan but here is my understanding. Coyle has elevated the Football team from a 52% (Kill/Claeys era) to 59%(Fleck) winning percentage and the trend is down a bit over the last 2 years (I think). Is that respectable? From the football fans - what am I missing? Are we on the verge of something big? I'm not unhappy with Fleck but what do I know...

Ohio State has a lifetime average of 73% and obviously the good years are far above that.
Here's how I look at it. in the 1990s Williams Arena was the best venue in town -- full and loud. The Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight runs started it and made it feel like we were on the verge of something big. But the next six seasons -- 90-91 through 95-96 -- we were about .500 and lived on the bubble. The arena was still full and loud. Why? Because we thought we could play with anyone, at least at home. If Duke came in, we thought we could beat them. Then, in 1997, we struck gold.

The football team has been better than casual fans think since 1999, though not quite where we want to be. But Kill finally takes us to a New Year's Day bowl. Then Fleck does it with an even better season, and we beat Auburn. That was kind of like the Sweet Sixteen or better -- we finished 10th in the final poll -- the Terrific Ten! We haven't gotten back to that, but it still felt like we could be competitive with anybody. Last season it didn't feel that way; hopefully just a blip.

Kind of a similar vibe to Gopher basketball in the 90s. I don't think most Gopher fans need a championship to be excited about our teams. But going to every game feeling confident we can win is extremely important.
 

you were the one asking why people seemed relatively happy with the FB situation and unhappy with BB.

I was pointing out - in my usual, long-winded fashion - that FB and BB are very different sports with very different situations.

It's not just a matter of the right coach. Yes, the right coach helps. but with NIL, you have to have people with money, and beyond that, people with money who are willing to give money to a specific sport.

If the U fired Ben Johnson tomorrow, do you really think donors would come out of the woodwork and start shoveling money into the basketball program? It might make a little difference, but I don't think it would make as much of a difference as you think.

So why does football have the money to bring people in and basketball doesn't?
 

It seems like the better strategy is to decide say, 2027, is going to be the year we're good. Raise a bunch of money and spend none of it, then deploy it all in the transfer portal for the 2027 season.

Win the Big Ten and go to the Final Four. Then do it all over again.

Pro GMs use this strategy all the time.
It's actually an interesting idea......would be a tough sell to get the fanbase to support the crap teams up until you decide to spend money, plus you would have to have boosters willing to keep building up the stockpile of money for the year you are going for it. But if you had a massive pile of money ready to go it would seem likely you could use the unrestricted free agency to go out and build a juggernaut team of mercenaries for one year.
 

So why does football have the money to bring people in and basketball doesn't?
Just a guess but individual football players are probably getting way less than what we are hearing even marginal basketball guys are being offered.

Another factor is probably the athletes themselves. Football is a team game whereas basketball is far more focused on the individuals.
 

you were the one asking why people seemed relatively happy with the FB situation and unhappy with BB.

I was pointing out - in my usual, long-winded fashion - that FB and BB are very different sports with very different situations.

It's not just a matter of the right coach. Yes, the right coach helps. but with NIL, you have to have people with money, and beyond that, people with money who are willing to give money to a specific sport.

If the U fired Ben Johnson tomorrow, do you really think donors would come out of the woodwork and start shoveling money into the basketball program? It might make a little difference, but I don't think it would make as much of a difference as you think.
Depends on who's willing to say yes...
 

It's actually an interesting idea......would be a tough sell to get the fanbase to support the crap teams up until you decide to spend money, plus you would have to have boosters willing to keep building up the stockpile of money for the year you are going for it. But if you had a massive pile of money ready to go it would seem likely you could use the unrestricted free agency to go out and build a juggernaut team of mercenaries for one year.
And then right before we were able to build our juggernaut the rules would change again and we would have all that money and nothing to do with it. Because Minnesota sports
 

Just a guess but individual football players are probably getting way less than what we are hearing even marginal basketball guys are being offered.

Another factor is probably the athletes themselves. Football is a team game whereas basketball is far more focused on the individuals.
Yup, and in basketball you only need 3 stars to be really good. Football...you need a lotta guys.
So very few can pay 25 football players big money.
 



Yup, and in basketball you only need 3 stars to be really good. Football...you need a lotta guys.
So very few can pay 25 football players big money.
Absolutely agree with 3 stars for basketball.
 

Just a guess but individual football players are probably getting way less than what we are hearing even marginal basketball guys are being offered.

Another factor is probably the athletes themselves. Football is a team game whereas basketball is far more focused on the individuals.
Maybe...but by sheer numbers it should cost more. I mean didn't PJ say everyone has a deal on the team or something similar? Basketball should be able to focus resources more in theory.
 

Well, that’s coming rapidly.

I predict the U athletic dept will be paying athletes for their NIL directly within a couple years.

Then fans should donate to the athletic dept, and not DTA, to achieve the exact same purpose.

They can hire Derek Burns to run it, if that chaps peoples’ buns.
Boosters & businesses shouldn't be paying college students either. That's what I meant. Nobody should be paying for college basketball players.

Yeah...on the one hand, I want want a billionaire to buy us a team. Even though it's absurd and a total joke and sham, fraud.
 




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