NIL

[Usafhawg]

I know we discuss NIL in numerous threads, but I didn't see a thread dedicated to NIL. If there is one, please merge.

Anyway, Hunter sent me this email a few minutes ago...

Without question, there is no fanbase more passionate than Razorback Nation. There is only ONE Razorback, and like anything that is one-of-a-kind, our fans treat the Razorbacks as a highly valued piece of our state's culture. That value, combined with the passion, has always provided an edge for the Hogs on whatever field or court we compete on.

NIL has changed college athletics and candidly will continue to change college athletics. Just like facilities, coaches and administration, NIL has become part of intercollegiate athletics and we must embrace it. To have successful programs all of those boxes must be checked. We're fortunate to have in place world-class facilities, outstanding coaches and a supportive administration – not all schools have that luxury. Just like on the field and court, we are in a competition in this new space with rival schools claiming to have over 10,000 members in their collectives. A robust NIL program is now a necessity.

Arkansas Edge is doing more than just supporting our student-athletes, it's making an impact in our state, our communities and our local businesses. With our passionate fanbase united, we have a chance to do something special and demonstrate to the SEC and the nation how special we can be.

Right now the rules are clear, NIL support must come from outside of the athletic department and University. That means no money from ticket or concessions sales. No money from conference revenue sharing or TV contracts. And no money from coaches or athletic department employees. Therefore, to succeed we will need support from our fans, supporters and businesses who love the Razorbacks.

In the 1950s our state rebranded itself as the "Land of Opportunity" to attract businesses to the state to spur economic development. NIL is our new "Land of Opportunity" to attract elite talent and spur success.

To help push us towards that success, Arkansas Edge has announced the Drive for Five membership campaign. The goal is to reach 5,000 members by the kickoff of football season. While this campaign is focused on growing memberships, every contribution – large and small – and every business partnership will continue to have a massive impact.

We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us and we need your support. Please join Arkansas Edge as we Drive for Five!

Hunter

[PorkyPig]

We're fucked.

[Show-Me Hog]

I know this is the era we are in, but voluntary donations to support a professional sports team is the craziest shit I've ever heard. I will support by buying tickets and concessions. I'm not just sending in money.

[Cornhogio]

Geez.  They're going to have to address RF vs Edge.  There isn't money for both. 

[buff2.0]

From: we are in a competition in this new space with rival schools claiming to have over 10,000 members in their collectives.

To: The goal is to reach 5,000 members by the kickoff of football season.

Doesn't sound like much of a competition at all.

[PHARMHOG]

I know we discuss NIL in numerous threads, but I didn't see a thread dedicated to NIL. If there is one, please merge.

Anyway, Hunter sent me this email a few minutes ago...

Without question, there is no fanbase more passionate than Razorback Nation. There is only ONE Razorback, and like anything that is one-of-a-kind, our fans treat the Razorbacks as a highly valued piece of our state's culture. That value, combined with the passion, has always provided an edge for the Hogs on whatever field or court we compete on.

NIL has changed college athletics and candidly will continue to change college athletics. Just like facilities, coaches and administration, NIL has become part of intercollegiate athletics and we must embrace it. To have successful programs all of those boxes must be checked. We're fortunate to have in place world-class facilities, outstanding coaches and a supportive administration – not all schools have that luxury. Just like on the field and court, we are in a competition in this new space with rival schools claiming to have over 10,000 members in their collectives. A robust NIL program is now a necessity.

Arkansas Edge is doing more than just supporting our student-athletes, it's making an impact in our state, our communities and our local businesses. With our passionate fanbase united, we have a chance to do something special and demonstrate to the SEC and the nation how special we can be.

Right now the rules are clear, NIL support must come from outside of the athletic department and University. That means no money from ticket or concessions sales. No money from conference revenue sharing or TV contracts. And no money from coaches or athletic department employees. Therefore, to succeed we will need support from our fans, supporters and businesses who love the Razorbacks.

In the 1950s our state rebranded itself as the "Land of Opportunity" to attract businesses to the state to spur economic development. NIL is our new "Land of Opportunity" to attract elite talent and spur success.

To help push us towards that success, Arkansas Edge has announced the Drive for Five membership campaign. The goal is to reach 5,000 members by the kickoff of football season. While this campaign is focused on growing memberships, every contribution – large and small – and every business partnership will continue to have a massive impact.

We have a tremendous opportunity in front of us and we need your support. Please join Arkansas Edge as we Drive for Five!

Hunter

Got it.

Jeff

[DirkPiggler]

Geez.  They're going to have to address RF vs Edge.  There isn't money for both. 

I was brainstorming ideas on how to make this work the other day while driving.

We need to start funding athletics with ticket and media rights revenue only, and transition the Razorback Foundation and its assets to become the NIL/ player salary organization.

Annual fund donations to the foundation would still be used to allocate ticket and parking priority, but the money would be used to fund our NIL program instead of facilities, a portion of coach/AD salaries, etc.  There would be no more situations where a percentage of each coach's salary comes from the state and another part comes from the RF. 

If we need new facilities, that money comes from the university side, which makes sense as they own all the buildings and grounds anyway.  Buying out failed coaches would be the same.

There would have to be some guardrails put into place to prevent a John White type from funneling athletics money into the academic side at a rate greater than we already do it.  Maybe change the title of the AD/Vice-Chancellor for Athletics by dropping the "Vice", and have him report directly to the BOT, rather than to the Chancellor.  Give this new position full authority over athletic funds (subject of course to BOT oversight). 

There should be enough money with the new TV deal to fund everything needed, including women's athletics and the other non-revenue sports.  This way we aren't technically using university funds to pay players, which should keep us clear with the NCAA. 

Donors could still choose to give to the university for special projects, such as stadium expansion or renovation.  But the bulk of the annual fund donation would go into a pool to pay players.  It would be set up similarly to the current NIL collective, but with more assets and hopefully more competent execution.

[hit_that_line]

That got me fired up! Writing the check! #OneRazorback

[DrMongoose]

did you get the email from baseball this morning?

https://arkansasrazorbacks.com/wooopigperks/?utm_medium=email&elq_cid=146883&ehash=5e890171793bb3a29db95a7d6089a7b630325210f2b9e6945a263670a7ed556a&aid=16078&pid=arkansas_email_eloqua&rid=2454

$100 Family photo on field
$125 to watch BP on the field
$50 to play catch in the outfield
$50 to take batting practice
$50 for the 7th inning stretch

but says nothing about NIL

as for the NIL email

Right now the rules are clear, NIL support must come from outside of the athletic department and University. That means no money from ticket or concessions sales. No money from conference revenue sharing or TV contracts. And no money from coaches or athletic department employees. Therefore, to succeed we will need support from our fans, supporters and businesses who love the Razorbacks.

this just makes me scream especially when they are doing NOTHING to fix it but whine to congress, who even if they did fix, what makes anyone think the schools are gonna follow those rules when they don't follow the ones they made?

college athletics is going to kill itself. and if the NCAA (again, made up of the schools) is so out of whack why haven't the schools broken off? Why hasn't Sankey pulled the SEC out? Is it because no one wants to deal with the making and enforcement of the rules?

what a cluster fuck.

[HogOfWar]

I was brainstorming ideas on how to make this work the other day while driving.

We need to start funding athletics with ticket and media rights revenue only, and transition the Razorback Foundation and its assets to become the NIL/ player salary organization.

Annual fund donations to the foundation would still be used to allocate ticket and parking priority, but the money would be used to fund our NIL program instead of facilities, a portion of coach/AD salaries, etc.  There would be no more situations where a percentage of each coach's salary comes from the state and another part comes from the RF. 

If we need new facilities, that money comes from the university side, which makes sense as they own all the buildings and grounds anyway.  Buying out failed coaches would be the same.

There would have to be some guardrails put into place to prevent a John White type from funneling athletics money into the academic side at a rate greater than we already do it.  Maybe change the title of the AD/Vice-Chancellor for Athletics by dropping the "Vice", and have him report directly to the BOT, rather than to the Chancellor.  Give this new position full authority over athletic funds (subject of course to BOT oversight). 

There should be enough money with the new TV deal to fund everything needed, including women's athletics and the other non-revenue sports.  This way we aren't technically using university funds to pay players, which should keep us clear with the NCAA. 

Donors could still choose to give to the university for special projects, such as stadium expansion or renovation.  But the bulk of the annual fund donation would go into a pool to pay players.  It would be set up similarly to the current NIL collective, but with more assets and hopefully more competent execution.

There you go again, spouting logic again, knowing that it has no place on this board, or Razorback athletics.

[Barton Fink]

Ageee, you're not gonna get people to send money to RF and NIL. State isn't that rich.

[DrMongoose]

https://web3.ncaa.org/lsdbi/reports/getReport/90008

The ncaa manual - the schools have the power to make changes.

[Lurk]

Hey Hunter,

First, fix the transfer portal.

[Vito Porkleone]

I was brainstorming ideas on how to make this work the other day while driving.

We need to start funding athletics with ticket and media rights revenue only, and transition the Razorback Foundation and its assets to become the NIL/ player salary organization.

Annual fund donations to the foundation would still be used to allocate ticket and parking priority, but the money would be used to fund our NIL program instead of facilities, a portion of coach/AD salaries, etc.  There would be no more situations where a percentage of each coach's salary comes from the state and another part comes from the RF. 

If we need new facilities, that money comes from the university side, which makes sense as they own all the buildings and grounds anyway.  Buying out failed coaches would be the same.

There would have to be some guardrails put into place to prevent a John White type from funneling athletics money into the academic side at a rate greater than we already do it.  Maybe change the title of the AD/Vice-Chancellor for Athletics by dropping the "Vice", and have him report directly to the BOT, rather than to the Chancellor.  Give this new position full authority over athletic funds (subject of course to BOT oversight). 

There should be enough money with the new TV deal to fund everything needed, including women's athletics and the other non-revenue sports.  This way we aren't technically using university funds to pay players, which should keep us clear with the NCAA. 

Donors could still choose to give to the university for special projects, such as stadium expansion or renovation.  But the bulk of the annual fund donation would go into a pool to pay players.  It would be set up similarly to the current NIL collective, but with more assets and hopefully more competent execution.

Seconded.  Somebody will come up with a reason it can't be done, but I think this is the way.

[animal]

From: we are in a competition in this new space with rival schools claiming to have over 10,000 members in their collectives.

To: The goal is to reach 5,000 members by the kickoff of football season.

Doesn't sound like much of a competition at all.

That's about like saying "our goal is to get into the hunt for middle of the pack" which is exactly what he's saying.

[egregious]

So the whole "name" "image" and "likeness" idea is kaput I guess.  That is on par with calling then "student-athletes" rather than "athlete-students".

For $100 I ought to get a 30 spot on KFFA in Helena by a backup OL at least.

Why can't things be called what they are, especially when everybody knows what they are?

[mde114]

Good lord.

I thought it was bad, I just didn't think it was that bad.

The Arkansas fanbase can't afford to pay for SEC level football players.

[animal]

This state can't afford to feed them either which is why we don't produce very many SEC athletes.

[Barton Fink]

Hey Hunter,

First, fix the transfer portal.

Sure you can look at them as a while, but the transfer portal us a bigger issue than NIL. Stick to a 1 time transfer.

[animal]

Can we just skip to the part where the IRS arrests some of our best players just as we go tot he Sugar Bowl for tax evasion.