Charlie just posted on 247 that the BI has gained 110 new members so far today. It seems Cohen has lit a fire under our fanbase to get more involved in NIL. Addition by subtraction......
Bulldog Initiative
- Thread starter o_dawgnabit
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Unbelievable.. message boards made this much of a difference in days. And the past AD had how long to work on it?
He's all yours AU. Enjoy.
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I think Cohen was caught extremely flat footed by NIL. I seem to remember him going on shows before the decision was handed down by the Supreme Court and basically saying athletes have it good and get a lot out of just getting a scholarship. I also remember Ole Miss being creative and immediately being ready to pay full cost of attendance straight from the school to every one of its athletes (I think State followed shortly thereafter.). That tells me Ole Miss wasn't sitting around on its hands moaning about what might happen. It was ready when the new rules happened. And, this idea that the athletic department could not do a thing at all on NIL - give me a break. I am sure all the super secret convos they have with certain folks all the time could have come up with some idea to get some outside party started on organizing State's efforts. Now, that certainly cannot be an excuse as the NCAA now allows athletic departments to be involved in promotion. I think Cohen was sitting around fretting about lil ole MSU instead of figuring out a way to get his butt in gear and get out and raise some money. Lil ole MSU is in the SEC with a budget approaching the top 30 in the country. It for darn sure ought to be able to raise some money - maybe not top tier SEC money - but some.
Thank goodness Charlie Winfield at least did some work in this area - for FREE. Or, the new AD would REALLY be starting from scratch.
So you're saying Charlie's on Keenum's short list?**
I read that. It's corporate-like mumbo jumbo that doesn't really explain where the money actually goes or how it's spent.
I’ve got similar questions still too. Who decides which players are offered? How do they determine a reasonable, competitive amount? Will this help with recruiting at all? LSU supposedly loaded up on baseball transfers this year using promises of NIL. With more funding, Can the initiative combat that to help swing recruits to Starkville or do they just offer deals to whoever shows up on campus?
How much an individual athlete should get is easy to figure out cuz here on this site regarding croots it tells you their NIL Value, LOL. (seriously though, it does) But Regarding all these specific details about NIL rules, means and methods I know absolute Dick. I do know though with all these new donors and new money coming in the day after Cohen bolted has educated the hell outta me about our former AD. Quite Telling if you ask me.
111 now. I just joined in part to spite Cohen. Not gonna lie, it felt good.
Charlie can tell you better but Charlie with the help of others who know what we need talent-wise and what talent is out there with NIL value along with a third party NIL Group do. That group helps us evaluate the going rate for players’ NIL value. It will help recruiting but most importantly it will help us keep players. It has already helped us keep Tolu and Tyrus Wheat.
I give monthly. We don’t have to like it. But it’s not going away. And sports is the most important thing for the entire university including academics. Bama didn’t see a meteoric rise is giving and enrollment bc they started teaching better.
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So, despite what our NIL web site says, it appears the $ is used to:
- attract elite athletes to our school with the promise and delivery of funds.
- retain current athletes with the promise and delivery of funds to they don't transfer to other schools who offer said funds.
- attract elite athletes to our school with the promise and delivery of funds.
- retain current athletes with the promise and delivery of funds to they don't transfer to other schools who offer said funds.
Not a direct criticism of us or anyone in particular, but these NIL funds seem like they'd be a fertile ground for embezzlement. I wouldn't be shocked if there are a few notable incidents within five years.
See, I don't see how you don't correct that with contracts for scholarships. You get tuition paid upon completion of your degree or draft. If you transfer, you're in debt to the school.
I'm also in favor of lowering the scholarship limit too. Bigger schools can't hoard all the upper 3, 4 5 star athletes. Honor your contract and get your **** paid for. They're not going to give out those big NIL deals to everyone.
For State fans that are interested, I am happy to talk through any of it by phone, Zoom, etc. It’s tough to figure out how much detail you can put out on a website when the rules keep changing, etc. If people are interested, though, I am happy to do whatever I can to help explain in detail anything we are doing, how it works, etc. For the podcast oriented, I did interviews on Hadad’s podcast (T&L) and mine (Out of Left Field) where we talked about it. If people think it would be helpful, I can do an updated Q&A in that format as well, particularly in light of the new rules, and try to take questions head on. Shoot me a PM if you are interested or have questions, and I will be happy to call, etc.
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I expect you are right. That’s why a lot of businesses or people with significant investment should, in the absence of having a basis for trust, always look at doing their own deals directly. Lots to explain here, but I think your sentiment is right on.
You make a difference even if you sign up fo $20-$25 per month. . . A lot of little bits adds up to a lot. If you can give more, please do. I am not a fan of NIL, but fighting it is like fighting gravity at this point. We have to figure out how to use it, not fight it. Bottom line is that it won't work for us if we don't, as fans, make a commitment to it.
I know NIL is the way things are now but I still can't shake the old school "if I have to pay a player to come to my school then I don't really want them in the first place" mindset. Giving money directly to 18-22 year olds seems like the dumbest possible way to spend money.
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Altered your comment so you can look at it this way.
Don't think of it as a payment. Think of it as extra scholarship money.
And we know that students love to load up on that scholarship money.
And I think I've almost convinced myself now that I've made that explanation.
Charlie--
Thanks. I'll have to check out the podcasts even though as a general rule I absolutely loathe the format.
Because of my deafness and tinnitus, I often have to go back and listen again to segments even with me wearing hearing aids.
Sigh. If only there were transcripts.
If it actually were for scholarships, I could probably get on board. But I just can't fathom directly giving college-aged kids thousands or millions of dollars just because they run fast or can catch a ball. Again, I know it's the world we live in now; doesn't mean I have to like it.
Anything's possible for the right price. The pregnant wife is currently pondering a work from home job when the child arrives.**
Understandable. I would like to get a little bit of a tax break too but that ain't happening either.
College football is a multi billion dollar business. The Big Ten just signed a 7 year $7 billion tv deal. Coaches are are making millions per year some $10 million per year. The number one commodity in this business are the players most of which will never go pro.
Look at it this way, it's been happening for 50 years.
My main question - can the school donate to this? Need to find a way to funnel that TV money into the collectives. I think that's sort of the problem most folks have. The boosters have to ante up, but the actual money being made from the 'athletes' (which is a BS premise to begin with) is the TV money (primarily).
I understand all the questions. There's some unknown there.
Bottom line is you can direct your donations to specific sports. If you only want to support baseball, or football, you can choose to do so.
I would never tell anyone else what to do with their money. Donate or not, it's up to you. I give $25/month, which I know helps the cause, but at the same time is small enough for me to not really worry too much about how they are handling it. On some level, I have faith that if Charlie's putting his name on it, it's being run responsibly.
Nailed it. The party line that "the school can't be involved in that" is just a cop out for our failure to react to NIL. There's always ways to let the right people know what you need them to do. And every competent athletic dept that is serious about being competitive found ways to do just that. Auburn just took a big problem off our hands. Of course the key is not to hire another one like the one that just left. Not sure I trust Keenum to do that, but hopefully he will.
Charlie,
Any thought given to merchandise? Hats, tshirts, polos, etc. with the logo? Seems like a good way to raise a few bucks and a good marketing tool.
Any thought given to merchandise? Hats, tshirts, polos, etc. with the logo? Seems like a good way to raise a few bucks and a good marketing tool.
No, no, no, no, and no! The T.V. money can go to other expenses - other expenses that help the fan experience and entice athletes: better facilities, equipment, game day/practice experiences, trips to the Pony.
NIL money needs to come from Boosters and businesses. Time to put up or shut up. CONTRIBUTE NOW!
Are those facts? NCAA just passed some new legislation recently. I'm not arguing, I'm just curious.
I agree about contributing.
I completely understand - might not make much difference, but here is my pitch on this: the average baseball player at MSU has a 42% scholarship. People can earmark their donations, and I think it would be great if we could raise enough money to at least get everybody on the baseball team to even.
I expect to announce a partnership with a 501(c)(3) entity within the next week. It’s not a done deal yet, but I think we are going to have some options, particularly for people who are giving more significant amounts, to try to accomplish both a charitable purpose and help the Bulldog Initiative.
Yes - definitely. Hope to have some things in the works on this soon - not just for purchase, but also as a thank you to people who are helping us. I am sensitive to people’s desire to be shown some love for helping, and we are working overtime on this issue also.
Oh, I don't know about any NCAA restrictions. I would just like to see us support our own athletes with our booster funds and our own area businesses.
We ought to be sitting pretty with the new two billion dollar plant coming to GTR - ... unless it turns out to be another one of those Beef Plant/Coal Plant things. that would suck.
Charlie, What is the investment strategy? Would it not be wise to take "x" amount of these dollars and place them into a growth/dividend fund thinking way ahead?
NIL isn't going away, so a long term strategy that lessened the need to depend on continued giving would be a long term solution, and we are in a massive buyer market.
No offense but if every single dollar you're raising isn't going to football, you're doing it wrong. I know that's an unpopular opinion here - even more so after 2021 - but football is the only sport that moves the needle and it's where all of our resources (speaking generally) should be targeted.