Lays our new financial obligations under the lawsuit settlement out clearly. The Excellence Fund will take over a lot of the NIL payments from the Bulldog Initiative. And for the first time provides a Bulldog Club points incentive for donations to the Excellence Fund.
Interesting & informative email from Selmon.
- Thread starter patdog
- Start date
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No death, just the evolution. Other than players jumping ship easier and getting paid, the biggest change we will halving the number of current FBS teams, from 134 to 60. Just like most years, there will be 4-5 teams that can win a natty and you'll be able to pick them out before the season (just like now).
Who were the lawyers that worked on this?
Invest in the State Excellence Fund
Together we did. Together we can. Together we will.Dear Pat,
Happy Maroon Friday! We can already feel the excitement on campus as we prepare for a big weekend ahead.
Thank you for your unwavering support of Mississippi State! We are grateful for your previous contributions to the Bulldog Initiative. We appreciate your thoughtful and intentional choice to invest and make a direct impact on our programs through NIL opportunities. In the video above you can hear more from a conversation I had with Bulldog Initiative founder Charlie Winfield, and longtime Bulldog Bart Gregory, on their podcast Out of Left Field as it relates to the future of Mississippi State Athletics.
Since recording, another step was taken in the House vs. NCAA class action lawsuit where the U.S. District Court in Northern California granted preliminary approval for the settlement. This settlement will have significant impacts on Mississippi State as well as all our peers across the country. The hearing for final approval is set for the Spring of 2025, and with final approval, here are some key things you should know:
- Starting in the 2025-2026 academic year, Mississippi State, as well as peer institutions, will now be able to provide increased benefits to student-athletes for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This projected annual amount is $22-$23 million for MSU Athletics, with an annual increase.
- All NCAA Division 1 athletics scholarship limits will be eliminated, and roster limits will now apply to all schools that provide new settlement benefits. This will enhance financial aid benefits to student-athletes. We anticipate this could be up to $3 million in additional scholarship support for Mississippi State student-athletes. While the Bulldog Club and Mississippi State Athletics currently support approximately $13 million in scholarship and financial aid funding, it is projected this would bring the new investment close to $17 million starting for the 2025-2026 academic year, and that will continue to escalate annually.
- The settlement agreement includes that the NCAA will pay nearly $3 billion over a 10-year period in damages to student-athletes who competed from 2016-2021 and were not permitted to engage in NIL activities. Although the NCAA is paying this amount over a 10-year period, Mississippi State will see a reduction in revenue from the NCAA by approximately $1.5 million annually.
- The estimated $26 million annual investment is a new financial commitment for Mississippi State Athletics and will increase each year, per the settlement agreement.
For Mississippi State, what does all of this mean and what are our next steps?
If you are ready to solidify your State Excellence gift today, you can log in to your Dog Tag and pay your pledge, or call the Bulldog Club at 662-325-3074. In the coming weeks, Bulldog Club representatives will be reaching out to you to discuss in more detail and answer questions.
- The Bulldog Club and the Bulldog Initiative are in total alignment, and we are grateful to have such great partners and teammates as the official collective of Mississippi State Athletics during the last several years.
- Pending final approval of the settlement, beginning in July 2025, Mississippi State will now be able to compensate student-athletes for their NIL. We ask that you reallocate your commitment from the Bulldog Initiative directly to the Bulldog Club’s State Excellence Fund as this will be the avenue in which we can now support the new estimated $26 million investment for the 2025-2026 academic and competition year.
- The State Excellence Fund is established to support Mississippi State’s commitment to providing the necessary resources as we work to bring elite student-athletes here to Starkville to compete in the toughest conference in America.
- If we do not move forward and adapt to the current investment level and environment, we will fall behind.
- This creates some guidelines in the new era, which has been needed for some time.
- You will see a State Excellence pledge on your account that will reflect the recent giving history we received from the Bulldog Initiative. In an effort to continue showing our appreciation for your generosity, we will also be rewarding double (2x) the priority points for any contributions converted from the Bulldog Initiative to the State Excellence Fund before December 31, 2024.
Everything that the TV money doesn’t cover. Which is a lot.
There are some additional factors that make the situation not a pure prisoner’s dilemma, but there’s similarities. When you run into situations where you’re spending more and more to compete with others, which in turn makes them spend more and more, it’s not good for the participants. There are a couple common ways out of that: collusion and regulation.
There’s some regulation involved here, but there’s no way to actually limit NIL. That will always be an option for schools that want to go beyond the revenue sharing limits. I think what’s going on is that many/most schools are moving the NIL funds to the school because 1) they want to make sure they have enough money to reach the limit, and 2) they’re hoping other schools decide to primarily/entirely base NIL on the internal fund, making it a norm (tacit collusion). That’s my hope as well, though I’m sure the rich schools will still have NIL far in excess of the revenue sharing to avoid parity. I don’t know how many schools will find themselves unable to consistently afford the revenue sharing maximum
There’s some regulation involved here, but there’s no way to actually limit NIL. That will always be an option for schools that want to go beyond the revenue sharing limits. I think what’s going on is that many/most schools are moving the NIL funds to the school because 1) they want to make sure they have enough money to reach the limit, and 2) they’re hoping other schools decide to primarily/entirely base NIL on the internal fund, making it a norm (tacit collusion). That’s my hope as well, though I’m sure the rich schools will still have NIL far in excess of the revenue sharing to avoid parity. I don’t know how many schools will find themselves unable to consistently afford the revenue sharing maximum
Yes
However businesses can contribute too. With NIL coming in house and some BC points for it, hopefully that encourages more businesses to give more.
I just don't see how an additional $26-30 hit to the budget will be covered by rank and file fans. It won't be and we will be broke if more businesses don't step up.
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All the schools on or round that line, will either cut men’s non-revenue sports and stay up in the money division, or drop down to the real NCAA division.
That’s most likely. Could also see some creative title ix stuff. Schools could eliminate all sports and scholarships but maintain equal opportunity for both sexes in the event that a third party funds the team.
We could merge the BI and Dugout Club. School pays the bare minimum for baseball, BI/Dugout takes the rest.
It will be needed, but in an evolving form, at least for a time. As we go forward, individual donors can obtain much better benefits for themselves by being a part of The Bulldog Club and giving to the State Excellence Fund. The BDI's work will involve promoting the State Excellence Fund and in working with corporate donors and sponsors to continue to help generate outside / "true NIL" agreements with players. Post-settlement (if it is approved), one of the biggest separators is going to be the ability to generate direct NIL agreements between players and businesses.
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I think you will see a good bit of that happening across the league in a lot of sports outside of football / basketball.
Charlie correct me if I'm wrong but contributions to the Excellence Fund would be tax deductible whereas contributions to the BI are not.
You could cancel all three of our big 3 HC salaries and it would barely reach $10m.Old times not forgotten...
Yes, coaches should make $10M while students play for free...
Even if you could cancel their salary, the savings wouldn't cover half the cost of the salaries and nil for the athletes. Just saying ......
I still think you probably see a drop in coaches pay, not just head coaches, or at least it starts to remain flat. I don’t think schools, especially ones like state, can just dramatically increase revenue. I think a school has a few levers they can pull to help fund this: 1) the obvious more donations from fans; 2) coaches salaries come down or stay flat; 3) non revenue sports are cut to the bone… I’m not sure how much they could realistically be cut; 4) spending on facilities goes way down.
The tv money has really allowed state to build some impressive facilities and I hope we don’t fall behind… but if I were AD, I certainly wouldn’t have any big infrastructure spends going on. My priority would be funding as much NIL as possible.
Contributions to the Bulldog Club are NOT tax deductible unless you waive any BC points & seating preferences BEFORE making the donation. I can’t imagine donations to the Excellence Fund being tax deductible even then though because they’re being used to pay players & not for scholarships.
if I were Ad, I'd borrow funds if I had to.... to make capital improvements to add sky boxes etc to increase revenue.
It's apparent, there is a demand for premium seating.
