Jim Boeheim unleashes NIL tirade, calls for Syracuse to raise funds

Joining Cuse Sports Talk on Wednesday afternoon, Jim Boeheim painted a clear picture of how removed he is from the NIL world.

The longtime Syracuse basketball coach has made five Final Fours. He’s won a national championship, and he’s basically trademarked the 2-3 zone defense.

Yet, Boeheim dropped the ball Wednesday. He gave the NCAA a prime example of what NIL is not supposed to be.

“One thing I’ve always heard on radio shows is the university needs to spend more money on recruiting,” he said, calling into the radio show. “The university needs to spend more money on facilities. This has been for 20 years we’ve heard this talk. Well, now’s your chance. This is your chance to help recruiting, but NIL is nothing but colleges collecting money and arranging deals for players through their collectives.

“We have a foundation, but it’s the same basic thing. Ours is a foundation, 315 Foundation, which is tax-deductible money. You can get your tax deductible.”

New York does not have a state NIL law — Senate Bill S5891F has passed both the assembly and senate — meaning the NCAA’s interim policy is the law of the land. The NCAA clearly prohibits boosters and collectives from getting involved in the recruiting process, which was outlined in May’s guidance.

The pressure to police pay-to-play has been called for across the college athletics landscape. It’s why commissioner after commissioner pounded the table at conference media days for federal NIL legislation. And it’s why Boeheim appeared to be off base Wednesday. Sure, the Syracuse coach can use NIL in his recruiting pitch. Breaking down the need to raise money strictly for recruiting — that’s another story.

Sources familiar with the situation at Syracuse said that the Orange have been slow to adapt NIL.

Syracuse’s 315 Foundation has no want to offer cash in recruiting

Yes, Syracuse does have a foundation. But the 315 Foundation has yet to launch — it’s hoping to have a website up in September. Founded by Mike Bristol and Tony DeSorbo, the long-term hope for the collective is to be able to endow positions at Syracuse. The last thing the two founders have set out to do is reel in top-ranked recruits through NIL incentives.

“We have absolutely nothing to do with recruiting,” Bristol said. “And obviously want to be crystal clear about that.”

DeSorbo echoed the sentiment, pointing out the foundation is in it for the long game. Bursting on the scene, especially in recruiting, is not in the cards.

“Some collectives have gotten off to a much faster start,” he said. “We’re not concerned about that. We’re trying to do this to the best of our knowledge, to the best of our ability, the right way.”

The foundation is starting with an opening round of seed funding. Bristol and DeSorbo are having conversations with some of Syracuse’s top donors, and there will eventually be an opportunity for fans to donate.

Elite NIL, which matches companies and with student-athletes, is also founded by the duo behind 315 Foundation. While Elite NIL is a for-profit, the foundation will be a 501(c)(3), mirroring other tax-exempt collectives across the country. The collective has not yet been granted the charity status — a process that could take nearly a year due to a COVID-19 backlog.

Plans are in place to have Syracuse student-athletes cash in through the 315 Foundation but only after completing community service work. Athletes will do philanthropic work before they see any cash, working with charities.

“If we do it really well, and this resonates, we hope to build endowed funds,” DeSorbo said. “If we can get an endowed basketball fund, for instance, that money will be invested over time. The income from the investments will be there year after year. And so, in perpetuity, you will have this baseline support that will always be there for the program.”

Current status of State of New York’s NIL legislation

While the New York collegiate athletic participation compensation act has yet to hit Gov. Kathy Hochul‘s desk yet, it has passed both chambers in Albany. There’s no known timeframe of when it will be up for signature or veto for Hochul.

But when the discussion portion of the bill was allowed in early June, assembly leaders seemingly misrepresented what the NCAA’s latest guidance says about collectives. More evidence of how out of touch New York seems to be with NIL guidelines.

“This bill addresses collectives and even goes even farther,” Rep. Michaelle C. Solages, who represents the town of Hempstead in Nassau County on Long Island, said.

“It puts protection, so you know, there’s no impropriety. It’s strictly a conversation between the student-athlete and there’s no pay-to-play. We actually ban collectives within this legislation. So that’s not going to be a worry.”

In the first year of NIL, collectives have been vital to student-athletes accessing opportunities. There are currently more than 110 collectives at the Division I level. Each ACC school has one, too. New York will have one — and it has not officially launched yet.

While New York’s NIL legislation does not state that collectives will be prohibited in the latest version, not understanding the NCAA’s guidance is alarming.

“If collectives are actually banned under the law, which I don’t think they are, it would put NY schools at a disadvantage in the current environment where collectives are playing such an important part in obtaining NIL deals for a school’s athletes,” Mit Winter, a NIL attorney, told On3.