Mark Stoops believes Kentucky has NIL foundation in place, now "we need the money"

Twenty-four hours away from kicking off the Wildcats’ seventh straight bowl game under Mark Stoops, a school record, Kentucky‘s head coach released an ad promoting The 15 Club on social media. Eighteen months into the new era of NIL in college athletics, the necessary structures for the football program to successfully compete are in place. Now they just need the money.

Organized by Athlete Advantage, The 15 Club launched in November to act as the primary NIL collective for the Kentucky football program. Mark Stoops made public and private pushes to get the collective off the ground. The 15 Club now provides fans a chance to subscribe to make monthly contributions for the collective to use to compensate student athletes.

“We’re in a good position. I think our administration has worked really hard with us to get ourselves in a position where we can be successful. As I’ve mentioned before, the foundation, the roots are in place,” Stoops said at Wednesday’s Music City Bowl press conference.

“I think any coach that sits up here would say you need money in the collective. There’s no denying that and everybody in our organization wants to support that collective and and help our players. Again, we didn’t create those rules. Neither did the Hawks, but it’s a part of a much broader system that is in place right now that we all have to adapt and we have to be able to adjust and be successful in that area.”

He briefly paused. “So we need the money.”

#BBN We’re passing you the ball. #The15Club #AdvantageUp pic.twitter.com/Buo2pamkLK

— Mark Stoops (@UKCoachStoops) December 30, 2022

Reeling Back in NIL Rules?

The new NIL rules are just one of many dramatic changes that have altered the college football landscape over the last five years. The addition of the transfer portal has created a chaotic offseason. Mark Stoops was asked what could be done to keep the sport from turning into a runaway train off the tracks.

“Well, I believe it’s already a runaway, but I’m not sure I have the time or this platform to answer all those questions. I don’t think I have all the answers,” said Stoops. “I think there’s a lot of people that have worked really hard. We’re trying to make it better for our student athletes. We’re trying to improve the game and helping in many ways. But you know, it’s in a different place. There’s no question.”

Mark Stoops cannot control the direction college football takes as it prepares to enter into a new era with an expanded CFB Playoff. He can only control what is happening at the University of Kentucky. They’ve succeeded in the transfer portal and the Cats’ NIL efforts are moving in the right direction.

“Right now for me, the best way to do it is just to adapt. You know, it is what it is. We didn’t make these rules, but we better be as good as we can at them. I think the leadership of college football needs to get together and we need to find some solutions, some guardrails on some things, but you know, there’s a lot to unpack right there. And there’s a lot to work through and it’s gotten pretty far away from us at this point. Hopefully we can reel it back in at some point.”