Part of me says this shouldn't make much of a difference.   The kids that are signing with the Dukes and Kansas' of the world aren't choosing them over us because of the money.   Still, I can't believe that paying kids huge sums of money, especially combined with the relaxed transfer rules, isn't going to severely hurt any competitive balance and destroy any concept that this is amateur basketball, which has always been the appeal of the game to me.   

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (6/11/2022 4:27 pm)

Thank you jf.   I wish there was a better solution, as the kids should arguably be compensated for the revenue they generate for others (beyond the price of admission to the games).   Lots of people make lots of money off of the efforts of the player/athletes and although it is true that they are benefiting in terms of scholarship, room and board, there was still an imbalance.  Maybe the solution would be to end age restrictions in the NBA, so coming out of HS, the kids have a choice between turning pro and making the money or going to college and getting a free education.   But  a world of paid student athletes can't end well for schools like GW,

I'll echo the sentiment. How we stack up against other A10 schools, and to a lesser extent, other higher echelon mid-major schools, ought to be our genuine concern.  There are two things worth noting about this.

1) To some extent, this apples to oranges dilemma has been in effect well before NIL was established.  Can GW realistically compete on the basis of facilities, coaches (if you subscribe to the theory that a better compensated coach will likely be a more successful one more often than not), recruiting budgets, and perks like charters against the public school with a thriving alumni base that prioritizes basketball (VCU), the sizable metro area school with no real sports entertainment options in the area during the college basketball season aside from NHL hockey (SLU),  or an unofficial college basketball mecca who hosts the First 4 annually, plays in a 14,000 seat arena which often sells out, and is really the only game in town for sports entertainment (Dayton)?  If I were to speculate, I'd ask whether these competitive advantages go beyond the items I mentioned.  If Will Wade routinely paid players to play for him at LSU, can one say with absolute certainty that this practice did not go on while he was with VCU?  As we've begun to see at places like Arizona, Kansas and LSU, the business of pay-for-play certainly predates NIL.  Sure, there was a point where I might have said that even if this goes on among some or many major conference schools, it just doesn't happen in the A10.  Today, I've done a 180.  There is pressure to win at virtually all levels, certainly among schools in a multibid league.  If a midmajor has the booster support to pull this off, why wouldn't they, particularly when looking to their left and right only to find their neighbors doing the same thing?

On a separate point, The Athletic had an interesting analysis on transfers last week.  They grouped the A10 with a few other conferences, referring to them as midmajor+ conferences (the better midmajors).  They identified 25 players who transferred from a midmajor+ to a high major program, and found that something like 21 or 22 of these players saw both their playing time and their scoring averages go down.  (Interestingly, their efficiency ratings often went up because they went from having the ball in their hands nearly every possession to this not being the case at the higher program.)  Nothing shocking about this except to point out that perhaps the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  It should be noted that some players may still find that their "up-transfers" were more than worthwhile given perhaps a more realistic chance at winning a national championship/advance further in the tournament or the allure of NIL money (or a greater amount of NIL money). 

Gwmayhem wrote:

On a separate point, The Athletic had an interesting analysis on transfers last week.  They grouped the A10 with a few other conferences, referring to them as midmajor+ conferences (the better midmajors).  They identified 25 players who transferred from a midmajor+ to a high major program, and found that something like 21 or 22 of these players saw both their playing time and their scoring averages go down.

Of course Jamison had to be one of the few guys that saw both playing time and scoring average increase moving up (I'm happy for him though).

Thanks for posting, Keith.  Seems like a win/win situation.  The Athletes make what I hope is a resonable profit and the program gets promoted through the gear it sells.   Where can I go buy my Keegan Harvey shirt?

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (9/01/2022 10:50 am)

Done

Done

What are you all doing that results in "done"? I don't really see an ask in the press release. Happy to help out!

I'm glad to see this, but it's pretty confusing to me. How does the NFT thing work? I don't quite get that part. And I guess there are a couple businesses listed at the end, but I thought it was something where the students appear in ads or something? Maybe I'm just not that clear on how NILs work.

Last edited by squid (11/11/2022 9:05 pm)

Ok—i could not access site earlier, but they’ve got legit folks on thé Board.  In general, an NIL collective cannot have an official connection with the university—but exist to provide more depth in NIL deals for student athletes.  This is great news to get off the ground!

And no e win tonight!

Last edited by Merrick (11/11/2022 9:22 pm)

Just got my regular donation email. Has anybody heard anything from FOG? I'm excited to see what the student athletes are getting to do (and hopefully making some money)