Dan Hurley looked straight into the camera moments after leading his team to a national championship.  He said he didn't want a player to come to UCONN due to the NIL offer they received.  He wanted kids who wanted to play for UCONN so they could play for him.

Sanogo is gone, now NBA draft eligible, the ink from his newly signed deal with Sunoco nearly dried.  As an international player, he had been ineligible for an NIL deal (though there is some confusion based on a possible loophole had the deal been signed outside of the U.S.

Back to Hurley, wanting players who will make decisions on where to play based on the coaching staff (and presumably in some cases, the academics, facilities, and the school itself) first and based on NIL opportunities secondarily.  I wonder where things stand right now.  Is this line of thinking a complete joke by now, is it still what matters to players most, or something in between?

Think about what CC is able to sell.  His own pedigree complete with proven abilities to develop players and possessing loads of contacts.  A, competitive midmajor basketball conference in the nation's capital.  Does a player listen to this sales pitch and think "great, now how much do you have for me?"

Do we want the player who only cares about NIL money?  Do we want the player who cares about other things too, but considers NIL a priority?  Or, are all but a handful of players now firmly in one of these two camps?

I am unclear as to whether college players now have agents.  Sure, they have parents, AAU coaches, and other assorted handlers.  Can agents be far behind?  This article indicates that NIL decisions are being made in a vacuum, with players not fully understanding whether what's being offered is their best offer or not.  

I think the vast majority of fans felt it was high time that players received compensation beyond a scholarship, given the tremendous time commitment it takes to be a D1 scholarship athlete.  Is this though what we were thinking?  Players essentially becoming free agents after each season?  No real regulation to speak of?  The wild, wild west as many have called it.

Hurley just wants guys who want to play for him.  It was said sincerely.  I'm afraid with each passng day, it's being more and more construed comically.

Chalk this under the Be Careful What You Wish For category. If only our limited and naive view as fans as to what should be permitted were the lay of the land. Alas, barn door is open. Not exactly sure why we think Hurley or English or Caputo are playing under any different rules regarding NIL’s than any other coach or program. Only hope that NIL opportunities are tertiary consideration for possible recruits to the school and program being offered by GW.

DC Native wrote:

The NCAA really needs to fix this NIL fiasco, and soon. The way I understood NIL, and the way I think it should work, is that players should get a cut of any jersey sold with their name on it. They should get a cut of any memorabilia that has their photo (image) on it. If a local pizza place asks a player to appear in a commercial for them they should be able to do so and get paid for it. This whole system of rich donors paying into dark funds to pay players under the table for playing for their alma mater is seedy and just wrong.

It’s almost like these guys should just get paid to play by the place that makes money off of their skills. If only there was a way to fix that where administrators and coaches and schools didn’t get rich off the backs of players while the players got zero dollars. just wish I could think of any industry where players get paid to play and make some of the money without it all going to the owners.

I just wish there was a solution to that problem…instead, we are exactly where we were but under a different name. Players getting paid to play from outside because the Universities and conferences refuse to pay them.

jf wrote:

What is the point of having pro teams, just with the college name on it?
Realize that has long happened with some effect, with major college teams, but nowhere near this crazy, transfer-encouraging extent.
There's a difference between helping out a college student be compensated in his part-time job or to get a cut of the money made off of his actual likeness and casting about for top salaries that make pro opportunities pale in comparison.
As usual, the NCAA screwed up and schools like us will pay the price.

The point of having pro sports with college names on it is because the “student-athlete” acts as a professional, earning money for everybody but themselves. The reason the kids have people paying them from off the street is because the schools want the money, as does the coach, AD, athletic staff, admin, conference folks, etc. but the kids who actually are what people tune in for—they make nothing. It doesn’t need to become professional for our enjoyment. It needs to become professional because everybody is getting paid but the entertainment

GW69 wrote:

The kids get  tuition,room and board.How much does it cost these days to go to GW?I think a scholarship 
is “money”.A lot of money.I don’t care that the school and everyone but the athletes make money.
The whole thing is an outrage and will obviously destroy college ball.It will be like triple A baseball-next step 
the “Majors”-the NBA.Granted I’m old school-I grew up with the Big five in Philly -those were the days my friends I thought they would never end-I’m clearly on the wrong side of history.
 

I fully agree but I think we are in the minority.  Who knows….maybe the schools will ultimately make more money by having a profession, minor league team rather than amateurs, but it was the amateur aspect that really appealed to me.   “Let’s win one for Old State U!”  Paying the players takes much away from that.   Now  I get the feeling that instead of playing for the school, they are playing for opportunity to move up to a bigger school and more NIL money.

Last edited by Long Suffering Fan (4/15/2023 9:18 am)

More to come later, but maybe the schools should just give the coaches free housing and extra education? Shouldn’t that be enough? Or is it only “money” when it comes to the black kids that play the game?

danjsport wrote:

More to come later, but maybe the schools should just give the coaches free housing and extra education? Shouldn’t that be enough? Or is it only “money” when it comes to the black kids that play the game?

This is a pretty outrageous take Danj.  Is this really a race issue, or an issue where one group are young college students not yet out in the work world while the other group are professionals making a living?  Let's not get started with whether coaches are overpaid (most are) or whether players should be paid something (they should).  But to suggest or infer that things are the way they are because of race does not resonate with me at all.  

The real factor that makes this an issue to begin with is the revenue, largely broadcast revenue, that the NCAA realizes.  High school players, AAU players, middle school players....they all entertain us too.  Is anyone clamoring that these kids be paid?  Of course not, because these levels are not producing gazillions of dollars.

That said, I believe we are all in agreement that the NCAA has substantially botched NIL by doing nothing more than looking away and letting rich boosters gain significant control over where athletes end up going to school.

Danj, I'll ask it very simply...if everything were reversed, if the vast majority of college basketball players were white, and even irrespective of the color of most coaches and administrators, would the players have been paid for quite some time?  If you honestly believe this answer is "yes", then I'll agree to disagree with you as profoundly as possible.

Again, there is no arguing that a bunch of people who are not playing the game are profiting from the talented players who historically have not been profiting (at least openly).  If you think though that the REASON for this has something to do with race, I just can't buy it.  The NCAA has long touted "amateurism", now becoming somewhat replaced with "student-athletes".  

There is also no arguing the time commitment that players put in, arguably far more than the average undergraduate student.  But this alone does not make playing college basketball a job.  These players are receiving an education as compensation and that should not be undermined.  Basketball in some cases is the very thing that allows an athlete an education that they otherwise may not have access to.  That education helps enable certain individuals to embark upon life-long professional careers that have nothing to do with sports.  The skills of being a college athlete, developing leadership skills, understanding how to be an effective teammate, how to problem solve, often translate quite well in "the real world."

Putting the race issue aside, what you seem to be saying is that the NCAA makes too much money now so any pretense of amateurism should fall by the wayside.  That, too, is a valid point.  

It's just your point about race.   

Last edited by Gwmayhem (4/17/2023 3:37 pm)

danj, I do understand your thinking.  You are using sweeping generalizations to make your points but I suppose that's necessary when evaluating such a broad-based subject.  If nothing else, you've given me cause to think a bit differently about all of this, and for that you should be commended.  

Has the system been what it's been for so many decades because the athletes, who in the majority are black, are more vulnerable to being taken advantage of?  Am not ready to say that this is all there is to it but could this be a contributing factor?  As you suggest, perhaps moreso than I was willing to initially acknowledge.

Way too complicated for most of us lol.. I just want to donate and find out what they're doing with that $