Do we have the money to compete? Theoretically yes, as I believe we have the largest endowment in the A10 so our alumni are rich enough to do whatever they want.

Can we actually compete in NIL in the A10? Likely not. Schools like Dayton, SLU, VCU have the on court success to translate fan interest into NIL donations. Even a school like Mason has a Jim McKay Chevrolet to give away cars to basketball players. And for schools like Dayton and SLU they’re the only game in town when it comes to basketball so you get people who aren’t even affiliated with the school giving money and buying tickets.

The one positive thing about NIL collectives is it cuts out the middle man. Gone are the days of complaining about GW’s inept athletics office or the meddling from administrators. Fans can basically self fund a basketball program.

However, the downside is what the article highlights. Someone has to finish last. What happens the year after you max out the credit card and don’t make the tournament?

GW73 wrote:

Money, money, money

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5644106/2024/07/18/college-basketball-transfer-portal-nil-money/

For me i find this simultaneously sad and depressing.

I am retired and live off of a pension, social security, 401K and other investment accounts.  I do not see any circumstances - short of me winning $500M in the lottery - that I would contribute to anyone's NIL program.  I would rather give my limited donation money to church, feeding the poor, homeless and hungry, and helping kids learn to read and write.

Paying a college student $200k to play basketball is not on my top 1000 list of things that i would do with my money.

But i am happy that some of you have chosen to prioritize GWU Basketball in your donation profile.  When I was a full season ticket holder I donated to the team. It was much easier then as I was working, and the team was winning

I am not a GWU alumni - so i dont know what the GWU alumni donor profile looks like. But suffice it to say, most major NIL collectives are funded by rich alumni who can give large amounts of non-tax deductible funding to the university.

Unless you can access those types of donors there is no way the GWU NIL collective will be competitive with top teams in the A-10 - basketball wise.

Is GWU in the middle 1/3rd or bottom 1/3rd within the A-10?

If consistently in the bottom 1/3rd it may be time to look into joining a lower level conference.
JUST MY OPINION

While I can understand the natural inclination to be pessimistic where it comes to GW and NIL, there are a few things worth pointing out.  First, the article places the A10 member schools into a "midmajor plus" category, a category where the average NIL intake is $750,000.  This is of course a crude figure but one that likely does not bury all chances for success within the A10 for GW.  I seem to recall during a call GW conducted regarding NIL that the amount ascertained was in the $500,000 neighborhood.  Could be a bit more or less but the point is that it's not so far off from what's considered average to be considered entirely uncompetitive.

Baseball lends itself well to a solid illustration.  Before baseball devised expanded playoffs and hard salary caps, small market teams were essentially doomed from World Series consideration with perhaps a handful of exceptions.     Simply put, a $200 million payroll was so far out in front of a $30 million payroll for the little guy to effectively compete.  Today, with exorbitant taxes paid to those who exceed caps coupled with rules on the other side that essentially force small market teams to pay a certain amount, virtually all baseball teams have hope in April.  Which is akin to what we have here...GW may pale in comparison to Dayton, SLU and VCU with respect to NIL dollars, but not by such a huge gap to suggest that there's no way GW can compete.  Disadvantage?  Yes.  Hopeless?  No.

Let's also point out that in sports, money helps but offers no guarantees.  My beloved Yankees threw ridiculous sums of money at free agents but it was truly the home grown talent of Jeter, Posdada, Pettitte and Rivera that represented the core of their championship reign.  Today, it's the crosstown Mets who are throwing money at anything that walks.  Not working out great for them so far, is it?

To be sure, there are existing metrics that would support the opinion of moving conferences or dropping basketball altogether.  This program needs more paying fans.  The school should be putting more dollars into the program.  But as for NIL funds?  My sense is that we're doing OK, and to many of you, far better than anticipated.

 

The best team that money can buy isn’t a guarantee of anything other than resentment.  If money is the deciding factor in choosing an institution of higher education, then good luck to you. Of the 362 D1 hoops programs, each has some attraction besides $$.

The blue bloods function in a different orbit.  I always wondered what the budget for the Alabama marching band was, including transportation, dry cleaning, instrument maintenance, and employees to manage a few hundred student-musicians. Quite the monumental undertaking.

I’m not sure where the Ivy League stands on NIL, but I’m sure they still adhere to their core values of seeking the candidates who care about the future rather than the immediate cash.

It takes a lot of factors to fall into place in order to put together a good squad.  This is where a coach identifies certain qualities in a player besides freakish athleticism.  There are good ball handlers out there that love the game and have competitive fire in their bellies.

I’m excited to see what CC does with his new roster.  Winning travels well and begets other talent. Just show me a team made up of likeable competitive student athletes who improve with time.

It was only a matter of time. What have we wrought (or is it "rot")?

https://www.sfgate.com/collegesports/article/stanford-star-lured-texas-tech-nil-deal-19596449.php