https://theathletic.com/5321481/202...l-donors-nil-fans/?source=user_shared_articleDonor fatigue: Some college football fans wonder why they have to pay for players
Some excerpts from the article that I thought OB might find interesting
“This season, Belzer estimates, at least 15 schools’ collectives will be paying more than $10 million total to their football teams. He said the median among the power conferences will be around $4 million to $5 million. That’s money that is either in addition to or in place of money that is going to traditional donations for season tickets, facilities or other things.
“I have this conversation with ADs constantly. I say you have to be ready, or you’re going to be on the wrong side of what’s about to happen,” Belzer said, meaning revenue sharing.
But in the current model, where do programs stand? In talking to several experts, who were granted anonymity to speak about these issues, the consensus is that it varies by program.
Georgia is probably in the same group as Alabama as programs that have recruited well and won recently on the field, although Alabama faces a big change as it moves forward without Nick Saban. They have built a lot of facilities during the past decade, fundraising to do so, and thus many donors might be closer to being tapped out. LSU, Clemson and other schools that went fully into the facilities race are in that boat. Teams like Georgia, however, have the added “burden” of recent success, which makes fans wonder why their collectives need the money.
Sullivan’s reluctance speaks to what the Georgias and Alabamas are up against: the lack of panic.
“I guess it’d be a little different, would you give to get one of those championships,” Sullivan said. “But we just ended a 41-year drought.”
At Texas, Texas A&M or Tennessee (among others), programs and donors might have great facilities and such, but they’re incentivized to participate more in the NIL donating program because they want to get back to the glory days. There’s a desperation factor at places like Nebraska, which saw a huge influx of donations after snagging five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola away from Georgia in December.
Some programs are sneaky good at NIL, like Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri, which need that bump to get to a higher tier. Athletic directors and coaches have realized it’s a good tool, so they’ve encouraged donating. As in: Hey, this is a way to have a better product on the field.
When it comes to fundraising, school administrators have realized they need to adjust. Some are scaling back on asking for money for facilities and other traditional things, knowing even their big-money donors have only so much to spend.
“At the end of the day, NIL is probably the most direct line to being competitively relevant,” one administrator at a power conference program said. “The old adage in fundraising is to say: ‘Coach what do you need, how can I help you?’ It used to be, ‘I need a new locker room’ or something like that. Now, 90 percent, if not 100 percent, of coaches are going to say, ‘I need NIL money.’”
Ole Miss is among the schools that have felt that already: Athletic director Keith Carter said this week that it had “put on the shelf” plans to renovate the stadium, citing the current landscape.
But when it comes to fundraising for collectives, Ole Miss is an example of full buy-in, from the coach to the administration to the fans. The Grove Collective has been one of the most high-profile collectives, and Ole Miss followed up an 11-win season by getting key transfers.
“I think everybody understands that you’re showing proof of concept then you’ll probably be OK,” Jones said. “But the moment you have any downturn in success on the court or the field, you’re probably going to have some issues.”
Some excerpts from the article that I thought OB might find interesting
“This season, Belzer estimates, at least 15 schools’ collectives will be paying more than $10 million total to their football teams. He said the median among the power conferences will be around $4 million to $5 million. That’s money that is either in addition to or in place of money that is going to traditional donations for season tickets, facilities or other things.
“I have this conversation with ADs constantly. I say you have to be ready, or you’re going to be on the wrong side of what’s about to happen,” Belzer said, meaning revenue sharing.
But in the current model, where do programs stand? In talking to several experts, who were granted anonymity to speak about these issues, the consensus is that it varies by program.
Georgia is probably in the same group as Alabama as programs that have recruited well and won recently on the field, although Alabama faces a big change as it moves forward without Nick Saban. They have built a lot of facilities during the past decade, fundraising to do so, and thus many donors might be closer to being tapped out. LSU, Clemson and other schools that went fully into the facilities race are in that boat. Teams like Georgia, however, have the added “burden” of recent success, which makes fans wonder why their collectives need the money.
Sullivan’s reluctance speaks to what the Georgias and Alabamas are up against: the lack of panic.
“I guess it’d be a little different, would you give to get one of those championships,” Sullivan said. “But we just ended a 41-year drought.”
At Texas, Texas A&M or Tennessee (among others), programs and donors might have great facilities and such, but they’re incentivized to participate more in the NIL donating program because they want to get back to the glory days. There’s a desperation factor at places like Nebraska, which saw a huge influx of donations after snagging five-star quarterback Dylan Raiola away from Georgia in December.
Some programs are sneaky good at NIL, like Kansas, Kansas State and Missouri, which need that bump to get to a higher tier. Athletic directors and coaches have realized it’s a good tool, so they’ve encouraged donating. As in: Hey, this is a way to have a better product on the field.
When it comes to fundraising, school administrators have realized they need to adjust. Some are scaling back on asking for money for facilities and other traditional things, knowing even their big-money donors have only so much to spend.
“At the end of the day, NIL is probably the most direct line to being competitively relevant,” one administrator at a power conference program said. “The old adage in fundraising is to say: ‘Coach what do you need, how can I help you?’ It used to be, ‘I need a new locker room’ or something like that. Now, 90 percent, if not 100 percent, of coaches are going to say, ‘I need NIL money.’”
Ole Miss is among the schools that have felt that already: Athletic director Keith Carter said this week that it had “put on the shelf” plans to renovate the stadium, citing the current landscape.
But when it comes to fundraising for collectives, Ole Miss is an example of full buy-in, from the coach to the administration to the fans. The Grove Collective has been one of the most high-profile collectives, and Ole Miss followed up an 11-win season by getting key transfers.
“I think everybody understands that you’re showing proof of concept then you’ll probably be OK,” Jones said. “But the moment you have any downturn in success on the court or the field, you’re probably going to have some issues.”
