Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (It's a put up or shut up NIL world)

[hornsup21]

Obviously there are many people who follow women's sports. Just not enough to justify the existence of 99% of the teams.

OU softball may be the most dominant team on the face of the planet, I doubt they are self sufficient.

I wonder if any of our women's sports could stand on their own. I'm sure wbb is close, if you don't include Vic's salary.

Not sure if the following is relevant to whatever discussion you were having.Just a respectful FYI.. Also speaks to a comment made about no one watches women's sports.May not have been you.No biggie

1st.On the money side of things, the University of Oklahoma women's softball program brought home $3,946,539 in revenue and paid out $3,817,821 in total expenses. This equates to a net profit of $128,718 for the program.

University of Oklahoma Norman Campus Athletics Programs​

College Factual​

​

Only 3.8 million in expenses with Gasso's salry and the new stadium??? Here is why:
.Posted in another thread about why we can't be more competitive with ou in softball recruiting

"""""Playing field is totally unlevel my friend.
Not giving Mike a total pass, but no one really competes with Ou when it comes to talent acquisition-in the nation.
A Lot is Patty and the trophy case OFC.

However, OU's softball money( for facilities salaries and NIL )is nearly more than the rest of the big 12 combined

.Almost all of it comes from fans and businesses.
Examples:
Their new palatial Stadium and adjacent facilities that cost over 30 million to build??
It's not named Love's Field for nothing:Love's Travel Stops, has provided the lead and naming gift for the University of Oklahoma's new softball stadium.

The company has pledged $9 million toward the project and also extended a challenge to other donors. It will match every other donation dollar for dollar up to an additional $3 million dollars as part of project fundraising. The match will result in a total gift of $12 million from Love's,
......................also.......................

. To date more than $20 million has been raised through the generosity of Sooner Club members. (their Longhorn foundation)

Love's Field is expected to be fully funded by direct private support
making it the most ever privately funded r female student-athlete facility in intercollegiate sport.



And Patty's contract is also heavily sponsored . $825,000 ( min)of her salary comes from private funds


Gasso’s base salary, which will be paid by the university, is $300,000 – an increase from $280,000. Tons of incentives though

Gasso’s extension raises her salary to $1.625 million annually,

Only one college baseball coach makes more than Gasso.Corbin for Vanderbilt


Their fan base is HUGE and they invest a TON...Remember there were NINE THOUSAND at a reg season game vs us...9,000! That more than the 22 Record set at regional at the Disch"The attendance of 8,502 is the largest crowd to ever see a college baseball game at UFCU Disch-Falk Field"


Then the NIL $$$$ for Softball is HUGEas well.

1Oklahoma Announces $50k NIL Collective for Oklahoma Student-Athletes​

An OKC non-profit will leverage NIL rules to pay OU football, basketball and

softball players $40-50,000 a year, with an eye on expansion into other sports.

That does not count all the individual NIL deals their players have and they have a ton.


Hard to out recruit that AND The GOAT of softball coaches."""""

 

[McGuapo]

I refuse to believe that Texas can't get a few thousand people on $20-$200 per month.

Oh I’m sure you can get some numbers, just saying in general you’re not just gonna mindlessly change the culture of our fanbase and change their stripes just because you say they need to.

 

[Ketchum]

Oh I’m sure you can get some numbers, just saying in general you’re not just gonna mindlessly change the culture of our fanbase and change their stripes just because you say they need to.

It sounds like this article caused a decent sized group of people to commit to the cause.

Of course, more is always needed.

 

[McGuapo]

It sounds like this article caused a decent sized group of people to commit to the cause.

Of course, more is always needed.

We have plenty to go around, it’s just not as much a given as some other groups because the culture is wired differently.

 

[bigcheddar]

​

No. 2 - Micah Hudson talk ...

So, I made this Tweet over the weekend and my mentions went to hell in a handbasket.

View embedded media

My mentions were a mess from Tech fans, who apparently believe that I made the comment out of fear.

Lulz.

The reality of the Hudson recruitment is that if it becomes a game of Show Friends, Tech has a real shot when you consider his dad played at Tech, his girlfriend is scheduled to go there and he has a real affection for the Tech coaches.

If the recruitment becomes a game of Show Business, the Longhorns will win. No offense to Hutto's Will Hammond (2024 Tech quarterback commitment) or Jake Strong (2023 Tech quarterback signee), but neither of those guys is Arch Manning. Or Maalik Murphy, for that matter.

One school will be playing in the SEC, while the other plays in a watered down Big 12.

One school offers up the chance to play against the best of the best on a weekly basis, while the other plays in games that nobody will really care to watch.

There are reasons why no recruit with the status of Hudson has ever signed to play with Texas Tech.

Ultimately, you have to think Show Business wins out over Show Friends. If Hudson doesn't know that by now, he'll know later in the year when he looks at the Tech recruiting class and realizes that an army of one in college football is only going to take you so far.

TBH, this was my exact thought when I saw your tweet. Tech fans are just off-base, at best. But, that's always been the case. If Hudson truly is the caliber of player as he looks to be, why would he not want to go play with the best QB against the best competition with the most eyeballs watching him do his thing?? To me, it seems like an easy choice. But, family and girlfriend are hard things to argue against, so we shall see...

Lastly, I dig the not-so-subtle Bob Sugar reference

 

[Ketchum]

TBH, this was my exact thought when I saw your tweet. Tech fans are just off-base, at best. But, that's always been the case. If Hudson truly is the caliber of player as he looks to be, why would he not want to go play with the best QB against the best competition with the most eyeballs watching him do his thing?? To me, it seems like an easy choice. But, family and girlfriend are hard things to argue against, so we shall see...

Lastly, I dig the not-so-subtle Bob Sugar reference

Texas needs to just bu the girl friend like she's Lala in He Got Game.

 

[AgaveHorn]

Texas athletes have always done this sort of thing. There have been countless reports of these activities over the years and decades. My real point here is that it appears that Texas Athletics is using “charitable work” and the popularity of that notion as a front to justify something that is actually really different from that. I get that they cannot come out and say just send us money to pay these kids. I just find it insulting that they play the charity card when using compensation to incentivize someone to do something eliminates charity from the equation.

@JesterW637, we need to do a better job communicating a lot of our work and not just saying "charitable". We have hundreds of traditional activities going on like Dell Children's visits and Pop Up Birthday celebrations for foster children but what we are doing unique is truly using our student-athletes image and likeness to amplify the fundraising of our partner non-profits in Central Texas. Including our SA's in non-profit's signature events and galas has resulted in almost all of them bringing in all time revenue for their programs. So there is the traditional charity appearances but also the new professional fundraising element that our Texas student-athletes are proving to be very influential and successful. The amount of work that has been required to create and coordinate just our events program for 500 plus student-athletes has been herculean. I really don't think you should feel insulted and if you have a non-profit that means a lot to you, I encourage you to reach out to us and get our kids involved and you will really see the difference they can make. And we could just state, "send us your money to pay these kids." but we chose the harder, much more difficult route that we believe is sustainable and reflects our University's character and the type of folks we are in Texas.

I also want to communicate a lot more with Longhorn Nation and we are working to figure out the correct balance of providing information that brings folks in with a sense of involvement and ownership, which has always been one of the main tenets we hope to accomplish.

Personally, I really want to spend more time getting the Texas business community more actively involved in traditional corporate endorsements or business opportunities in the NIL space. Our swimming program alone has multiple world champions that are going to be featured extensively next summer for the Paris Olympics, the Austin business community should be all over these athletes and creating marketing material and assets that would be vastly less expensive than having to go through the various USA channels. A dentist office spending $500 for world champion Dakota Luther to create an Instragram ad for their practice seems like that could be a strong investment now, especially if she wins gold next year. There is a million different ideas that are all simple and very easy to execute. The more traditional deals we create for our athletes, the less money the Texas One Fund has to raise.

 

[Ketchum]

@JesterW637, we need to do a better job communicating a lot of our work and not just saying "charitable". We have hundreds of traditional activities going on like Dell Children's visits and Pop Up Birthday celebrations for foster children but what we are doing unique is truly using our student-athletes image and likeness to amplify the fundraising of our partner non-profits in Central Texas. Including our SA's in non-profit's signature events and galas has resulted in almost all of them bringing in all time revenue for their programs. So there is the traditional charity appearances but also the new professional fundraising element that our Texas student-athletes are proving to be very influential and successful. The amount of work that has been required to create and coordinate just our events program for 500 plus student-athletes has been herculean. I really don't think you should feel insulted and if you have a non-profit that means a lot to you, I encourage you to reach out to us and get our kids involved and you will really see the difference they can make. And we could just state, "send us your money to pay these kids." but we chose the harder, much more difficult route that we believe is sustainable and reflects our University's character and the type of folks we are in Texas.

Personally, I really want to spend more time getting the Texas business community more actively involved in traditional corporate endorsements or business opportunities in the NIL space. Our swimming program alone has multiple world champions that are going to be featured extensively next summer for the Paris Olympics, the Austin business community should be all over these athletes and creating marketing material and assets that would be vastly less expensive than having to go through the various USA channels. A dentist office spending $500 for world champion Dakota Luther to create an Instragram ad for their practice seems like that could be a strong investment now, especially if she wins gold next year. There is a million different ideas that are all simple and very easy to execute. The more traditional deals we create for our athletes, the less money the Texas One Fund has to raise.

Good stuff. I hope some people read this. Might be worth i's own post. I'll pin it if you want to make it.

 

[Fansong77]

I have never heard anyone say In Dreams is his best song. 🤷‍♂️

Roy Orbison's 10 greatest songs, ranked​

Roy Orbison's 10 greatest songs, ranked

Roy Orbison was The Soul of Rock and Roll and The Caruso of Rock who knocked out a stunning run of '60s hits.

www.goldradiouk.com

Here you go. In Dreams has to be in any top 10 list imo.

 

[CutaneousHorn]

Inspired by Ketch, I signed up to give $16 per month.

 

[Ketchum]

Roy Orbison's 10 greatest songs, ranked​

Roy Orbison's 10 greatest songs, ranked

Roy Orbison was The Soul of Rock and Roll and The Caruso of Rock who knocked out a stunning run of '60s hits.

www.goldradiouk.com

Here you go. In Dreams has to be in any top 10 list imo.

I don't know how anyone can objectively say that song should be rated over Pretty Woman or Crying, but you did find a guy. Congrats!

 

[Ketchum]

Inspired by Ketch, I signed up to give $16 per month.

Every little bit helps.

 

[Big Stoop]

Will 10,000 fans pay $20/month, with a recession luming, so an 18 year can be paid $50,000 per year to be taught football skills to improve their odds of making it to the NFL and earning millions. Who will voluntarily pay this without any tangible reward/gift? Needs to be a loyalty program of some sorts. Hook’em

 

[Ketchum]

Will 10,000 fans pay $20/month, with a recession luming, so an 18 year can be paid $50,000 per year to be taught football skills to improve their odds of making it to the NFL and earning millions. Who will voluntarily pay this without any tangible reward/gift? Needs to be a loyalty program of some sorts. Hook’em

Is a tax write off in the name of your team winning not a tangible reward? Serious question.

 

[Gulf Coast Baller]

Is a tax write off in the name of your team winning not a tangible reward? Serious question.

The attitude of many in our fan base blows my mind. Have never seen such bitching and moaning about what should be a nominal amount (at the lower level) for any Texas grad.

 

[o5prey]

@Ketchum

You gave one example - but dunne definitely isn’t getting nil money based on her gymnastics prowess / she isn’t even competing in some meets as she’s an alternate

Not saying your example was wrong - but he wasn’t wrong either

 

[Standaddy88]

Sharing revenue would only happen over some dead bodies.

Well then….

 

[Standaddy88]

It's set up so that it can be a tax write off. I would claim the set up is pretty good.

So you are saying the deserve credit for making it into a 501c3? A lot of organizations around the world have accomplished this

 

[Standaddy88]

It seems like if a few thousand folks go out to lunch one less time per month and gives that to the TOF, it would help a lot.

No, it’s called an endowment. Endowment and planned gifts are the way to make things sustainable long term in the world of fundraising, not pledges or reoccurring gifts. That causes donor fatigue which is real.

 

[Ketchum]

So you are saying the deserve credit for making it into a 501c3? A lot of organizations around the world have accomplished this

No one in college athletics was doing this until Texas set it up and started doing it. They were the first to have approval.

 

[Ketchum]

No, it’s called an endowment. Endowment and planned gifts are the way to make things sustainable long term in the world of fundraising, not pledges or reoccurring gifts. That causes donor fatigue which is real.

Texas cannot use its endowment.

 

[Standaddy88]

No one in college athletics was doing this until Texas set it up and started doing it. They were the first to have approval.

I am glad they did, I am proud of my University. That said, any donation that goes to UT or any other college for that matter is typically always tax deductible. Apparently, that was just newly introduced to NIL world. Also, most people don’t itemize when filing taxes you are talking about your typical $20/month donor so it really doesn’t do much to help those. You have to give a couple of thousand plus per year if my memory serves me correctly to consider not filing with your standard deduction.

 

[Standaddy88]

Texas cannot use its endowment.

They start another endowment…. Endowments are just a vehicle that almost anyone can theoretically start a new one. I am not talking about THE endowment managed by UTIMCO (same investment group that manages the states PUF fund) but rather a separate endowment. Most all non profits of any substance have one.

 

[Ketchum]

They start another endowment…. Endowments are just a vehicle that almost anyone can theoretically start a new one. I am not talking about THE endowment but rather a separate endowment. Most all non profits of any substance have one.

The Texas One Fund is basically that, no?

 

[Standaddy88]

The Texas One Fund is basically that, no?

I have no idea how that is managed. From the sounds of it, it sounds like it is a current use fund where the donated funds go directly to a cause (or player in this case), rather than investment (endowment).

 

[Ketchum]

I have no idea how that is managed. From the sounds of it, it sounds like it is a current use fund where the donated funds go directly to a cause (or player in this case), rather than investment (endowment).

I would imagine it's a matter of having enough money come in to be able to do so.

 

[Oilfield]

What an unbelievable scam college sports has become. The universities take in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and get to simultaneously cry poor and convince their customers that they’re the ones that need to fund payroll to keep the business competitive, in exchange for 0% of the revenue.

I mean bravo.

I have to wonder how UT compares with others in regard to the “donations” required for the privilege of buying season tickets.

Maybe ease up on that a bit and encourage people to invest in Texas One Fund.

 

[Standaddy88]

I would imagine it's a matter of having enough money come in to be able to do so.

UT System BOR just changed its policy to increase all UT institution endowment minimums to $25k (many were at $10k)…. So I would hope they have been able to get at least that much.

 

[AgaveHorn]

UT System BOR just changed its policy to increase all UT institution endowment minimums to $25k (many were at $10k)…. So I would hope they have been able to get at least that much.

I am authorized to speak for the entire Texas One Fund board when I say that we would love to have an endowment.

 

[Standaddy88]

I am authorized to speak for the entire Texas One Fund board when I say that we would love to have an endowment.

May I ask what is preventing that?