NIL, Portal Impact on "Academic" P5 Schools...

[Sheffielder]

I sorta raised this in another conversation, but it bears mentioning that none of the "Academic P5" schools - I am specifically referring to Duke, Stanford, Vandy, and us...are killing it right now. And before you say "but Duke..." the have no quality wins, and just lost to Ga Tech, who just fired their head coach and AD.

Apart from the Harbaugh era I think we could objectively say that Northwestern has been the most successful of this group over the past 10-15 years. Although none of us are happy with Fitz right now, I'd argue our relative success compared to others has been largely due to stability and talent - both from the players and yes, the coaches.

Just asking because it's the Monday of a bye week and I'm kinda sick of talking about firing coaches...how much do we think the arrival of NIL and the Transfer Portal is or will impact schools that prioritize academics? Is there a correlation here? Looking directly that Northwestern's situation, I would argue we've lost more than we've gained from the Portal up to this point, and as a "booster" by definition, I've not seen or heard NU say or do anything related to NIL - like it doesn't even exist.

Out of curiosity, does anyone have any knowledge of how our academic peers are handling these two things? Are we all just getting smoked because we want to die on some hill of integrity and virtue that isn't real?

 

[eastbaycat99]

I was thinking of starting a similar thread so will piggyback. I believe the following are power 5 private schools (or independent equivalent) that are also top 40 US News: Stanford, NU, Duke, Vandy, USC, BC, Wake Forest and Notre Dame (Feel free to correct me if I missed any).
I think the major disadvantage of the schools just mentioned in the NIL world is their small, dispersed fan base, with the following exception. Arguably, Notre Dame and USC are in a class apart due to their ability long ago to capture fan bases that transcended their alumni base. Whether USC keeps their base is a good question, but their undergrad student body is still much larger than the others mentioned, and the concentration of alumni from Southern California keeps them in the running to compete with state schools. ND is sui generis.
The transfer portal, to me, is a different animal, but somewhat stacked against most of the schools listed. The ability to attract and retain high profile players through transfer would seem to be a function of probability playing for a given school would boost the chances of playing in the NFL. This is a case of the rich getting richer and the poor, poorer. While all the listed schools have alumni in the pros, except for ND and USC, that transition has been erratic at best for the others in the list.
I think Stanford’s dismal play the last two seasons is a pretty good comparable to NU. They have lost 11 consecutive conference games, and are also looking for answers. Wake Forest is the one school without the advantages of USC and ND that has thrived the last two years. If you were to do a case study, they would be the one I would like to know more about, particularly to know if their current success is a fluke or sustainable.

 

[KappaKat]

Vandy could be a study on the opposite end of the pole. I think that they're like 0-23 in as many conference games. James Franklin, as the three year Vandy HC showed that coaching matters. He inherited a team coming off back to back 2 win seasons. In his three years, he averaged 8 wins with two 9 win seasons. He only lost one non-conference game in his tenure. He recruited the top three classes in the schools history. But I was his scheme and motivation that led to winning. He also hired a Mason who field a top 25 defense in all three years. The were known to take the gamble on both sides of the ball, to try the unorthodox.

After Franklin, Vandy quickly regressed back to it prior insignificance. My take: Franklin's Vandy proved that academic schools can enjoy success with the right coaches. But Vandy more clearly shows how academic schools without creativity can quickly descend into the abyss.

 

[Sheffielder]

I only listed Vandy, Duke, and Stanford because my impression is that three (and NU) in particular will prioritize admissions standards over football talent.

I think most will agree with the assumption that USC will let any major football prospect in the door, admissions be damned. Notre Dame, Wake, BC...maybe not "any" prospect but there's probably enough flexibility there as well to ensure the good ones don't get boxed out over ~50 points on their SAT verbal or a C- in Junior English.

Regarding the portal...will just say this: under the old system (whether it was a good or bad system), I suspect Brandon Joseph would still be at Northwestern. We would have never gotten/taken Hunter Johnson or Hilinski. We probably still would have lost Skowronek since he left after his senior year, but we also still would have gotten Payton Ramsey who likewise transferred as a grad student.

Anecdotally, the portal hasn't been great for us. NIL is a whole other story, but the fact that NU hasn't put out any marketing about it while other schools have publicly retrained sports marketing firms to help their student athletes "maximize their value..."

EDIT: Literally today, NU put out a story announcing their partnership with a firm about this, so I stand corrected. Late to the party but not absent:

Northwestern Partners With The Brandr Group For NIL Group Licensing - Northwestern Athletics

Northwestern Athletics and The Brandr Group (TBG) have established a group licensing agreement for student-athletes covering all 19 varsity teams, enabling W...

nusports.com

 

[KappaKat]

As it relates to NIL, it appears to me that the NU sports leaders believe that the value of the NU degree is significant and aren't overly concerned with NIL as a recruiting tool. I think that the overarching theme is "The right student-athlete for NU won't make his decision based on NIL money." Sure they are willing to assist current players with compliance.
Think about it. There aren't 30 Dodge Chargers parked at the football ball facility.

 

[ballerog711]

Northwestern To Provide '5980' Awards Beginning In 2022-23 - Northwestern Athletics

The Northwestern University Department of Athletics and Recreation today announced its commitment to provide academic awards to student-athletes starting thi...

nusports.com

NU is participating in this program as well.

To your point, most athletes coming to NU aren't doing it for NIL, but it does not hurt to have these programs available.

Parents and athelets are looking for the NFL to provide the generational wealth and do not realize the value of degree from a school mentioned above will help you to be set for life.

 

[CoralSpringsCat]

Northwestern To Provide '5980' Awards Beginning In 2022-23 - Northwestern Athletics

The Northwestern University Department of Athletics and Recreation today announced its commitment to provide academic awards to student-athletes starting thi...

nusports.com

NU is participating in this program as well.

To your point, most athletes coming to NU aren't doing it for NIL, but it does not hurt to have these programs available.

Parents and athelets are looking for the NFL to provide the generational wealth and do not realize the value of degree from a school mentioned above will help you to be set for life.

This is great news. Thanks for sharing.

 

[chipmunkadmirable]

Parents and athelets are looking for the NFL to provide the generational wealth and do not realize the value of degree from a school mentioned above will help you to be set for life.

Unfortunately, that's true. Not many athletes might be on such a level to get wealth from NFL. To me, a degree is much more important, but I still love sports. I even use sources as https://essays.studymoose.com/buy-dissertation to get help with some of my coursework to spend more time on sports. But after years of professional sport, I got an understanding that to succeed in it you need much more effort than in classical education

 

[Dugan15]

Unfortunately, that's true. Not many athletes might be on such a level to get wealth from NFL. To me, a degree is much more important, but I still love sports. I even use sources to get help with some of my coursework to spend more time on sports. But after years of professional sport, I got an understanding that to succeed in it you need much more effort than in classical education

One would be hard-pressed to find a bigger NU cheerleader than me. However, we on this board WAY over-state the value of an NU degree as it specifically pertains to a Big Ten athlete. Any player who successfully manages 4-5 years of major college athletics at a Big Ten school will have a leg up on job interviews (and should) over a generic, but smart NU grad. That is not a knock on NU. It is a recognition of what it means to be an athlete of that caliber. And, for god sakes, no one cares about your degree when you get to job #2 in your career.

Go ‘Cats!

 

[ballerog711]

NU degree opens up more doors for job #1. Might even say better quality doors.

I agree any student athelete that plays a major sports and graduates is a great accomplishment, but the school you did it at is a separator.