NIL is killing college sports!
- Thread starter TimothyC3
- Start date
I now see why we are signing who we are signing and why I will be pleasantly surprised if the kid from FSU ever even visits here, let alone signs here!
I thought there was a post a few months ago about us having more NIL this year but I guess not?
We are bringing up the rear now and it will come down to coaches who can adapt to our NIL situation, recruit in spite of that, develop guys once they are here and have a game plan when it comes to offense and defense in games.
On top of all this, the coach for UNLV football and basketball will have to “rinse and repeat” this annually!
I believe that Dan Mullen and Josh Pastner are built for this!
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If either is, we lose him.
We are the minor leagues developing talent for the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers.
Said from the beginning paying players never made sense, it does make sense to pay them if a team uses what NIL stands for. If they use their name and image in a game or whatever then yes they definitely should get a % of that. But paying players? 99.9% of college athletes would be ecstatic with just a college scholarship. I see thousands of parents every day sending their kids to AAU in the hopes of getting one. It's definitely part of the reason we let my son play AAU. But as usual we are tailoring policy for the smallest part of the population.
Yeah, I think it’s pretty much done.
P5 weak schools may complain because they don’t have as much as the top of the conference, but they’re still safe by the conference safety net. For hoops, we aren’t. I think we are dead in the water, essentially we will be a 1/2 bid leave that is an 11/12 seed first round fodder, Cinderella potential.
Football, I think we are ok. We can compete with our immediate peer for that CFP spot. Yeah, we are crushed when we get there. But our “Super Bowl” will be earning a CFP bid. Which, considering from where we came, is incredible. Also, considering from where we came, it’s incredible for hoops too (but in a negative way).
P5 weak schools may complain because they don’t have as much as the top of the conference, but they’re still safe by the conference safety net. For hoops, we aren’t. I think we are dead in the water, essentially we will be a 1/2 bid leave that is an 11/12 seed first round fodder, Cinderella potential.
Football, I think we are ok. We can compete with our immediate peer for that CFP spot. Yeah, we are crushed when we get there. But our “Super Bowl” will be earning a CFP bid. Which, considering from where we came, is incredible. Also, considering from where we came, it’s incredible for hoops too (but in a negative way).
Especially in BB, G5 becomes much like FCS currently is to football. The important games are to win the conference. The team is fodder to boost win totals for large programs. Feeder of better players to large programs. Nearly complete roster turnover annually. Followed by a few thousand die hard fans. Generally irrelevant in the National conversation.
Probably need to play in COX.
Probably need to play in COX.
Money talks!
But both men did say UNLV was an interesting opportunity, we will see!
This is an overlooked aspect as well. These young men don’t form bonds that will help them later in life (when they look to be coaches and try to connect with former teammates).
This quote is all over the radio and tv here in Denver and is something that does not get mentioned but is very true.
Some will say money is the root of all evil but actually money is neither good or evil, it’s “the love of money” is really the evil part!
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I think about this all of the time when I see kids that have been to 4 high schools and 6 colleges. Just moving on every year leaving anyone you became close to behind. My college years were an amazing time and a lot of that was the friends I had.
This was a really good thread to read. I echo so
Much. It’s sad to see how the lack of guard rails and de-railed the whole premise of college sports. It isn’t NIL. It s pay to play. So let s get salary caps in place based on budgets, revenue sharing, and contracts.
Oh and as part, gotta have a passing GPA, we leave that part out.
Much. It’s sad to see how the lack of guard rails and de-railed the whole premise of college sports. It isn’t NIL. It s pay to play. So let s get salary caps in place based on budgets, revenue sharing, and contracts.
Oh and as part, gotta have a passing GPA, we leave that part out.
Yep I agree friendships is what makes the high school and college experience. And I am sure this will end up creating an entire group of entitled athletes.
D2, D3, NAIA, FCS are all places where friendships and brotherhood will still be there. It'll be the top 50 schools or so where dollars will be the goal.
What we will see are more Dad's pushing their kids to go into organized sports like BB and FB. There are probably several thousand kids who could be worth a fortune who don't play sports at all. More and more of these will be identified and groomed. Expect to see more private coaching programs. More private facilities. Way more emphasis on club ball. Even more kids concentrating on one sport from early youth.
I talked about this before it looks like they might rule on how many years of eligibility a player has? Would help spread out talent. Some of the lesser talented players would get screwed ,but you cant have your cake and eat it to.
These are all fertile recruiting grounds where capable players will be gone too and I think the point was that “locker room camaraderie” is what will be missing more and more due to guys leaving for the big bucks!
It’s true, guys won’t stay together as long now in the era of NIL!
I am getting close to dropping all interest in college sports. Because if I am going to follow professional sports, why watch players who are not skilled enough to play at the highest level. College sports have become not much different from A-AAA baseball.
My interest in basketball has fallen significantly and not just because of UNLV. For years I took off work Thursday and Friday to watch every game of the tourney I could those four days. I didn't watch a single game start to finish this season. I tuned into the second half of about 5-6 games. Football I watched a few of the playoff games because it was new and because I wanted to see how Boise would do but last year I watched the equivalent of half of one game and will probably go back to that. I did watch all of the UNLV games though. That will continue but for playoffs it will likely go back to seeing a quarter here and there. Boring as hell with most of the same dozen teams contending every year. And most of the playoff games sucking.
I dont watch much college BB either, Cant remember the last time I watched more than 3 minutes of a UNLV game its been years. I do watch tourney games mostly sitting on a bar stool.
College football is my favorite sport always has been and I think always will. For me what happens once the game kicks off is secondary. I go to a lot of games every year, more Oregon than any but alot of games in other places as well. Nothing better in sports than arriving to a college town on Thursday or Friday, walking around campus, hitting all of the bars with students, alumni and fans of both schools, tailgating, etc. So unless that changes Ill be a huge CFB fan regardless the lunacy that is going on currently.
Going to college football games is just a fun thing to do. We love traveling to non conference games in September if they are good matchups but the rivalry games are where you really see what college football is all about! The students, fans, tradition and the food! Lol
I use to go to UCLA vs USC, Apple Cup Washington, Civil War Oregon and Egg Bowl Mississippi but those have fallen off a bit.
I have recently been to Michigan/Ohio State, Auburn/Alabama, Bedlam and of course CU/Nebraska and even AFA/Navy/Army many times but one of my favorites is to go to the Red River Rivalry!
Nothing beats a “fried snickers” at the Texas state fair! Lol
I use to go to UCLA vs USC, Apple Cup Washington, Civil War Oregon and Egg Bowl Mississippi but those have fallen off a bit.
I have recently been to Michigan/Ohio State, Auburn/Alabama, Bedlam and of course CU/Nebraska and even AFA/Navy/Army many times but one of my favorites is to go to the Red River Rivalry!
Nothing beats a “fried snickers” at the Texas state fair! Lol
I thought about making the same comment. Minor league skills with major league pay! A booster fool and their money is soon parted!
Call me crazy, how difficult would it be to cap each school at 10 mil? Work within the number. Everyone.
I agree 100% but wouldn’t the counter argument be the same that they used to justify NIL in the first place?
“There’s no limit on how much schools make off these poor, abused children.”
This would have already been done except from the way it originated. It came about from the NCAA losing a couple of lawsuits. Students obtained rights to their image. This evolved to what we have now. Antitrust law principles, specifically under the Sherman Antitrust Act, were used to argue that the NCAA restricted players compensation and were anti-competitive and unlawfully restrained an athletes' economic opportunities. I don't think this gets capped without congress intervening.
I imagine the stool and the beers help that
Yeah I can see where going to the games would be fun I enjoy going as well. I don't go to much outside of UNLV but it's always fun to go. I've had a great time at the different road trips Vandy, Notre Dame, Michigan, Ohio St, Houston, Tennessee all a blast.The same courts that allowed this free for all will next see the same court action from those representing tax payers and students who are forced to foot the bill. It could get bloody!
Same with me. Couldn’t wait until we won enough to where you’d start looking at venues for the NCAAT, hoping for a good seeding. Watching every single MWC game you could. And then watch some top 25.
It’s in part that UNLV fell completely off the national or even regional cliff … to me it was as much as having no identity or style, no recruiting to excite … no pro prospects, no reason for any big hopes or expectations. But the game has deteriorated badly. Now, those final four teams were damn good. But once you start getting beyond the top 10-15, you’re seeing teams with some pretty significant flaws. In conference, watching the “best”, they’re pretty damn mediocre as they proved again once again on the big stage.
Watchability, aside from the best teams, which usually involves teams I cannot stand, is difficult. Now we are tossing in the mercenary players; hired guns for a season, for ridiculous amounts … it’s gross. I think it drastically shifts the MO from pride to money, from us to me. And to me, the beauty of competition is the drive to win as a team, roll it out there, go all out, may the best team win. Not may the highest scorer get paid. It’s really disheartening.
Even if UNLV became top 25 regularly, if it was a team that changed 80% of the faces ever year, fans, imo, wouldn’t become enamored with the team. Because we like to watch them grow together, like to see the personality of the players and the team, the development.
Quick, picture Wink Adams face. You got it.
Quick. Picture leading scorer JoJo Moorings face. You didn’t get it. Or if you did, you had to search the memory banks.
Can you picture seldom used David Willard? I can. High scorer Kris Clyburn? I can, but it’s not immediate recall.
Funny I was thinking of that the other day I can remember what players like Booby and Keith James looked like more than Mooring or Harkless and he was only here two years ago. You are rooting for laundry now no player attachment at all.
Plus there is no Cinderella anymore one team in the sweet 16 that is it. The days of George Mason and Loyola are long gone. Watching 20 SEC teams play does nothing for me.
Or 18 SEC teams plus YBU and Puke does absolutely nothing for me except to see the last 2 teams lose!
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If you asked me to name two players on this last seasons team I can’t. I know Dedans son was on the team and he has since left and unless he was with Dedan I would know who he was if he walked up to me. Literally the extent of what I know.
I got the final I wanted to see. Primary reason was no Duke and no Bruce Pearl. I don’t like watching sports because I want to see somebody lose …
I hate the dominance of high paying programs in the NCAA Tournament. But if you believe the TV ratings the country overall likes it. Bigger names draw.
( From Chat AI ) The 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, saw a notable increase in TV viewership compared to the previous year. The tournament's average viewership was 10.2 million, a 3% increase from the previous year. The Final Four, in particular, drew record-breaking numbers, with some games averaging over 16 million viewers.
( From Chat AI ) The 2025 NCAA men's basketball tournament, also known as March Madness, saw a notable increase in TV viewership compared to the previous year. The tournament's average viewership was 10.2 million, a 3% increase from the previous year. The Final Four, in particular, drew record-breaking numbers, with some games averaging over 16 million viewers.
One slightly better year means very little if you look at the historical ratings of basketball which have been in a free fall for most of the last 40-50 years. I am not looking at every game, just at the championship game. 1979 35 million people watched the game out of a total population of 225.1 million for a viewership of 15.5%. 1990 29 million watched the game out of a total population of 250.1 million for a viewership of 11.6%. 2000 21 million watched the game out of a total population of 282.2 million for a viewership of 7.4%. 2005 24 million watched the game out of a total population of 295.5 million for a viewership of 8.1%. 2010 24 million watched the game out of a total population of 309.3 million for a viewership of 7.8%. 2015 28 million watched the game out of a total population of 320.7 million for a viewership of 8.7%. 2020 20 million watched the game out of a total population of 331.5 million for a viewership of 6.0%. 2025 18.1 million watched the game out of a total population of 341.0 million for a viewership of 5.3%. It did bottom out in 2024 with a viewership of 15 million watching the game out of a total population of 340 million for a viewership of 4.4%.
In 46 years that viewership of the final game has dropped by 17 million while the population has increased by 116 million, and the viewership percentage dropped from 15.5% to 5.3% this year. This last year may have gone up, but that is an outlier! If you look at the viewership, you will find those viewing and going to game continue to age faster than the population.
UNLV is lower than Stephen F Austin U, let that sink in for a second, a minute or forever.
There is no doubt the trend for the past 50 years has been down. The point I was trying to make involved the large and increasing NIL payments that have only been with us for a few years. Some have expressed an opinion that the entire tournament is tainted because this ( SEC having so many trams). At least from this year, it doesn't appear that is the case.
That’s okay, I have enough in me to root for YBU and Puke to lose, for both of us!
