In my last article, I discussed how we got to NIL.
I also touched on some of its effects on the college landscape. This time, I want to examine how recruiting has changed with NIL.
In the old days of recruiting, you gave the student-athlete his scholarship options and then discussed his role on the team. You checked all the boxes and ensured there was no promise of money or gifts. Then, after he was enrolled, he was directed to student financial aid for things like PELL grants since Student-Athletes rarely had time for a job.
Now, with the creation of NIL, keeping up with the changing landscape can be very delicate and frustrating.
The first issue is that NIL rules vary from state to state. There is very little that is standard. Seven states have opened up NIL negotiations for high school Seniors who are being recruited.
This is a disturbing trend. In many cases, we are talking about kids who are 17 or 18 and most have not seen the kind of money that can be offered in NILs. Hopefully, they and their families obtain good advice and are not just wooed by dollar signs.
As I noted in my first article, many coaches have talked about the effect of the double whammy with the Transfer portal and NIL. Now coaches have never been allowed to promise money other than financial aid with scholarships, such as Pell Grants or other financial aid that would be available to all students. But with NIL there are restricted from ANY conversation between the Student-Athlete and those offering NIL contracts. but it is here where the waters get muddied a little.
With little to NO oversight third parties or "collectives", can offer NIL deals to any college athlete and in some states high school athletes as well. But they can't or are not supposed to offer NILs as inducements to steer an athlete to a certain University.
So how has that affected recruiting?
Well, in theory, the rules on coaches haven't changed. but Coaches are aware of the collectives that compete to sign the athletes. Now many Collectives are sponsors, alumni of universities, and even former athletes. So there will naturally be a tendency to "guide a student a certain way that could be done "covertly".
Now, the transfer portal also plays into this, given that teams can rebuild or reload quicker by getting there from other schools than by developing high school recruits. Part of what plays into that is the NIL. Athletes are allowed to get financial or business advisors to help with marketing, tax laws, and financial arrangements. So, it is not hard to imagine that personal biases could play into it without a coach's or school's knowledge.
So depending on the program(and sport) Recruiting has become a minefield.
I will use My favorite team Illinois after last season they had a solid core group of players some still young Freshmen and Sophomores. but they lost 4 key starters due to graduation. Coach Underwood and his staff started looking to add some age, upgrades at the Point Guard spot, and some shooting. what transpired in the process was him losing 2 young promising Point Guards Nico Moretti and Soph Sincere Harris, both of his inside post players in Jr Dain Dainja and Fr Amani Hansberry, along with Power forward Coleman Hawkins and top outside threat Jr Luke Goode. All to the transfer portal. Now while a couple of these were possibly expected he couldn't have foreseen all of them plus it meant he had to not only look for age but some level of sustainability as well. Florida State would be another example. Last season in the football playoffs, before their first-round game. They lost 19 players due to some opting out to prepare for the NFL and some entering the transfer portal. I am sure that Coach Norvel didn't see that happening either. Also in the B1G, Michigan won the National Championship last year only to lose a significant portion of top returning players to the transfer portal after Jim Harbaugh announced he was leaving, making this season a little harder for incoming coach Sherone Moore.
So what does this do to high school recruiting? Overall for your high school stars, not much has changed. But those players who were on the borderline where normally coaches might take a chance on developing a player. But if the coach can get what he needs out of the portal to fill that spot to give them a better chance at immediate success.
Now some have said that the portal along with NIL is a double whammy for coaches. Others have said it has led to a new form of parity and that could be partially true as bench players on power conferences like the B1G or SEC look for destinations in the Moutain West or AAC and can elevate those programs. But the reverse is true also that top performers in the non power conferences are looking for a bigger payday than what they are getting. I mean look at Indiana football 13 players transferred in from James Madison where coach Curt Cingineti was before taking the job for the Hoosiers.
Now I don't blame the athlete for trying to better their position not only financially but career-wise as well. But with NIL the transfer portal has become an all-consuming monster that if continued to be unchecked will turn the world of college sports into nothing more than a sideshow for the NFL and NBA.
Now one sport that can benefit from the NIL is college baseball. I can see high school kids looking at college NIL money and the fact that meals, room, and board are paid for. Then comparing it to Minor League Baseball where they have to rent a place to live, they face a per diem for meals then figure in the travel schedule of the minor leagues, which could affect the decision they make. I mean why not if you can get living expense money in college through the NIL then in a couple of years enter the MLB draft you can put up with the early years or rookie league and low A ball. However, NIL for Non-Revenue sports may take some time.
In part 3 I will look at ways to possibly restore some sanity to the Wild Wild West of NIL.
Thanks for reading and as always you can leave a comment here or hit me up on X @tsotbgcs.
Also don't forget to check out my podcasts Talking Sports on the Bleachers and the NCAA report presented by the F.U.E.L. Sports Network which can both be found at the fuelsportsnetwork.com
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