But I do think there are some valid concerns about how the U is adjusting to the NIL era and that's probably the biggest reason why they went with a coaching change, Coyle more or less said so himself…….
……Raboin is the only one we know for sure declined to further interview and while one guy not being interested (for whatever personal reasons) isn't the end of the world, I do wonder if there was anything the university could've done to increase their chances with a guy who bled maroon and gold up until a few years ago. Same goes for the other guys that they may or may not have reached out to.
On the first point, that’s my biggest concern too, and it has been. That was the entirety of my frustration with Bob, his reluctance to fully embrace the new landscape: portal, NIL, CHL. And I get it. Heck, Nick Saban walked away because he didn’t like doing what is now required for success. Bob’s in good company.
Looking ahead, that makes the responsibility on Larson enormous, because he really does have to build something new. He hasn’t done that before, but honestly, who has, in this new environment? He sounds like he’s willing to embrace it, and that alone is a meaningful difference from Bob, at least at the level of posture and rhetoric.
On the second point, how much do we actually know about the Raboin situation? I’m asking that as someone who genuinely doesn’t have the details. However, I’d still be careful about drawing strong conclusions about how badly we wanted him (did he reach out to us first?, could we have done more but didn’t want to?) or what any of it says about the program’s reputation. The data set is incredibly thin, and in that kind of vacuum I often find myself filling in the gaps with my own stories. I imagine others suffer the same affliction.
One last thought on the search: it really wouldn’t surprise me if we more or less ruled out coaches whose teams were still playing in the tournament. If Coyle’s priority was to have everything done before the portal opened, so he could retain and add players quickly, that would drive him toward candidates who were already available. I’m not convinced that’s the most farsighted strategy, but it sure looks like it was his. If that’s right, then the absence of “big‑name” buzz may say more about Coyle’s timeline and approach than about the attractiveness of the program itself. But here I am again, filling in blanks with my own stories.
It’s no secret that Lou Nanne despises the NIL world of college athletics. He’s said as much multiple times on KFAN, which is a shame as the hockey program’s wealthiest donor.
Why doesn’t he endow the head coach position like Notre Dame and Michigan do? The Lou Nanne head men’s hockey coach or the Nanne family head men’s hockey coach. Just a thought, but it’s not my place to tell Lou where to spend his money obviously.
Looking men’s hockey revenues and expenses for what I consider our top two rivals, Minnesota is operating on a different financial tier than both Michigan and Michigan State.
as stated before, Minnesota brings in about 9.7 million dollars in hockey revenue on roughly 6.0 million in expenses, leaving an estimated 3.7 million dollar surplus. By comparison, Michigan reports roughly 3.97 million in revenue against 4.98 million in expenses, running about a 1 million dollar sport‑level deficit, while Michigan State shows 6.63 million in revenue and 6.63 million in expenses, essentially break‑even.
Taken together, that means Minnesota not only generates more hockey money than either Michigan or Michigan State, but also converts that revenue into a much larger positive margin, underscoring how unusually strong and monetized the Gopher hockey fan base is relative to other Big Ten hockey powers.
Thanks for sharing that, it was really good to hear. As I learn more about our new coach, he’s clearly speaking to the things I see as mission-critical.
Looking men’s hockey revenues and expenses for what I consider our top two rivals, Minnesota is operating on a different financial tier than both Michigan and Michigan State.
as stated before, Minnesota brings in about 9.7 million dollars in hockey revenue on roughly 6.0 million in expenses, leaving an estimated 3.7 million dollar surplus. By comparison, Michigan reports roughly 3.97 million in revenue against 4.98 million in expenses, running about a 1 million dollar sport‑level deficit, while Michigan State shows 6.63 million in revenue and 6.63 million in expenses, essentially break‑even.
Taken together, that means Minnesota not only generates more hockey money than either Michigan or Michigan State, but also converts that revenue into a much larger positive margin, underscoring how unusually strong and monetized the Gopher hockey fan base is relative to other Big Ten hockey powers.
does that include donations at each site ie earmarked for hockey donations as well as those to NIL?
it doesn’t and unless it does it really doesn’t matter.
Our revenues are going to be higher in part because Mariucci is huge and our ticket prices are insane compared to college hockey and the deal with fox9 and general advertising/licensing.
Rev share is capped so it puts no extra dollars in out athletes pockets nor to win a recruiting battle funded by boosters but it helps our overall dept support women’s hockey and help pay for things like remodeling the sheet at Mariucci (facilities budget for hockey was $2mil this year).
so while those numbers are good and indicate we can invest in keeping the infrastructure intact (which helps from a facilities standpoint), unless that drives Coyle to change the rev share to men’s hockey, that doesn’t change much. It’s part of why comps to OSU or MSU don’t matter. Football is still king there and the drive their plans by private funding and NIL.
so we’ll see if coyle decides he wants to invest in hockey further. There’s a super good article from espn a few days ago on it, but I wouldn’t just look at our reported revenues and say that we’re better off than any of those schools you mention as it depends on where he’s spending those revenues (like we only have 19 scholarships in hockey and spent 39k on hockey recruiting this last year). Lots of ways to drive funding for your hockey programs across multiple schools outside of the listed AD budget
I think Larson gets it and seems to have a vision. Think the scary part to fans is it’s “unproven” if he can do that consistently. My hope is the boosters and admin give him the resources to do so (and that the ghc will just go for it because I think there are a good many boosters who want to infuse money into this program which will be entirely outside the above listed budgets)
maybe i misinterpreted what you’re saying about the revenue aspect, but that second part of donations needs to accelerate because I don’t think coyle is dumping that back in exclusively for things that will benefit men’s hockey acutely. Will help us stay healthy and contending long term, but doesn’t fix the top level recruiting edge we need to play in the chl pool as heavily and recruit internationally
Thing is the portal doesn't open until April 13th (or until five days after the coaching change happens) and there were some potential candidates (w/ MN ties) who were either done after yesterday or before the tourney even began. I feel like they could've easily accomplished that regardless.But I do think there are some valid concerns about how the U is adjusting to the NIL era and that's probably the biggest reason why they went with a coaching change, Coyle more or less said so himself…….
……Raboin is the only one we know for sure declined to further interview and while one guy not being interested (for whatever personal reasons) isn't the end of the world, I do wonder if there was anything the university could've done to increase their chances with a guy who bled maroon and gold up until a few years ago. Same goes for the other guys that they may or may not have reached out to.
On the first point, that’s my biggest concern too, and it has been. That was the entirety of my frustration with Bob, his reluctance to fully embrace the new landscape: portal, NIL, CHL. And I get it. Heck, Nick Saban walked away because he didn’t like doing what is now required for success. Bob’s in good company.
Looking ahead, that makes the responsibility on Larson enormous, because he really does have to build something new. He hasn’t done that before, but honestly, who has, in this new environment? He sounds like he’s willing to embrace it, and that alone is a meaningful difference from Bob, at least at the level of posture and rhetoric.
On the second point, how much do we actually know about the Raboin situation? I’m asking that as someone who genuinely doesn’t have the details. However, I’d still be careful about drawing strong conclusions about how badly we wanted him (did he reach out to us first?, could we have done more but didn’t want to?) or what any of it says about the program’s reputation. The data set is incredibly thin, and in that kind of vacuum I often find myself filling in the gaps with my own stories. I imagine others suffer the same affliction.
One last thought on the search: it really wouldn’t surprise me if we more or less ruled out coaches whose teams were still playing in the tournament. If Coyle’s priority was to have everything done before the portal opened, so he could retain and add players quickly, that would drive him toward candidates who were already available. I’m not convinced that’s the most farsighted strategy, but it sure looks like it was his. If that’s right, then the absence of “big‑name” buzz may say more about Coyle’s timeline and approach than about the attractiveness of the program itself. But here I am again, filling in blanks with my own stories.
With Raboin I assume it's a combination of things and I probably wouldn't read too much into it either, like you said we don't know exactly how it went down. I gotta imagine moving the family a second time in 4 years when you have 3 kids in school might not be the most popular decision and he's already making good money. His program is still on the upswing too so the timing just wasn't ideal from what I gather. Not getting him specifically isn't the end of the world but the whole process of Coyle conducting this process over Zoom calls while at the NIL was interesting to say the least. As others have pointed out it's possible that he reached out to gauge interest from some of those other guys but we do have an idea of who did/didn't interview during that timeframe and that list of coaches seemed pretty narrow in scope.
On Beyond the Pond, Larson says they are working through HR stuff and should have staff announced this week. Eluded to having the staff already picked.
@boosker14 im not trying to be a hater but it's fair to question a coach that has not made the tournament in 3 years. He also was less successful than Motzko who did not work out here.
On Beyond the Pond, Larson says they are working through HR stuff and should have staff announced this week. Eluded to having the staff already picked.
Also said he has been spending his time starting relationships with the current players and plenty of time on the phone to current recruits to start developing those.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
maybe i misinterpreted what you’re saying about the revenue aspect, but that second part of donations needs to accelerate because I don’t think coyle is dumping that back in exclusively for things that will benefit men’s hockey acutely. Will help us stay healthy and contending long term, but doesn’t fix the top level recruiting edge we need to play in the chl pool as heavily and recruit internationally
Your points on where Coyle actually directs those revenues, scholarships, recruiting budgets, facilities, are fair and well-taken. That’s a real distinction. High revenues don’t automatically translate into a recruiting edge if the allocation decisions don’t follow, and I think your read on what revenue sharing does and doesn’t mean practically is right.
was less successful than Motzko who did not work out here.
If you don’t think Bob “worked out” here then no one will ever “work out” here.
And again, they were running the ship at SCSU in two completely and utterly different landscapes. If you can’t understand that extremely crucial fact, then don’t reply further, please!
@boosker14 he never won a title and only got close once. After 22-23 the team did nothing in march.
Which of the coaches in consideration are any different?@boosker14 he never won a title and only got close once. After 22-23 the team did nothing in march.
Larson got to the final with his recruits so really just depends who you want to give credit for that one. Either way I'd say Motzko worked out here, he didn't win it all but we got to see the team consistently improve for a while and they should've won it all in 22-23. I also can't think of a anyone who would've been a better candidate to take over after Lucia. Guentzel you could've maybe made an argument for but it's hard to say when he was the D coach and the D under Lucia (the last few years) were big and unskilled kinda like this year. IDK if that was Lucia's idea to recruit more guys like that or Guentzel's but that was my main trepidation with hiring him. Other than him though I can't remember any clear options who would've been better, I didn't really want Hastings and IDK if he would've even came here. Sandelin definitely wouldn't have (not that I wanted him anyway), Potulny would've been a bad hire etc.@boosker14 he never won a title and only got close once. After 22-23 the team did nothing in march.
Holy fuck it’s been 8 years are we really still trying to rehash the hiring of Bob? He’s not even the coach any more
Holy fuck it’s been 8 years are we really still trying to rehash the hiring of Bob? He’s not even the coach any more
The lunacy makes sense when you understand that losing the ‘23 title game was a personal attack to them. Bob basically came in, stole their significant other, and kicked their dog on the way out.
So anywho, is there video out there of the Fox 9 interview that Larson did with Jim Rich? Sounds like there were going to be some direct questions about recruiting CHL types and what not, would be nice to at least get the audio from that.
Trying to pin down a day and time, but we HOPE to have Coach Larson LIVE on the Podcast this week.
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For what it is worth, Bob can say he beat all four teams in the Frozen Four this season.
Larson on CHL during interview on Fox9:
"You got to be nimble. You got to work your connections. You got to make sure that you're really connected everywhere and the biggest thing right now is the opportunity to go up to Canada to grab a potential first round pick if you want to."
"You got to make sure that your connections are strong, your relationships are strong, and now you're kind of managing a roster at times, almost like a pro team, and you got to make sure that you're ready for that."
"For us, it's building relationships on all those teams. It's funny, I've been up there quite a bit. A lot of guys that I used to work back in the day are coaching in that league now. So I think that you know, if you've done a good job up there in the past, a lot of those guys are all connected. And be honest, recruiting is all about relationships. You got to work those relationships that you have and continue to build new ones."
Larson was on BTN this morning I saw it but could not hear it, I was working out at Lifetime Fitness listening to my music
Aloha!
So anywho, is there video out there of the Fox 9 interview that Larson did with Jim Rich? Sounds like there were going to be some direct questions about recruiting CHL types and what not, would be nice to at least get the audio from that.
https://www.fox9.com/video/fmc-kx0d0e22dz2vadcx
Tact is the ability to step on a man's toes without messing up the shine on his shoes - Harry S Truman
Larson was on BTN this morning I saw it but could not hear it, I was working out at Lifetime Fitness listening to my music
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
Not very objective
In the BTN interview, he said "Structure" a few times. I haven't watched any St. Cloud games recently to really dig into what his structure is. I'd be curious to hear him explain it. Otherwise I'll just have to wait until October to see it in action.
He has nailed the interviews. You can tell he is very excited for this opportunity. Hoping the roster comes together nicely in the next few weeks.
Trying to pin down a day and time, but we HOPE to have Coach Larson LIVE on the Podcast this week.
Looks like early next week.
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I'm sure this is gonna get blowback but the entire Gopher hockey appears to have largely sat on its laurels for years with the premise that just pushing across the "M" jersey across the table would sign recruits. Meanwhile:
1. North Dakota nationalized their recruiting under Hakstol expanding beyond Western Canada and hit more of the non-traditional markets (NY, CA, etc). Moved to a pro style. Now have a GM under Jackson. Note the continual adaption.
2. Michigan plugged heavier into the National Development pipeline in addition to moving outside Michigan for recruiting in some cases. Built a coaching staff under Naruto that connects with players well and seems connected with the NHL better than any program.
3. Michigan State & Penn State appeared to adapt better than any programs to NIL and have been been aggressive going after guys in Portal and recruiting. Michigan State coach especially appears to be thinking ahead on everything.
4. Minnesota completely fell behind on facilities which took Lucia until almost 2015 to realize. No foresight all while Wisconsin, North Dakota, UMD, BU, Penn State, and Notre Dame built new arenas. Mariucci could have been renovated much quicker than it was. NO WAY Saban would have sat back and let it happen at Alabama for years.
The point is under Lucia & Motkzo the Gophers have never seemed innovative, just hoping the M would sell it to recruits. Literally nothing about Bob struck me as the polished innovative CEO coach these other bluebloods have. Like listen to the Denver coach speak on anything vs Bob. I think having Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Michigan in the Frozen Four should be the biggest wake-up call to the Gopher hockey program.
Here's what Larson needs to do:
1. Relationships everywhere across the hockey landscape (CHL, MN, East Coast, West Coast, Canada). Hire people to run across the country finding kids (NOTE look with UND did). Deprioritize Minnesota players if they want to win.
2. Work the alums and NIL system better. Minnesota probably can't match Michigan / Wisconsin / Penn State / Michigan State in NIL overall given school pride / football driven infrastructure at those schools but they can do better for hockey. Literally hire someone from Ohio State if needed to figure out what they are doing with football. Hire some smart lawyers from NY. Stop looking to Coyle for advice as if Fleck set the grounds for NIL at the U of M.
3. Be aggressive filling holes in Portal. Don't need to become a portal team but can do better.
4. Most importantly, be innovative. This program doesn't need to wait for others to come up with the ideas. Literally not once in the last 20 years has MN felt innovative. This needs to change.
5. Self-awareness. To Minnesota kids, the Gophers are god-tier. But outside the state, it isn't. Denver has the best coach and sustained success. North Dakota has the best arena / facilities / NHL-style program. Michigan has the high-end talent stack and NHL connections. BC & BU have a lot of draw to coastal crowd. Other big ten schools will probably have more NIL. Minnesota should be among the better programs but it needs to go in with the mindset that other programs have stuff to offer. Especially if they expand beyond MN players, the self-awareness needs to better. This will help them adapt too when another program is doing something new.
No program is entitled to anything. Doesn't matter that the Gophers are a blue blood. Penn State has shown that. Indiana football has shown it. If the coaches / players / alums just think it's entitled, the program will not be consistent.
Agree with a lot said there except for the phrasing of “deprioritize Minnesota players if they want to win”. MN kids will be the bread and butter of recruiting at Minnesota as long as the state keeps producing the depth of talent that it does. To suggest otherwise imo is silly and contrarian for the sake of being contrarian. What’s key is insulating with high end players from elsewhere and not just be at the mercy of what the state produces.
Coach Larson gets me fired up, I'm fully on board. He seems like the kind of guy who's going to do great things here.
Alright, screw it, I’ll bite. Reading your post was like watching the Gophers this past year. One step forward, two steps back. There were multiple times that you made good points. You’re right, the Gophers can’t just rest on their laurels and expect the M to do all of the work. They need to be innovative and expand past the borders of our state. But I would argue that they have done that. One of the best team we’ve had in recent memory it was probably the ideal makeup for a modern gopher team. Elite out of state guys like Knies, Cooley, and Johnson (I know he had the connection but still a Cali kid) mixed with Minnesota talent like Faber, Snuggerud, LaCombe as well as role players and the rest of the team being from Minnesota. I know we can’t go back to recruiting like we did in the days of Brooks and Woog, most fans know that, but to turn our back on our home grown talent and “deprioritize Minnesota kids” as you said would be the dumbest thing this program could do in its 100 plus year history. Next you said that we need to be more aggressive with NIL and more polished. I agree with the first sentiment to an extent. Even though I don’t like this new world of college athletics it is the new world that we’re in. But the two programs you touted and who spent a lot, at least from what we heard, couldn’t even make it out of their regionals. As far as polished and corporate I see what you mean but again compared to what? North Dakota has their success this year with having a GM and I’d like a position like that for the Gophers but to imply that they’ve found the secret sauce feels too early. If they win it all in two weeks then maybe but they were terrible in the post season in the last few years. Then they made a few tweaks and turned it around. Let’s see if Larson can do the same before we blow it all up. Hastings isn’t new and polished, he’s as old school as they get, and Wisconsin has been all over the place the past few seasons. I’m still not totally sure how they made it to the FF. Probably part of it is due to the Spartans laying a giant egg with five minutes to go. Michigan has the NTDP in their backyard but it’s not like we don’t get those players either. In recent memory Cooley, Snuggs, Faber, Oliver Moore, Chesley were all development program guys. We have a bunch on the team for this year. As far as polished and professional, that athletic department finds new and creative ways to get themselves into scandals every year and Nurato is the biggest meathead in college hockey who has somehow found a way to combine the Minnesota popped collar arrogance with the North Dakota goonery and decided to be the heal year in and year out in the B1G. My long winded point being, there are a lot of ways that the Gophers should change and adapt in this brave new world. But, while we can take notes from other programs, we don’t need to change everything and try to be something we’re not. The foundation for this historic program is solid. Let’s make the changes we need to without completely abandoning what Gopher hockey and this state are all about.
To respond to your comments:
1. Regarding Wisconsin, I never insinuated they are a model program. I said their arena is newer than Mariucci and their participation in Frozen Four should be a motivator for the Gophers. I think the tier of elite programs over the last 10-15 years 100% excludes Wisconsin. Either way, a Frozen Four with UND, Michigan, and Wisconsin should make Minnesota fans puke. Literally one of the biggest rivals is probably getting a title this year.
- Regarding Penn State & MSU flaming out, sure I hear you. But they aren’t going away. They are getting serious looks from good players. Recruiting is holding up. Their alums are engaged. The arenas are sold out every night. This forum will hate this comment but I would argue in this day and age, Penn State & MSU are more “peers” than “inferiors” to Minnesota. All the bluebloods + big money schools are really Minnesota’s competition for good players. If you think MSU isn’t a peer today, then you are part of the problem with entitlement in the program. Bob even said it in a media press conference within the last year that the Big Ten doesn’t have any weak / irrelevant programs like the WCHA used to have.
- Regarding Minnesota guys, I agree they should still be in the program. Its an important symbol if nothing else. My comment was to “deprioritize” their influence. Less players overall but still some. Part of why Minnesota got into this situation this year was because they didn’t pivot like the other programs. They didn’t have the relationships with the other leagues (because Bob was caught unprepared or the influential people in program fought against it). We need the option to recruit anywhere and get guys. If its Minnesotans, great. If its somewhere else, then we need to get those guys. The infrastructure wasn’t there to even recruit effectively.
- Regarding innovation/polish, its can the coach see where things are going and adapt before the trend arrives. The head coach isn’t there to draw up plays at practice or determine the powerplay. Its recruiting philosophy, overall team philosophy, winning the locker-room over, putting up with admin, dealing with politics, dealing with boosters. They need to think AHEAD.
As an example, David Carlye has gotten credit in coaching circles and college hockey for making Denver hockey department more nimble. He recalibrated roster building at DU. He has sat on hockey boards to keep his pulse on thing. Coached in various off-season teams. He has been a change advocate in college hockey (like regionals being on-site). Everything about him oozes “let me think how can this be better and adapt.”
In college football, these guys are even more “CEO-EY.” Saban / Ryan Day etc. had people on staff to tell of trends legal / NIL / recruiting. They are always adapting. You put the people in place to help run a machine. Do you really think Bob had people telling him about trends? I 100% believe the programmatic approach hasn’t been there.
Its understanding media / social media. Listen to Vikings HC speak. Its all talking points masquerading as friendly banter. O Connell knows how to speak to media and also subtly the fans/players. Bob was nowhere near this level.
Its understanding how to navigate transfer portal. I listened to Sandelin complaining about transfer portal on a podcast and he implied that certain programs KNEW who may enter the portal and were READY to pounce. I read between the lines Michigan State is one of those programs. Credit Nightingale for putting the process & people in place to be good at that.
I’ll give you an example that could apply to MN. When all the new arenas were getting built, the Gopher coach could have worked the boosters successfully for renovations. Or advocated for public financing (heck invite the Governor to the game to drop the puck and play politics over years). But instead, Lucia came on a radio show years ago and complained about facilities and how Minnesota shouldn’t be allowed to be “left behind” because Ohio would never “forget about OSU football.” He literally failed at part of job and his comment was pure entitlement. Saban had friends everywhere to advance Alabama’s interest (ESPN, SEC, other coaches, high school coaches, boosters, rich friends). He pulled those strings every day he needed them.
I’m not saying the Gophers need to throw everything away. They do have some things to work off of. But they need to watch, listen, adapt, PUT SYSTEMS IN PLACE, and ultimately become a model program like Denver. They aren’t maximizing their potential. Even when they had good teams, they weren't maximizing their potential.
I look at the Carlye Pioneers or the old Hakstol Sioux as squeezing everything out of those programs they could (every relationship, ever dollar, every recruiting visit). While MN has been like an oil-rich country that didn't have to work as hard at bring productive because the resource money keeps flowing in (ie the good recruits). The advantages MN used to have 25 years ago have been falling away. The TV coverage advantage is gone (ie FSN). The arena advantage is gone. Hockey talent is a little more distributed than MN within the USA. The massive fanbase has fallen off its highs. The implied money advantage of playing for Gophers (branding) is gone because real NIL is bigger at other schools. This all means that MN now has to compete on a more even field now (as they say iron sharpens iron). If Larson runs things like Denver, it will be refreshing to see the program maximizing its potential.
Hakstol never won. Anywhere!
2. Work the alums and NIL system better. Minnesota probably can't match Michigan / Wisconsin / Penn State / Michigan State in NIL overall given school pride / football driven infrastructure at those schools but they can do better for hockey. Literally hire someone from Ohio State if needed to figure out what they are doing with football. Hire some smart lawyers from NY. Stop looking to Coyle for advice as if Fleck set the grounds for NIL at the U of M.
I'm just over the constant NIL assumptions by people. Like Pat Micheletti has said...show me the receipts. Show us that all those schools are outspending the U. McKenna's $700k is an assumption. Tate Pritchards' $50k is an assumption. If you really want some insight to NIL I would recommend messaging @skiumahlaw with your questions and he will give you the real answers.
One thing is for sure is that spending millions will never buy you a NCAA championship in a one and done tournament in hockey. Penn State got further last year than they did this year and probably spent less.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
2. Work the alums and NIL system better. Minnesota probably can't match Michigan / Wisconsin / Penn State / Michigan State in NIL overall given school pride / football driven infrastructure at those schools but they can do better for hockey. Literally hire someone from Ohio State if needed to figure out what they are doing with football. Hire some smart lawyers from NY. Stop looking to Coyle for advice as if Fleck set the grounds for NIL at the U of M.
One thing is for sure is that spending millions will never buy you a NCAA championship in a one and done tournament in hockey. Penn State got further last year than they did this year and probably spent less.
I don't think anyone is saying it buys you an NCAA championship. But there is no denying that being competitive in NIL is important to competing for an NCAA title year in and year out. Burying your head in the sand and just scoffing at the Mckenna numbers like Pat is missing the point.
@SCSU fan You lost me at Hakstol.
I'm not too terribly concerned about NIL at this point.
Every time I go to a Force game I'm greeted by the same video of Leo Gruba pushing the Title Wave brand, Ziemer just had his Affinity Plus ad come out, Mooney's Xcel ad made the rounds, etc.
Can't say I know what $ is being thrown around, but I'm sure the guys are doing just fine with these opportunities.
I'm not too terribly concerned about NIL at this point.
Every time I go to a Force game I'm greeted by the same video of Leo Gruba pushing the Title Wave brand, Ziemer just had his Affinity Plus ad come out, Mooney's Xcel ad made the rounds, etc.
Can't say I know what $ is being thrown around, but I'm sure the guys are doing just fine with these opportunities.
To me, we are doing what NIL was supposed to be for. The players can shill for a product using their name. Schools like Mich St and Penn St are straight up giving money without anything in return, other than playing for the team. I think that’s where we are behind and our numbers may be miniscule compared to other schools.
I don't think anyone is saying it buys you an NCAA championship. But there is no denying that being competitive in NIL is important to competing for an NCAA title year in and year out. Burying your head in the sand and just scoffing at the Mckenna numbers like Pat is missing the point.
Well...the McKenna deal was the last of its kind so we never have to worry about that again.
As far as being competitive with NIL is kind of a misleading statement in the fact that the athlete has to be willing to put in the work to "earn" the money. Like @skiumahlaw has said the athlete has to work for the money at a "fair market value". So Mooney and Ziemer both earned the money for their ads at the same rate that an actor would have made in those roles in those ads. Gone are the days of earning $10k for a tweet. Also, now EVERYTHING goes through the athletic departments compliance office to make sure it's on par. No exchange of money happens until the compliance office approves it. So a collective could have $10M in available funds but if an athlete doesn't put in the work they don't get paid. NIL isn't pay to play.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
I don't think anyone is saying it buys you an NCAA championship. But there is no denying that being competitive in NIL is important to competing for an NCAA title year in and year out. Burying your head in the sand and just scoffing at the Mckenna numbers like Pat is missing the point.
Well...the McKenna deal was the last of its kind so we never have to worry about that again.
As far as being competitive with NIL is kind of a misleading statement in the fact that the athlete has to be willing to put in the work to "earn" the money. Like @skiumahlaw has said the athlete has to work for the money at a "fair market value". So Mooney and Ziemer both earned the money for their ads at the same rate that an actor would have made in those roles in those ads. Gone are the days of earning $10k for a tweet. Also, now EVERYTHING goes through the athletic departments compliance office to make sure it's on par. No exchange of money happens until the compliance office approves it. So a collective could have $10M in available funds but if an athlete doesn't put in the work they don't get paid. NIL isn't pay to play.
they are?
I don't think anyone is saying it buys you an NCAA championship. But there is no denying that being competitive in NIL is important to competing for an NCAA title year in and year out. Burying your head in the sand and just scoffing at the Mckenna numbers like Pat is missing the point.
Well...the McKenna deal was the last of its kind so we never have to worry about that again.
Says who?
Schools like Mich St and Penn St are straight up giving money without anything in return, other than playing for the team.
Which we saw how far that got them, both faltered late in the season both in the B1G tournament and in the NCAAs.
they are?
Yes. What say you @skiumahlaw
i would disagree. The NCAA is trying to show its teeth right now on the whole "must be fair market value" but we'll see what happens in court.
The one's being struck down are the one's where there is no detail of what they're doing to earn money. the ROI calculators for influencers are garbage but their NIL value estimations are quite high. Underwood (Michigan QB) has 265k instagram followers and a NIL estimation of about 3million. McKenna has 200k followers. It's going to be very hard pressed for them to be able to say their "valuation" when it's based on engagement on posts or going live talking about a product or you're getting value by the athlete's association with things and can make some bullshit up about value to your company. Merch gets a little easier as they can see sales.
It's a fascinating world right now. Did Solo Ball make Turbotax money being in their ad (and how do you decide what Ball manufactured for a 100+ billion dollar company) or Azzi Fudd make whatever insurance company money and how are you going to put a valuation on that, a tweet, etc., when there's really no fair market comp right now (tweets or instagram posts can be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars based on ROI calculators out there right now).
The Playfly sports case will be very interesting (Arbitration case could bring change to college sports' 'messy middle' - ESPN). We'll see if the system has teeth soon enough. The places they'll get in trouble is where they do nothing.
Yeah, I am certainly no NIL expert, so all posts FWIW. Politics aside, it feels it is all in its infancy. Posturing, court cases, etc. all going to be tough to keep track of. Hard to get a full grasp on how it will impact college sports as a whole, let alone a niche sport like college hockey.
The Nanne family already paid for the remodel of the player lounge, how much more should they do. With all the NHL players that are alumni and all the money they have collectively made, NIL at Minnesota should be in good shape.
@scsufan I am no Lucia defender, but to say they sat back as other teams upgraded facilities is a weird take. Most of the schools you list had dumpy old arenas and were upgrading to Mariucci Arena standards (or higher in some cases- not to be confused with Kohl Center, that's a a basketball arena). Meanwhile, UMN was upgrading other sport facilities including building a new football stadium, a women's hockey arena, and the Athlete's Village. These facilities took huge resources to complete. Mariucci Arena was and is great. There was no way they were going to dump more money into Mariucci before any of those other projects.
Personally I would argue after the new locker/training rooms, rink resixe and scoreboard update, there isn't a whole lot that needs to be upgraded. We don't need new stadiums in college sports every 20 years.
The next sport building to require upgrade is Williams arena. I haven't been there in 30 year, but I hear its time to replace.