Hunter Dickinson says Michigan will lose out on "so many players" due to NIL inaction
I kept waiting for this to get posted but couldn't find it on the Board... One of our highest profile student-athletes calling out the school administration for its inaction on NIL.
This is likely one of the primary reasons we seem to be struggling in 2023 recruiting vs. comparable schools like Notre Dame and even lower level recruiting schools like Sparty. We know that Raylen Wilson is still talking / visiting other schools - he is almost certainly being offered tangible numbers while Michigan is only allowed to say that "there are exciting opportunities available".
The hire of the new school president is going to be a crucial sign - it has to be someone that is either "pro-athletics" or at least neutral. If the administration does not allow for the modernizing our NIL program in the next 12 months, it is going to be very difficult to compete. Next on the list is loosening the transfer credit issue (and that is a universal problem for students, not just athletes).
MGOBLOG will return to the first love of its owners and approximately 273 of its current readers - college hockey and the A2 city council.
If I'm honest, the A2 city council has always been fascinating. So, maybe things will work out around here.
EDIT: Looks like someone got the spelling contest one already. Here's a picture....
He's right, and it sucks. Hunter wouldn't even be here anymore without NIL. We'd just have more turnover. What does Michigan think they're protecting? I haven't listened to the interview with Sam Webb yet, but the bits I saw sound smart and reasonable.
Doesn't this contradict the argument?
Ummm, no it does not. Hunter is an All-American / 2 time All B1G and one of the highest profile basketball players in the country.
Nobody is saying that Michigan is quashing NIL opportunities - but they aren't helping or coordinating. Telling an incoming recruit that All-American level athletes at Michigan have NIL opportunities is not going to be much an inducement.
No. Of course Michigan is doing some NIL. We know that. But everyone, players, media, etc. are saying Michigan is swinging with one hand tied behind their back. It'd be nice if we knew the details but the university doesn't want to tell us apparently.
I can't imagine that Michigan lacks enough willing donors to be near the head of the pack on NIL. The school is making a choice to not go all out with it, but my question is how can they make that choice? The school and athletic department have zero control over private citizens starting NIL organizations and using it to help Michigan land the top players.
I think the issue is that other schools are actively coordinating between "sponsors" and recruits while Michigan will only tell recruits about all of the wonderful opportunities once they sign and start playing.
So recruits have to choose between:
(1) Other schools: Sign with us and within a week you will have a NIL deal for $400,000 per year plus other wonderful opportunities once you are on the team
(2) Michigan: Sign with us and you will have wonderful opportunities once you are on the team.
What makes it worse is that players know that only Michigan starters / star players will get any real NIL money.
If you were a broke-@ss 18 year old (like most high school seniors), which one of those would sound better.
SEC School: We will get you 400,000 a year in an NIL deal on top of your housing, food expenses, and top of the line medical and athletic training and care. We also can connect you with Jay. Jay is the guy who can help you find local establishments and small business owners that may be of interest to you (wink wink)
Michigan: The Arb is pretty to look at it. Have we told you about the spinning cube? A lot of couples take engagement and wedding photos in the Law Quad.
I feel personally attacked by your second statement there.
Maybe you're the one in New York City? It also spins.
That one got stolen.
To be fair, yes, the kids are still "broke-ass 18 year olds" but most of Michigan's student athletes are from upper middle class backgrounds. Money may not mean quite as much as we think.
Sounds like you've been eavesdropping on the AD.
Ok - this is a really dumb comment. So you are saying that we will get all of the "upper middle class" engineers and pre-law students and Notre Dame can take all of the local 4 and 5 star recruits?
I am not putting down academics - it is the most important thing and Michigan certainly did right by me - but this conversation is about high level student athletes.
"Most student athletes" is a funny way to hand wave away football + men's and women's basketball teams where the NIL really matters. Pretending this argument is about recruiting volleyball players from SoCal or lacrosse players from Long Island is intellectually dishonest.
Agreed that this isn't a thought through statement. I'm upper-middle class and if my kid had to choose between a Michigan degree and zero NIL or an MSU degree and $400k over four years I'd definitely have my kid go to MSU. $400k head start at 21-22 is life changing if invested and not blown. Unless you're in the top 0.1% or close to it, NIL money makes a big difference.
If the NIL money is a lot smaller it might not matter as much, but then Michigan probably doesn't want those athletes.
Being a college athlete is a job in terms of its demands on time and effort. The group of people out there who can say they have turned down a $100k a year comp increase is vanishingly small and nobody should expect college athletes to make think differently with any regularity.
I feel like we have the Brady Hoke of administrations.
"Why don't you do this simple thing that will likely lead to success?"
"Because we don't."
Michigan is aware of NIL but not fully aware. We will know for sure when they can hear NIL.
There was such a wasted NIL opportunity with The Clapper.
This requires bold leadership from the Athletic Department. It’s not time to just get along with everyone.
I mean, that assumes a school admin that is supportive or at least neutral.
The Athletic Department can't be bold if the admin won't allow them to take the necessary steps.
Sam brought up a great point today on the radio. If we recruit and sign kids totally based on NIL chances are someone will offer them more money eventually and if that was their primary reason for signing, they will always chase a bigger pay day. His comment on that starts at the 10 min mark.
https://omny.fm/shows/michigan-insider/007-nil-conversation-050322
Sounds like he's trying to stay on the good side of the Athletic Department. If we're not going after the best players (who likely have the higher price tag) because of NIL worries, then we might as well shoot for 3 star kids.
If they can figure out how to put donors' names on our coaching positions, they can figure out how to put those donors' dollars in kids pockets.
“If they can figure out how to put donors' names on our coaching positions”
I’m not a fan of NIL as a means of compensating student athletes, but as long as it’s here, this is an excellent point. Michigan has no problem allowing people with zero previous connection to the athletic department to attach themselves like barnacles to the head coaching position solely because they’re willing to contribute a shitload of money, and I’m sure the department is always pro-actively seeking other donors. Why not help pro-actively with NIL?
I am normally a Sam Webb fan, but he spent about a year telling us to just wait because Michigan was not behind, just handling everything behind the scenes.
In the past couple of months, any shred of credibility to that take has been obliterated and, at this point, its clear that whoever he got that from is totally unreliable.
This stuff was all new a year ago. Everyone was rightfully saying let's see how things develop. A year ago Michigan probably wasn't behind, at least outside of the SEC football powers.
Agree, I mean a year ago did you imagine a kid would receive $800,000 and a car to play basketball at Miami? The true test of all this NIL money is going to be how the people putting up all this money react when the player they give it to does not pan out and is buried on the depth chart, basically, not getting a "return" on their investment. Do they continue to throw out large sums of money on the chance a kid will produce or do they maybe hold off and save that money for players who are the major contributors to the teams?
Remember when Harbaugh was looking at the NFL and Sam was still insisting M was in a good spot for NIL? Or after Harbaugh decided to stay when he said M was making the some necessary changes? That is as recent as 3 months ago.
He has been chasing the issue more often than in front of it.
That's not what he's saying. You're also conflating best players and most valuable, which isn't necessarily true. We should be going after the best kids who want come to and stay at Michigan. NIL should be a factor, but if NIL is the only factor then it's a recipe for them leaving
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We don’t want the kids who only care about NIL. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t care about NIL.
The game of musical chairs has begun.
That’s how the real world works.
If.
Yes, if some athlete is only looking for a payday, they won't come here, and even if they did, odds are they'll wash out once practice gets hard. But that's not a conversation worth having, because Michigan never out-bids anyone anyway.
In other cases, even if Michigan isn't the highest bidder, the university provides opportunities that can make up a lot of difference. Numbers out my ass, but if say Kentucky's offering $400k and Michigan's offering $300k, Michigan can still woo some recruits. Money isn't everything to everyone.
But the money issue has to not matter, by which I mean we can't be wasting their time. If Kentucky's offering $400k and Michigan can guarantee nothing, that's a serious problem to even the most diehard, blue-blooded Michigan fancruit. Even if the parents were millionaires, just the insult of being unable to promise anything in a market where their talent is in demand will have recruits looking elsewhere.
I mean, this is salary negotiation 101. With a six-figure offer in hand, who here would take a "prestigious" job that pays in fuzzy fee-fees?
BINGO! Nobody says that we have to get into bidding wars with Bama and Georgia. Just be able to offer something comparable to the "market" and we will continue to be in the historical 10-15 range in terms of recruiting classes.
This should allow us to continue to be competitive with the top programs - similar to the 2021 team.
If Michigan offers a $200k NIL deal to a high ranked recruit but then Miss St offers $225k to lure the athlete away, I would think the idea that Michigan is just a better place to be would win out over the extra $25k. As long as we are in the ballpark of competitive offers I think Michigan will do well. Now, if other schools are doubling our offer then we might have a problem. Be in the ballpark of competitive and we will get and keep a healthy share of high profile recruits.
100% correct. You can't have bold leadership if people aren't willing to follow.
If each department acts like its own little fiefdom, then there will be resistance to any change that requires inter-departmental coordination.
I get the resistance.
My point is to lead them. Lobby them. Educate them. Build consensus. Get them replaced if needed.
Being a world class educational institution does not require you to ignore athletics. I believe they can be mutually beneficial.
So if it ain't broke, break it! Or is it already broke? I don't know. Have you seen my beautiful house?
Warde can be an effective leader when he mans up to it - see the changes he (and Harbaugh) effected with in-stadium medical care across the B1G after the Speight injury debacle at Purdue. Problem is, he is more than happy and content to just go along with 'what we've always done' and follow the leader.
Warde prefers to work in the background, which some say is the best way and others say it means he doesn't care. I think he does care, but I also think he doesn't want to leave a scar. If it's going to be painful for him to lead through it publicly, he's not going to. Witness the Harbaugh fines with no public support.
Bottom line, IMO, if you're looking for Warde Manuel to lead a way through the 'Michigan Way' a find a NIL sweet spot for athletics, you're going to be looking for a long time.
I am all for utilizing our advantage to better utilize NIL, but transfer credit easement is not happening. We’re not Nebraska.
Dumb comment - it is not a good school vs bad school issue. We won't take certain class credits from Texas Tech or Ole Miss or Florida but will take them from Washtenaw Community College (which is a great CC but obviously not a nationally renowned university).
We have a byzantine methodology for determining which credits can be accepted which is almost impossible for students to decipher so they end up just losing credits.
Seth literally talks about this every week on the Roundtable. It is not about "easement", it is about fixing an insane process.
I've read a few blog comments on this over the past couple days so I consider myself an expert on the topic. It seems like the bigger issue is how many credits must be earned at Michigan in order to receive a Michigan degree. Are we okay with someone completing 6 semesters at a different school and completing the last 2 at U of M to earn a degree? It seems like Illinois and other schools allow that.
I think this is the one where it makes sense to make student athlete specific exceptions, much like they already do when we’re recruiting 4 and 5 stars right out of high school. I think for the normal non-athlete student, it makes sense to want a student complete at least 2 years at Michigan to get a Michigan degree.
A broad credit exemption for transfers that receive significant scholarships (such as athletes or those receiving need-based aid) would be one way to go about it
My daughter is currently looking at transfer opportunities from WCC (she is regular student, not an athlete) so we are actually looking at this right now - not just reading blogs.
to answer your specific question...am i okay with someone completing six semesters at a different school and completing 2 at u-m to earn a degree?
i am not.
i know i'm in the minority here.
I think many agree with you which is why there is not an easy fix for this problem.
i reject the premise that it's a problem.
Agreed it's dumb and needs to be fixed. But the administration is unable to walk and chew gum at the same time so if I were to choose an issue that I want them to figure out, it's NIL more so than transfers.