Embrace the Portal

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

A point can be made that we heard promises that Bradley’ s NIL would keep our best players here!

Well, our best players have left every single year. So tell me again how well it’s working? In fact, our least used scholarship players hung around & I am sure got more NIL here than they would had they transferred or gone DII. So unavailability of those scholarships may well have hurt us.

I believe they are trying. But our best players are getting high 6 figure opportunities elsewhere I believe. The reality is, as good as our NIL may be, I'm not sure we can compete with the larger universities and Alumni writing 7 figure checks, but maybe I am wrong.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

The court system was responsible for this mess with your liberal judges. The NCAA had nothing to do with players getting paid for their services. The court system is also responsible for letting players transfer as much as they like without penalty. The NCAA makes rules and when certain individuals do not like them they go to court , fight the rules and get their way. I think as long as the courts are involved the NCAA has little hope as far as rule enforcement.

I am unsure that politics are necessary to bring into this. In fact, opening up and allowing players to move as opposed to being regulated doesn't actually sound very liberal. With that said, I would be interested in seeing a transcript from the actual judgement itself and the political affiliation of the Judge who condoned the ruling to see if it follows your claims, not that that is even really relevant.

Remember, the kids are allowed to in essence do whatever they want - free market - so to speak. What many of us would want is to restrict that movement. The NCAA is a very true form of a free market right now, which will allow capitalism at its truest form to take hold.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

And for record. I am not saying I like or agree with the Portal or NIL.

I just simply don't believe it's going backwards to a place we would all deem acceptable or "fair". So I believe you either get with the times or will be subject to death spiral.

I think VERY good teams can be fielded at our level within the portal, and Bradley basketball could have some very relevant teams in the future. And who knows, embracing this just might be the way to prevent players from actually leaving.

Look at what Utah State did last year. What many of us wouldn't do to have a season where we were ranked and made the tournament. All off of transfers.

[egib52]

A point can be made that we heard promises that Bradley’ s NIL would keep our best players here!

Well, our best players have left every single year. So tell me again how well it’s working? In fact, our least used scholarship players hung around & I am sure got more NIL here than they would had they transferred or gone DII. So unavailability of those scholarships may well have hurt us.

Well it is tough to compete with schools that can offer more money

[Stryker]

If Darius comes back, which it sounds like he will, then 6 of our top 7 potential returners are coming back. Last year we were able to keep Malevy. Yes it’s disappointing to see Hickman and Mast leave, but it’s a new world and you’re not going to keep every player. I think our NIL collective is doing a good job to keep players around.

Exactly. We have basically lost two players in the last couple of years, Roberts and Hickman. I don't count Mast, he had graduated and frankly I think Malevy ended up being more valuable to the team than Mast was, so I don't think it could be said that we lost our best player last year.

The only, and I mean the only way that things could be equalized at all in men's college basketball is if the government stepped in and made NCAA D-1 basketball a league like the NFL (Which I don't think could be done at this point due to access, ownership laws, etc) and then split all revenue equally between all D-1 programs, just like the NFL. So a small market team can compete with a large power program. At least when it comes to TV revenue.

It all comes back to TV revenue imo. The 1970s when it started is when we saw the end to the smaller market teams like Bradley being national programs. The difference in TV revenue completely changed the dynamics of college basketball. If all of that revenue went into a pool and was distributed evenly it would equalize things in a big way. Big schools would still have an advantage with merchandise sales and other marketing and NIL deals, but it would be a much smaller difference than there is now.

However this is all a pipe dream.

[Da Coach]

A point can be made that we heard promises that Bradley’ s NIL would keep our best players here!

Well, our best players have left every single year. So tell me again how well it’s working? In fact, our least used scholarship players hung around & I am sure got more NIL here than they would had they transferred or gone DII. So unavailability of those scholarships may well have hurt us.

Wow, everyone is entitled to their opinions, but this is just a bit off... So your saying the Bradley NIL is to blame for Terry Roberts, Rienk Mast, and Connor Hickman leaving? And that somehow HOTB is actually hurting Bradley?

First, I might have missed it, but where did anyone ever "promise" that "Bradley's NIL would keep our best players here"? I don't believe anyone can guarantee such a thing, and certainly not when big schools are known to offer hundreds of thousands of dollars a year in NIL money to get players to transfer.

The Bradley NIL collective, Home of the Brave was just created in August of 2022, 5 months after Terry Roberts left, so they can't be blamed for that.
And in 2023, it's hardly rational to suggest the HOTB should have matched the 6-figure NIL offers the Rienk Mast was getting.
They did end up playing a part in retaining the core of that 2022-23 team, including Malevy Leons, Connor Hickman, Duke Deen, Christian Davis and Darius Hannah, thus allowing fans to enjoy a great 2023-24 season. And the availability of NIL might have even helped land Atlason and Burch, as well as the 2024 recruits.
And in 2024, the Bradley NIL appears to have played a part in keeping the entire core roster intact again, except for Connor Hickman. And Hickman had his own personal reasons for transferring that had nothing to do with NIL money. So that was going to happen regardless of any Bradley NIL action.

[egib52]

Exactly. We have basically lost two players in the last couple of years, Roberts and Hickman. I don't count Mast, he had graduated and frankly I think Malevy ended up being more valuable to the team than Mast was, so I don't think it could be said that we lost our best player last year.

The only, and I mean the only way that things could be equalized at all in men's college basketball is if the government stepped in and made NCAA D-1 basketball a league like the NFL (Which I don't think could be done at this point due to access, ownership laws, etc) and then split all revenue equally between all D-1 programs, just like the NFL. So a small market team can compete with a large power program. At least when it comes to TV revenue.

It all comes back to TV revenue imo. The 1970s when it started is when we saw the end to the smaller market teams like Bradley being national programs. The difference in TV revenue completely changed the dynamics of college basketball. If all of that revenue went into a pool and was distributed evenly it would equalize things in a big way. Big schools would still have an advantage with merchandise sales and other marketing and NIL deals, but it would be a much smaller difference than there is now.

However this is all a pipe dream.

Totally agree with this. The commercialization changed college sports forever.

[Canton BU fan]

What I remember reading on this board 2 years ago was that Bradley's NIL was or should be the best in the MVC. No promises of being one of the best nationwide though. Also, as for the top talent who wish to go pro I'd hope that the development we have seen with some players would outweigh immediate financial gain elsewhere.

[basketball nut]

I believe they are trying. But our best players are getting high 6 figure opportunities elsewhere I believe. The reality is, as good as our NIL may be, I'm not sure we can compete with the larger universities and Alumni writing 7 figure checks, but maybe I am wrong.

I've heard these 7 figure checks being written, and mainly they are, but then a couple weeks ago I seen an article about NIL money and the SEC. The article said few SEC schools had NIL funds above 10 million dollars. If that is the case then not many are getting million dollar NIL money as that was for both football and basketball. If that is the case then not many players are getting 7 figure money.
Mast left due to wanting to further his education in a major the it is my understanding that BU didn't offer graduate work in and Hickman left for more personal reasons that had nothing to do with BU, the players or coaching staff.

[Peoria_bradley_fan]

I've heard these 7 figure checks being written, and mainly they are, but then a couple weeks ago I seen an article about NIL money and the SEC. The article said few SEC schools had NIL funds above 10 million dollars. If that is the case then not many are getting million dollar NIL money as that was for both football and basketball. If that is the case then not many players are getting 7 figure money.
Mast left due to wanting to further his education in a major the it is my understanding that BU didn't offer graduate work in and Hickman left for more personal reasons that had nothing to do with BU, the players or coaching staff.

It seems that the NIL is getting more "transparent" so to speak. Maybe someday we will be able to know the exacts.

I Don't know for sure, but if some funds already approach 10mil+ just imagine what those pools look like in a few years.

The IU message board for example seems to think they can easily write kids checks over 500k, and some 7 figures easily.

Maybe I am dead wrong, but I just don't think HOTB has that kind of fire power.

When the NIL was very new I had my doubts at first about HOTB, but it's become pretty clear to me lately that they do a great job with the hand that's been dealt. Sometimes you've gotta let the top go to protect and keep a few more.

[BengalFan]

The court system was responsible for this mess with your liberal judges. The NCAA had nothing to do with players getting paid for their services. The court system is also responsible for letting players transfer as much as they like without penalty. The NCAA makes rules and when certain individuals do not like them they go to court , fight the rules and get their way. I think as long as the courts are involved the NCAA has little hope as far as rule enforcement.

Do you really have to inject politics into this? The NCAA could have gotten their arms around this years ago but the “conservatives” stuck their head in the sand and refused to acknowledge the reality. D1 athletes work for a living - the same as the scholarship kid who works at Subway. I know, I was one of those kids back in the day.

[BengalFan]

It seems that the NIL is getting more "transparent" so to speak. Maybe someday we will be able to know the exacts.

I Don't know for sure, but if some funds already approach 10mil+ just imagine what those pools look like in a few years.

The IU message board for example seems to think they can easily write kids checks over 500k, and some 7 figures easily.

Maybe I am dead wrong, but I just don't think HOTB has that kind of fire power.

When the NIL was very new I had my doubts at first about HOTB, but it's become pretty clear to me lately that they do a great job with the hand that's been dealt. Sometimes you've gotta let the top go to protect and keep a few more.

No NIL is writing that kind of money to a kid. They will facilitate endorsement deals or opportunities. I read where Kentucky played in the Bahamas so Oscar T could sign autographs for $. He made $50k. But no one wrote a check for him.

[basketball nut]

Or you get the car dealer that is an avid fan and gives players a new truck to drive for 6 months at a time, like Oklahoma football team.
Heard rumors that InSt blue has a similar deal for some its BB players.
We could use someone like that in Peoria area for BU players.

[tomahawk chop]

Do you really have to inject politics into this? The NCAA could have gotten their arms around this years ago but the “conservatives” stuck their head in the sand and refused to acknowledge the reality. D1 athletes work for a living - the same as the scholarship kid who works at Subway. I know, I was one of those kids back in the day.

Division 1 athletes playing basketball should not be considered workers because if that is the case every athlete in every sport would be getting paid. I have no problem getting paid if they actually have a real job outside of the sport they are involved in at their school. I understand this is the day and age we live in but going to school for free and getting free housing and meals plus all the events they get to travel to for free should be enough since very few students get any of that for them.
Do not accuse me of being political because Congress is responsible for most of this mess. The NCAA worked really well until others stuck their noses in and pretty much ruined collegiate sports.
Lastly our NIL is never going to have even close to the same amount of money that the P-5 powerhouses do mostly because of football.

[egib52]

Do you really have to inject politics into this? The NCAA could have gotten their arms around this years ago but the “conservatives” stuck their head in the sand and refused to acknowledge the reality. D1 athletes work for a living - the same as the scholarship kid who works at Subway. I know, I was one of those kids back in the day.

Wrong, this was coming regardless. Top athletes were getting offered thousands for their autographs. Other athletes sued because the schools/NCAA were making millions because of them. You weren't getting by paying them a pittance.