John U. Bacon on Michigan NIL program
John U. Bacon is saying that Michigan does not have a NIL program set up (no staff or advisors whose job it is to connect athletes to sponsors). But Sam Webb has repeatedly stated (especially in the Nolan recruitment) that NIL was not the problem and Michigan was good on NIL. And now reports are Harbaugh is trying to leverage the NFL to get a bettet NIL program. Is this simply about the use of the Block M or is the confusion about each is interpreting the NIL program.
https://twitter.com/Johnubacon/status/1479432906737135620?t=tMt8pzkBcW0mU4iMr3iQxw&s=19
January 7th, 2022 at 8:10 AM ^
Who is John U Bacon?
January 7th, 2022 at 8:15 AM ^
He's a journalist who's written several books on the program in the last decade, most recently Overtime.
January 7th, 2022 at 10:58 AM ^
He’s a publicist for Michigan football.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:01 PM ^
He’s both.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:16 AM ^
Kevin Bacon's (shockingly) paler younger brother.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:58 AM ^
Who is 8 degrees of separation away instead of the more impressive 6.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:17 AM ^
He's the guy that posts bacon bits from time to time.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:57 AM ^
His father, Francis Bacon, is the father of the scientific method. So I guess, John U. Bacon is the scientific method.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:49 AM ^
Scientific method? Fake news.
/s if it wasn't clear.
January 7th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
mGo Go Gadget Play
I just logged in to say that's the funniest thing I've read in a long while! Well played. Cheers
January 7th, 2022 at 9:00 AM ^
He is your mother!
January 7th, 2022 at 9:36 AM ^
Bob Vance bought me this perfume.........It's made from real pine
January 7th, 2022 at 9:42 AM ^
Wait, do you mean Bob Vance of Vance Refrigeration? That Bob Vance?
January 7th, 2022 at 4:39 PM ^
purchased in metropolitan Orlando
January 7th, 2022 at 10:37 AM ^
Logged in solely to upvote this. A+
January 7th, 2022 at 10:15 AM ^
Where is John U Bacon?
January 7th, 2022 at 10:33 AM ^
I'll do ya one better, when is John U. Bacon.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:04 PM ^
What is John U Bacon ?
January 7th, 2022 at 3:04 PM ^
Where is John U. Bacon?
January 7th, 2022 at 10:55 AM ^
He's out makin' bacon
January 7th, 2022 at 10:53 AM ^
Who isn't John U Bacon?
January 7th, 2022 at 1:21 PM ^
congrats on your first day being a Michigan fan!
January 7th, 2022 at 8:19 AM ^
I would say the former, as we would have heard about a NIL program if there was one. To say that NIL didn't impact the Nolan recruitment is like saying there was no NIL when it was under the table. He ended up at A&M.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:47 AM ^
Yea, those comments and consistent use of them even when it is obviously false is why people question Sam's legitimacy. It is too bad, he works hard and is a very affable guy. But man does he homer too hard.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:52 AM ^
Sam does appear to be an affable guy and dude works his ass off but he is so homer and full of shit its tough to see sometimes.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:06 AM ^
Sam is a good dude.
He's been useless on UM "insider" info for a while now.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:37 AM ^
Actually, I think he's more subtractable than addable. He is, however, definitely affable.
January 7th, 2022 at 2:25 PM ^
Ha...good catch. I just corrected it.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:34 AM ^
I don't think he was saying the NIL was not a factor for Nolan but instead that Michigan's NIL pitch was strong enough but we still lost out.
January 7th, 2022 at 10:50 AM ^
Yea he made it seem as if Michigan had an NIL plan for Nolan. And if that is the case, then that leads to believe there is some sort of program. Now to what degree is the question.
January 7th, 2022 at 11:11 AM ^
I think that's a leap. We might have one-off plans or detailed programs tailored around specific recruits or individual entities handling NIL for certain prospects but we clearly do not have the infrastructure like A&M did or like I'm sure Bama/UGA do.
If you want to play big boy football you're going to need infrastructure, organization and coordination. You have to bring all NIL deals into the program, make it systematic, and get all your benefactors running in the same direction. I promise you A&M didn't amass a 30MM NIL package for their class by accident or at random.
January 7th, 2022 at 11:52 AM ^
Giving student athletes royalties on jersey's sold thru the MDen does not mean we have an NIL program in place.....its not even close. A&M has a tightly managed program with Boosters, pop up LLC's etc......
January 7th, 2022 at 11:14 AM ^
My recollection is Sam was largely repeating what some of the Nolan family members had told him, and it seemed to me he felt he had a strong enough relationship with him that they were being upfront and honest. Sounds like in the end it probably was a factor, but I do think there was a bit of a snowball effect going on with A&M too - guys getting excited about playing with so many other top guys. Only a couple of schools could sell that.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:20 AM ^
These takes may not be as conflicting as they appear. When Sam said that he may have truly believed/been told that UM's NIL package was solid, especially a few months ago when Nolan was still a possibility. If I recall it was between us and Tennessee when Sam was discussing this. It was not until later after we were out of it that A&M come into the picture. Only recently have the rumors come out about A&M's cash machine spending $25-30mil on recruits this year. While UM may have thought it was "good" for a while only to realize they are not to par with some of the Southern schools.
January 7th, 2022 at 8:33 AM ^
Yes, and just because we don't have a structured NIL department doesn't mean that there weren't lucrative NIL options for Nolan, the #1 recruit in the nation. The tippity top guys are never going to have a problem getting NIL deals. I'd imagine it's the lower ranked to mid-high ranked players (who can still be impactful) that will benefit most from a department that facilitates NIL relationships.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:03 AM ^
"Yes, and just because we don't have a structured NIL department doesn't mean that there weren't lucrative NIL options for Nolan.."
Yes, but a statement like this would lead me to believe that on many occasions we don't have lucrative NIL options for most recruits.
January 7th, 2022 at 12:18 PM ^
Just like we were shocked and surprised by Georgia's size and speed in the CFP, I think we were were shocked and surprised by the size of some of these NIL deals that are being done now.
What we thought was good enough . . . wasn't even close.
It has been an enlightening month on what it takes to compete with the big boys.
Time to regroup and adapt.
January 7th, 2022 at 4:33 PM ^
they likely wont adapt though, at least not enough to truly make an impact. a healthy chunk of alum/admin wont allow the program to do whats necessary to win championships.
harbaugh is a very good coach and puts together talented teams. unfortunately its not enough when running into modern big boys - theyll lose 9/10 vs those top teams bc many decision makers/influencers see the academic/athletic balance as stanford plus "tradition"
January 7th, 2022 at 9:09 AM ^
This thing could be over before it started. It doesn't take a lot of insight to recognize that--in a highly fluid environment--the difference between an extremely active SEC, hurrying to obtain all advantages it can, and a B1G, ACC, and PAC 12 hemming and hawing about the rush to monetize might be perceived as heading in opposite directions, with the latter losing a great deal of ground. There may have been the tiniest window after the semi-final, one in which Jim sought to do all he could to capitalize. But it might already be too late.
I guess that somebody somewhere thinks that there will be continued huge audiences for Alabama versus whatever northern school in an annual bowl championship trouncing? I will not be tuning in Monday night, and I hope that others don't, either.
For Michigan, I think that this has been a Fool's Gold Rush, the enthusiasm on this board very badly misplaced. In a matter of months we may see the B1G move(d) permanently to second-class football status. Some of us are going to be okay with that, but I wish to hell that this feckless new 'alliance' had moved more quickly to cement itself and state its aims; once again it will be seen as hapless victim, rather than protagonist. Preserving some sense of fair play and equality among teams are, after all, worthy goals.
But Jim--for his part--just may not be willing to compete in an environment where the brass ring is eternally out of reach.
January 7th, 2022 at 9:57 AM ^
How difficult is it to have an NIL program...what even is that other than connections to sponsors and why would it permanently set other conferences behind the SEC? I would think all conferences would eventually get on the train eventually
I don't think this issue is going to push Harbaugh away, he's too competitive to just give up like that. He will fight for change like he did with transfers
January 7th, 2022 at 10:47 AM ^
True, but the problem is that the SEC will always one or two up everyone else to stay ahead. They don't care about anything else but football down there. Their university presidents are just cheerleaders for the football programs.
January 7th, 2022 at 12:28 PM ^
Which is why they’ll own college football until the fields level. Can’t blame Harbaugh for not being happy about not being able to compete.The Georgia game taught me that the talent level between 1st and 3rd is a big one and the Block M is only gonna take you so far. Kids want paid. How the landscape has changed and oh so fast.
January 7th, 2022 at 12:31 PM ^
Right - the University Presidents are the reason Texas High Schools have small university sized football stadiums.
Football matters south of the Toledo strip - trying to pretend Michigan is somehow superior because football doesn't matter as much is exactly why we find ourselves discovering what a 'no fly zone' really looks like.
January 7th, 2022 at 1:38 PM ^
comment removed
January 7th, 2022 at 6:48 PM ^
As if I was responding to your post?
January 7th, 2022 at 6:48 PM ^
As if I was responding to your post?
January 7th, 2022 at 10:28 AM ^
Yeah the world here is changing so quickly. Like as recently as probably a month ago I figured if the back-up quarterback was making enough money to donate $10,000 that was a "good NIL program," now we're talking rumors of numbers in the millions.