Meet the Bag Man - 2014 Piece on SEC Shadowy Boosters

Submitted by smotheringD on December 24th, 2021 at 2:56 AM

Did a search and this piece was posted in 2014 and I believe again in 2018 but I never saw it.  I've heard many commenters here refer to the practice being common down south but never realized there was an article documenting how it's done.  Maurice Clarett, Cris Carter and Terrelle Pryor all received cash from bag men and the Nuts were banned from postseason play in 2012 because of players receiving improper benefits.  Tressel got canned for it.

I wonder if the new NIL program will make it easier to help players in need, make it less conspicuous.

So far, I think NIL is a great thing.  Will it get abused?  Perhaps.  But maybe it will help level the playing field as well.

https://www.bannersociety.com/2014/4/10/20703758/bag-man-paying-college-football-players

MGoBoard
Football

Blue Vet

December 24th, 2021 at 8:00 AM ^

Michigan and Ohio units both fought well in the Civil War.

Except for their respective northern counties, Indiana always seemed to me more a Southern state than Ohio. Cincinnati, Ohio's southernmost major city, was / is heavily German, and in the Civil War, Germans favored freedom for all. (Also, Indiana is [EDIT] north and west of Kentucky, i.e. parts of Indiana are further sought than parts of Kentucky.)

However, my impressions may be wrong: I've spent weeks at a time in both but never lived in either.

 

Joined: 05/08/2012

MGoPoints: 71215

blueheron

December 24th, 2021 at 8:54 AM ^

Here's a good (IMO) 538 piece on Indiana's history and culture from 2016:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/indiana-is-weird/#:~:text=Among%20those%20states%2C%20and%20from%20the%20very%20beginning%2C,there%20to%20Kentucky%20and%20then%20to%20southern%20Indiana.

Historically Ohio had more of a hillbilly element than Michigan. (If you agree with the "Eleven Nations" hypothesis it's a Yankee - Quaker - Hillbilly blend.)

Great post, OP. I've read the bag man article a few times.

Joined: 03/26/2009

MGoPoints: 30958

Blue Vet

December 24th, 2021 at 9:26 AM ^

Thanks for the article, blueheron. It says more extensively what I've noticed, that Indiana was settled significantly by Southerners, and still has more the feel of a Southern state than other Midwestern states. For instance, though southern Illinois has the same Southern state feel, from Springfield north, it's a North/Midwestern vibe, while even areas around Indianapolis feel Southern.

Black people from the South and white folks from Appalachia came to the auto factories in Michigan while, as you point out, Ohio's a Yankee-Quaker-hillbilly blend.

Joined: 05/08/2012

MGoPoints: 71215

Blue Vet

December 24th, 2021 at 9:07 AM ^

Thanks. With the South on my mind, I mistyped, writing "south and west" when I meant "north and west."

BTW, your posting a map stings. I've always been geographically minded, maybe from living in 7 states, and spending at least 2 months in another half dozen. And when I'm driving long distances, I keep track of the different state license plates I see with the map in my mind.

[EDIT: "and spending at least 2 months in 8 other states."] I forgot my 3 months in Virginia and, ironically considering this string, 2+ months in Indiana.

 

Joined: 05/08/2012

MGoPoints: 71215

BoFan

December 24th, 2021 at 3:11 AM ^

NIL makes the Bag Man irrelevant. 
 

The local car dealer booster can just pay a player $1m for showing up in an advertisement of his dealership and its all legal. 

Joined: 03/09/2012

MGoPoints: 19943

Phaedrus

December 24th, 2021 at 5:27 PM ^

But if you want to legitimately buy big ticket items, you want your money taxed. Bagmen can’t compete with the type of money legit NIL offers. $100k is great. $1 million is life changing money as long as you’re not an idiot.

If bagmen we’re funneling millions of dollars to individual athletes, then more would have been nabbed in federal investigations. Like any black market enterprise, you can only go so big and avoid the scrutiny of law enforcement and the IRS.

Joined: 09/02/2019

MGoPoints: 6536

Macenblu

December 24th, 2021 at 8:25 AM ^

I guess what I take from the article is how many losers there really are in society.  If your internal and external happiness lives and dies with how well your favorite college football team performs then you’ve got some serious issues.  When I was 12 and Michigan lost I was devastated.  I’m now 42 and when they lose I’m disappointed but my life goes on because there are so many other things that matter to me that are more important than how well 18-22 year olds performed on a playing field.  

Joined: 05/29/2013

MGoPoints: 11493

BlowGoo

December 24th, 2021 at 3:51 PM ^

The NIL provides a more level playing field in one respect in that motivated boosters now have a "legitimate" route to compensate players for coming to their favorite team.

 

It's no coincidence that the rise of the NIL coincided with the SEC seeking to expand with as many big brand teams as possible (TX and OK). SEC realizes that its historic advantage of being able to under-the-table better than anyone else is evaporating: their influence advantage can only go downhill from here, so now is the time to cash in on that peak influence, anticipating a new Superleague in the not-so-distant future. They want the chairman's seat.

 

But with NIL, SEC's influence can only wane. It will still be strong due to the economy favoring population growth in their footprint, and hence a bigger selection of choice athletes vs midwest/BigTen, but money earns travel.

Joined: 10/16/2011

MGoPoints: 7078