WTKA Roundtable 3/7/2024: That's What the Money's For
Things Discussed:
- NCAA no longer regulating NIL: Brave New World? Ha. Maybe for Michigan. Sam has us make our case, which is the same we've been making forever. Craig worries about a Texas A&M situation, Seth & Brian push back hard.
- How should Michigan do it? Supplement what they're doing now but don't lose *THEIR* guys because of money. Bryce Underwood is the classic example.
- Schools can't afford to keep paying what they're paying out right now. Michigan included.
- Warde Manuel: Absolutely wrong guy to show leadership. One thing he's doing is he's the leader of the CFP committee that's coming up with a 14-team disaster that's just the B10 and SEC forcing autobids for $$$.
- Brian: Anyone who's an administrator at a college is expendable; teachers are not.
- Sam: Time to get the collectives in on Bryce Underwood.
- Sam: Trust me, Sabb didn't leave Michigan for money; he woulda had a Benz here too.
- Seth: I'm bored by Sabb talk; we lost our 3rd safety to starting at Alabama. That doesn't mean there's a problem it means we had the best three safeties in America and football has two starting safeties.
- Juwan Howard: Probably not getting fired until Warde Manuel is (everyone: so fire Warde!)
- Who you hiring? Brian: McDermott (Creighton)->Shaka->TJ Otzelberger (ISU)->Mark Pope. Craig: Will Wade (all: !!???!!!)->Otzelberger (good defense!)->Anthony Grant (Dayton, fun offense)->Lamont Paris (SCar)->Mark Byington (JMU). Seth: Nate Oats->Fred Hoiberg->Darian DeVries.
- Sam: Talk to me about Nate, but Bama has been supporting him well, and then you have Brandon Miller/Darius Miles in proximity to a murder. The other thing—put a hand on a player on the court—seems like nothing.
- Seth/Brian: Details of the murder are important; the Missouri thing doesn't move the needle.
- Dusty May? Caught fire with this group, but has only been at FAU, would like to see more of a track record.
[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]
You can catch the entire episode on Michigan Insider's podcast stream.
Segment 2 is here. You can watch the video here:
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Sometimes leadership is not taking every penny you can come across.
It often helps to examine these situations from the point of view of the various (other) sides. If nothing else, it often moves us off positions like "Person X should act against their own self-interest and to the detriment of others so that I can get what I want without sacrifice".
The fan position is (of course) that they want Michigan to win all the things, and the way to do that is to have other people spend their money to make it happen.
Michigan's AD also wants to win all the things, but they also want to keep their bosses happy and abide by relevant laws - probably more than winning all the things, tbf. So even if Warde was a dynamic figure seen scaling walls and crushing ice, he wouldn't be telling donors to give to NIL any more than he'd tell them to give to charity:water; that would piss off his bosses.
Michigan's Regents and President probably want a great university which attracts top students and provides a quality education a lot more than more dust-gathering sportsball trophies. So they're not going to encourage more NIL donations, especially not on behalf of the sports program serving the smallest number of students per dollar spent, while also severely distorting the Title IX equation. That's not, should not, and hopefully will never be their priority.
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TL,DR: You want Michigan to continue to field championship football teams? Design a system where that's in the best interests of the University as a whole, the AD and all its programs, and the players. Likely in that order, as getting the Regents and Presidents convinced will grease a lot of wheels. As far as I can see, that system will not be "wheedle other people to spend money on Bryce Underwood".
Sabb didn't leave Michigan for money; he woulda had a Benz here too.
False. He left because instead of getting a Benz he got a Saab.
title IX does not cover coaches. It does require that male and female athletes receive equal treatment and benefits. Nothing to do with profits.
Oops. This was supposed to be in reply to Blinken and rc90 posts above.
lord. bringing up will wade, even in jest, is a "okay, that's enough for today, we'll see you next thursday" situation.
and thank you, brian, for hitting on something that's been rattling around in my own head for a while now. the assholes that are in charge of college football are treating it as an asset to be mined and wrung out, and, just like the venture capitalists they aspire to be, have no interest in the long-term health or sustainability of the sport. a leader of the sport would recognize that, in some cases, grabbing every dollar you can - for example, destroying another conference with whom you once had a great working relationship because dollars - damages you in the long term. instead we get a sport "led" by a bunch of fucking tinpot gordon gekkos.
mark my words. college football will go the way of every legacy media company and be dead meat inside a decade.
On the University of Michigan taking the lead in unionization, the Michigan Legislature will need to be brought along first.
MCL 423.201(g): " (g) A student participating in intercollegiate athletics on behalf of a public university in this state is not a public employee entitled to representation or collective bargaining rights under this act."
If 2/3rds of each Legislative chamber were to vote tomorrow to change that law, it would go into effect immediately. If not, the soonest it would change would be in 2025. This, of course, presumes that the Legislature would vote tomorrow to change the law.
U of M has no ability to unionize its student athletes without a change to MCL 423.201(g).
I should further note, this unionization ban has existed in Michigan law since 2014. 2014 PA 414.
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