Can we stay competitive in the NIL era?

[jackets55]

Just sticking this here. If someone wants to start a separate thread I’m fine with that.

Tech has always won, and only been able to win, with innovation. A short list off the top of my head would be that Tech helped develop the forward pass, ran the first “hidden ball” plays, developed the shift later used by Dallas Cowboys under Landry, ran the first hurry-up offense, developed the belly series, ran some of the first option plays and much more. Every time other teams caught on and started using similar tactics Tech would change it up again.

All of our successful coaches at Tech avoided doing what everybody else was doing at the time. That used to be a source of pride in our storied history but sadly has become something that now we are almost ashamed of.

Innovation and being different is how we win in this current football climate.

+1000%

 

[AlphaBuzz]

The recruiting problem that we had was $. For most of his time here we had a rec staff of 2 people. It was doubled the last 2 or 3 years and there was an uptick in recruiting. Sad thing was we were at 4 and most other teams in the Acc had double the amount. Now TS has increased the staff to respectable level. I think we would have had more success if more $ had been put into the program

CPJ had 2; Cut at dook had like 10. We starved CPJ out until he gave up because some major contributors wanted to win on recruiting day and talk about players in the NFL. GT doesn't play in the NFL and wins on some random Tuesday in February doesn't go on the scoreboard starting in September. Had we funded CPJ and gotten over our insecurities about what type of offense we ran, we would be in a position to beat anyone on our schedule, any year.

It all comes down to money and who is going to fund the program. Those who wanted to win in recruiting are getting their way but it clearly doesn't translate to W's on the field with a less than "elite" coaching staff.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

+1000%

I thought of a few more Tech innovations. We were first to signal to the center when to snap the ball, inventing the use of “hep” and “hike.” We invented the cover 2 defense. In dispute but there is evidence we were first to use a linebacker as a spy against quarterbacks running special offenses.

I want us to keep being the Tech that innovates and makes new things.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

CPJ had 2; Cut at dook had like 10. We starved CPJ out until he gave up because some major contributors wanted to win on recruiting day and talk about players in the NFL. GT doesn't play in the NFL and wins on some random Tuesday in February doesn't go on the scoreboard starting in September. Had we funded CPJ and gotten over our insecurities about what type of offense we ran, we would be in a position to beat anyone on our schedule, any year.

It all comes down to money and who is going to fund the program. Those who wanted to win in recruiting are getting their way but it clearly doesn't translate to W's on the field with a less than "elite" coaching staff.

All. Day. Long. This. Is. True.

 

[Vespidae]

CPJ had 2; Cut at dook had like 10. We starved CPJ out until he gave up because some major contributors wanted to win on recruiting day and talk about players in the NFL. GT doesn't play in the NFL and wins on some random Tuesday in February doesn't go on the scoreboard starting in September. Had we funded CPJ and gotten over our insecurities about what type of offense we ran, we would be in a position to beat anyone on our schedule, any year.

It depends on what you want the recruiting staff to do. Just hiring bodies isn't an answer.

For fun sake, Lou Holtz commented that when he took over Notre Dame as head coach, ND had a recruiting staff with a grand total of one person. One.

Gene Stallings commented that under Bear Bryant, Alabama divided the state into districts (seven I think) and each coach owned a district and was responsible for meeting with all the high schools, attending all the Red Elephant meetings, and having a pulse on what was happening in that area. They also owned recruiting with some support from Tuscaloosa. (Now, of course, Alabama recruits heavily in Texas and has a huge staff.) Many high school coaches in Georgia have commented that prior to Collins, they had not seen a GT coach in years.

Collins has brought a more sophisticated approach to recruiting, especially using analytics to model where players might be in 2-3-4 years. But I think the use of social media is not a separator. When SA's are being tracked by 100 schools, it's table stakes to do the Instagrams etc., but that hasn't translated much into wins.

I get what Collins wants to do. But it's going to take him another five years to even begin to make progress on that. (What he wants to do is show that GT CAN place players in the NFL. Until he has a track record of doing that, it's more a strategy of hope than actual.)

 

[Tech93]

I personally felt Monken would have been the right hire for Tech based on the state of college football (NIL, transfer portal, etc.). We are trying to swing with big programs for top recruits and it will only get harder.

 

[bigrabbit]

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article256455831.html

Miami is targeting $1k+/month NIL stipend for each player.
Guess everyone has seen the Invesco QQQ commercials. One would hope we have stronger corporate connections than Miami.
Wonder if we have anyone like Klaus on our AA board, people who understand forward looking business models.

 

[Doddjacket]

I was reading the comments on this post.

Seems that the college football that I follow and enjoy as a solid Tech fan, is losing its line of separation from the pros. With the transfer portal and the NIL in place I wonder if we are seeing where teams make a choice to be either a NFL farm system of elite teams or programs that focus on team personnel and programs that somehow seek to maintain more traditional sports programs with student athletes.

While I understand the realities of college sports, money, and the lure of professionals sports for our young people, it is sad to me to see my sentimental (and probably unrealistic) vision of team spirit, fan support, and player emotional team connection evaporate before me.

I don't have a clear understanding of how the transfer portal or the NIL programs work. Could someone give a explanation for how these systems work? Do they apply to all sports?

TECH fan.

 

[bigrabbit]

Here’s a bit about NIL and GT. Like I said, hope we have folks involved who know how to innovate with new NIL business models,

The Operating System for Sports™ | Teamworks

Digitize the athlete lifecycle and consolidate your tech stack with the only integrated technology platform specifically designed for elite sports teams.

www.inflcr.com

Everything you need to know about the NCAA's NIL debate

With the athletes, the NCAA, legislators and the courts all still involved, expect more twists and turns in the name, image and likeness debate. Check back here for all the latest news.

www.espn.com

 

[GoldZ]

I was reading the comments on this post.

Seems that the college football that I follow and enjoy as a solid Tech fan, is losing its line of separation from the pros. With the transfer portal and the NIL in place I wonder if we are seeing where teams make a choice to be either a NFL farm system of elite teams or programs that focus on team personnel and programs that somehow seek to maintain more traditional sports programs with student athletes.

While I understand the realities of college sports, money, and the lure of professionals sports for our young people, it is sad to me to see my sentimental (and probably unrealistic) vision of team spirit, fan support, and player emotional team connection evaporate before me.

I don't have a clear understanding of how the transfer portal or the NIL programs work. Could someone give a explanation for how these systems work? Do they apply to all sports?

TECH fan.

NIL = legitimatized bagmen.

 

[bigrabbit]

I have mixed feelings but reality is the NFL succeeded in making college football into their semi pro farm league.
So iiwii. I’m not entirely unhappy with a little above board spending money ending up in our players’ pockets vs overpaid coaches and ridiculous contracts.
Could be an opportunity to innovate via NIL and transfer portal strategies.
Right now I feel lucky to be in the ACC/coastal where schools share similar values. Maybe Clemson, FSU, LVille jump to SEC, if so good riddance. I think we can compete with the rest without selling our soul.

 

[UgaBlows]

I feel like maybe there needs to be a cap on how much a school can spend on a coaching staff + analysts, recruiters etc and NIL stuff, or maybe a total cap for the whole program per year that the schools can budget out however they like. They need to get some measure of control over this

 

[TooTall]

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article256455831.html

Miami is targeting $1k+/month NIL stipend for each player.
Guess everyone has seen the Invesco QQQ commercials. One would hope we have stronger corporate connections than Miami.
Wonder if we have anyone like Klaus on our AA board, people who understand forward looking business models.

The "entire team NIL" is coming under question. BYU & Miami (who have those in place) are currently under NCAA review as pay-for-play schemes. Could be why Miami AD & Diaz were wanted out.

NCAA Probes BYU, Miami NIL Deals for Potential Pay-for-Play Violation

The NCAA is actively looking into a pair of high-profile NIL deals involving football players at Brigham Young University and the University of Miami for potential violations of the association’s interim rules regarding new marketing rights for college athletes, according to multiple people...

sports.yahoo.com

 

[bke1984]

This reminds me of Don Coryell. As head coach at San Diego State, he was frustrated that he couldn't get the athletes that the greater LA schools like USC and UCLA were getting. The big offensive lineman and the great RB's were plentiful in that area but not in San Diego. But what San Diego DID have were fast receivers with good hands. So Don threw the "conventional" playbook in the trash and built Air Coryell.

Results? Coryell coached 12 seasons with the San Diego State, using the philosophy of recruiting only junior college players. He compiled a record of 104 wins, 19 losses and 2 ties including three undefeated seasons in 1966, 1968 and 1969. His teams enjoyed winning streaks of 31 and 25 games, and won three bowl games during his tenure. He later had outstanding success in turning around failing NFL franchises.

Moral? Adapt to your surroundings.

Yep. I’ve said it a few times. Gotta be different. Say what you will about DRad, but he got it and hired PJ with that in mind. We need to do the same thing with our next hire. Doesn’t need to be 3O, but something different.

 

[bke1984]

The "entire team NIL" is coming under question. BYU & Miami (who have those in place) are currently under NCAA review as pay-for-play schemes. Could be why Miami AD & Diaz were wanted out.

NCAA Probes BYU, Miami NIL Deals for Potential Pay-for-Play Violation

The NCAA is actively looking into a pair of high-profile NIL deals involving football players at Brigham Young University and the University of Miami for potential violations of the association’s interim rules regarding new marketing rights for college athletes, according to multiple people...

sports.yahoo.com

Didn’t we do this too with TiVo?

 

[Deleted member 4873]

The NIL is an opportunity for GT to surpass many traditionally successful schools because our alumni has the financial means to create a boatload of bucks due to income levels. However, it will take many factors coming together to accomplish this. First, grads must do something they haven’t done too well=get off their wallets Nd support the football program. The AD or Boosters must have detailed game plan of implementation and the third component is the coaches must recruit and start winning. These are all doable. We should view NIL as opportunities not setbacks.

 

[bigrabbit]

Didn’t we do this too with TiVo?

The article above says “some players” but wasn’t completely clear - sounded like a bunch got the goodies, not sure about all, most or just some.
Having done dozens of IP licensing deals, not clear to me how the ncaa can stop a blanket deal for entire roster.
I’ve imagined a combination fund/bank/agency to create, bundle, license player and team IP, potentially including NFTs, disburse funds as deals are done etc. Something analogous to GTRC (non-state corporation that holds and licenses GT inventions and IP).

If team IP has value, including NFTs, why not open it to outside investors - instead of just donating to AA, invest in this entity to fund investment in GT sports IP activities, sort of like a VC LP.

I realize this is aggressive thinking and I don’t claim to have thought this through, but this is where it could be heading.

 

[g0lftime]

Yep. I’ve said it a few times. Gotta be different. Say what you will about DRad, but he got it and hired PJ with that in mind. We need to do the same thing with our next hire. Doesn’t need to be 3O, but something different.

That's what he thought he was getting. Turned out the coaching part was overlooked.

 

[davesbrain]

https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article256455831.html

Miami is targeting $1k+/month NIL stipend for each player.
Guess everyone has seen the Invesco QQQ commercials. One would hope we have stronger corporate connections than Miami.
Wonder if we have anyone like Klaus on our AA board, people who understand forward looking business models.

Only $1 k / month ???? Pffftttt, that's chump change ! based on where this NIL debacle is headed....

 

[85Escape]

Sooooo, I was wondering something. Maybe you five can let me know why this is a stupid idea. Okay...


Georgia Tech Alums are very proud of their degree. Wouldn't we want to advertise how great a GT education is and how you should hire a GT alum? And maybe the GT Alumni Association wants to do that advertising. We'd like some good representatives, right? Could the GT Alumni Association set up a NIL deal with our Offensive Linemen to use their NIL? If so, we could all donate to the Alumni Association with the caveat that the money can only be used for advertising GT Alums, and specifically to fund a NIL deal with some good OL.

Is that crazy? Since the GT Alumni Association is a separate entity from the school it seems like it would be legit. Thoughts?