Can we stay competitive in the NIL era?

[forensicbuzz]

time for the 1/6 grads is a millionaire stat to put its money where it’s mouth is

Being a millionaire, especially the way Tech counts being a millionaire, isn't hard to achieve and doesn't mean there's excess cash sitting around to give to an organization that hasn't shown they are fiscally responsible.

 

[RamblinRed]

There are multiple issues at play here.

First, just being a millionaire isn't enough. It is being a significant multi-millionaire.
Second, you need to have multi-millionaires that are interested in supporting the FB program. This is purely a guess on my part, but i'm willing to bet that a lower percentage of GT alums care deeply enough about the FB program to contribute to it than alot of other schools.
Third, that 1/6 number is in a vacuum. Think about alumni sizes. GT has a relatively small alumni base due to how many students GT has relative to other schools (especially the factory type schools). Every year they are pumping out more alums than GT and every year the difference in the size of the alumni bases increases. So even if GT has a higher ratio of millionaires, it may actually have fewer millionaires in total just due to the difference in alumni base size.

My gut is that due to the 3 above factors that GT likely has fewer millionaires willing to create NIL's than most large state schools.

 

[Skeptic]

If only there was a way GT could win without needing to same type of players everyone else does. Dang, I just wish that was possible...

Those players are out there. before Collins it was the option, before option it was the offense was too vanilla, and now of course it is the transfer portal. (The problem with the portal is that gives all the power to the players. Maybe the NCAA can get it right but meantime Kiffin and Riley have turned their schools into outlaws.)

 

[Richard7125]

My good fellow, how would you expect any of US to be able to answer with any degree of certainty this question? Most of us dumb enough to pick GT as our school got out before you had to be smart to get in.

Did you create this? This is awesome and I plan on using it often.

 

[4shotB]

Did you create this? This is awesome and I plan on using it often.

Feel free to use it as you see fit. My art, such that it is, is meant to be shared rather than hoarded.

 

[billga99]

Being a millionaire, especially the way Tech counts being a millionaire, isn't hard to achieve and doesn't mean there's excess cash sitting around to give to an organization that hasn't shown they are fiscally responsible.

Unfortunately the fiscal issue arose with all of the facility upgrades under DanR. We never had the money to pay for them and still owe significant dollars for them. TStan at least went out and got money for the enhancements he was planning (like the Edge Center). But we still have 200MM+ in debt which isn't helping. But at the end, even without the debt, we have far less money on an annual basis than most of the Power 5.

 

[ChicagobasedJacket]

Unfortunately the fiscal issue arose with all of the facility upgrades under DanR. We never had the money to pay for them and still owe significant dollars for them. TStan at least went out and got money for the enhancements he was planning (like the Edge Center). But we still have 200MM+ in debt which isn't helping. But at the end, even without the debt, we have far less money on an annual basis than most of the Power 5.

DRad wasn’t the AD when stadium expansion occurred was he? He definitely was the AD when we didn’t angle for the Big Ten.

 

[forensicbuzz]

Unfortunately the fiscal issue arose with all of the facility upgrades under DanR. We never had the money to pay for them and still owe significant dollars for them. TStan at least went out and got money for the enhancements he was planning (like the Edge Center). But we still have 200MM+ in debt which isn't helping. But at the end, even without the debt, we have far less money on an annual basis than most of the Power 5.

With the interest rates the way they were then (and are still today mostly) it would have made no sense to not finance that work back then regardless of whether DRad got the $$ from the donors.

 

[CuseJacket]

Interesting rant re: $30M NIL fund. Choose to believe what you want (Fisher, BroBible, etc.)

 

[AlabamaBuzz]

Let me answer the original thread post question:

NO

 

[Pointer]

Here's the thing guys. Collins did nothing spectacular with respect to recruiting at Tech.

Top 25 means very little outside of 15.

He had one class in the 24 or 25 rank. Go look at the win loss column of teams from 16-60 and I promise you will not see a noticable difference or trend with respect to that team's record (look at the year rank then look 3-5 years after the rank at the teams win loss record).

Let's not give him an excuse now for this year as to why he didn't deliver on his recruiting promises. The main reason the class isn't so hot, is because people realize that he talks like a sausage. It was never realistic to begin with here. Period. The end.

The teams now paying ridiculous sums of money for players, are the same teams who have been getting them all along.
AGAIN NOTHING HAS CHANGED

TStan needs to follow his own advice and try to recruit under the radar kids and develope them into winners. Pump your money into coaching instead of NIL. the return on investment will be much more promising.

I said it when CGC was hired and I believe it more now than ever, Tech will never recruit into the win column. Ain't gonna happen. Gotta coach and develope into sustained wins (think Wisconsin, TCU, and even what CPJ had here).

This is how Tech can be competitive in the NIL era.

 

[augustabuzz]

Unfortunately the fiscal issue arose with all of the facility upgrades under DanR. We never had the money to pay for them and still owe significant dollars for them. TStan at least went out and got money for the enhancements he was planning (like the Edge Center). But we still have 200MM+ in debt which isn't helping. But at the end, even without the debt, we have far less money on an annual basis than most of the Power 5.

But then again we support about 65% of the number of programs that the factories have.

 

[Pointer]

I should clarify my above post is step one. Step two comes after establishing a competitive program (think 2014), in which case the AD needs to feed off that momentum and push to the next level.

Trying to do that with all hype and no substance will make the program a laughing stock. Shame

 

[JacketOff]

I should clarify my above post is step one. Step two comes after establishing a competitive program (think 2014), in which case the AD needs to feed off that momentum and push to the next level.

Trying to do that with all hype and no substance will make the program a laughing stock. Shame

I mean, that’s been an issue at Tech for decades, all the way back into the 50s. Before 1990, the last 10 win year was 1956, followed by a 4-4 season in ‘57. After the natty in ‘90 we went 8-5, and then the Bill Lewis era started. With GOL there was a little bit of sustained success, but even that faltered. Same thing with Paul in 08-09. The UGA loss in 09 hurt (and I think it truly hindered the future of the program). But that 11 win year with the ACC championship was followed with 6-7, and a loss to another miserable UGA team. Win that game and Georgia’s bowl streak ends, and they may have went down a spiral like what we’ve seen out of the likes of FSU, Tennessee, Texas, and Nebraska when they’ve went through major coaching shifts. But enough about them. Same thing after 2014, a 3-9 season followed. And even after a 9 win year we followed that with another losing season in 2017. The roller coaster was hitting peaks and valleys at a rapid rate.

I don’t think we’ll ever be a consistent 9-10 game winner like Wisconsin is currently, but somebody like Iowa who is gonna win 7-8 most years but throw in some semi-regular 10 win seasons. I said in another thread that Auburn is creating the mold we need to follow. Granted they have a much larger fanbase and a lot more resources, but I think given the conference circumstances we’re pretty similar, and can compete on similar levels within our respective conferences. Auburn probably plays the toughest schedule in the SEC year-in year-out, they are second fiddle in their own state, but they’re a pretty consistent winner. Fanbase and resource wise they are probably 7th-ish in the SEC behind Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, and A&M. That’s pretty similar with us behind Clemson, Miami, FSU, UNC, VT, NC State. They certainly have a lot more highs in their history (especially recently), but for most of it our paths are pretty similar. Auburn has also learned they have a much easier path to being a national powerhouse in sports other than football, and they have spent a great deal of time, money, and effort to give themselves that opportunity, while maintaining a serviceable football team. That is what I want Georgia Tech to be, but our fans have to let go of that fever dream that we were once a football factory. That’s not the case, and will probably never be again. Auburn is selling out gymnastic meets at an 8,000 seat arena because their fans are fully invested in supporting all sports. Tech fans won’t support any of our sports, and I’m sure at least some of it is because they’re embarrassed about our football team.

 

[Pointer]

I mean, that’s been an issue at Tech for decades, all the way back into the 50s. Before 1990, the last 10 win year was 1956, followed by a 4-4 season in ‘57. After the natty in ‘90 we went 8-5, and then the Bill Lewis era started. With GOL there was a little bit of sustained success, but even that faltered. Same thing with Paul in 08-09. The UGA loss in 09 hurt (and I think it truly hindered the future of the program). But that 11 win year with the ACC championship was followed with 6-7, and a loss to another miserable UGA team. Win that game and Georgia’s bowl streak ends, and they may have went down a spiral like what we’ve seen out of the likes of FSU, Tennessee, Texas, and Nebraska when they’ve went through major coaching shifts. But enough about them. Same thing after 2014, a 3-9 season followed. And even after a 9 win year we followed that with another losing season in 2017. The roller coaster was hitting peaks and valleys at a rapid rate.

I don’t think we’ll ever be a consistent 9-10 game winner like Wisconsin is currently, but somebody like Iowa who is gonna win 7-8 most years but throw in some semi-regular 10 win seasons. I said in another thread that Auburn is creating the mold we need to follow. Granted they have a much larger fanbase and a lot more resources, but I think given the conference circumstances we’re pretty similar, and can compete on similar levels within our respective conferences. Auburn probably plays the toughest schedule in the SEC year-in year-out, they are second fiddle in their own state, but they’re a pretty consistent winner. Fanbase and resource wise they are probably 7th-ish in the SEC behind Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, and A&M. That’s pretty similar with us behind Clemson, Miami, FSU, UNC, VT, NC State. They certainly have a lot more highs in their history (especially recently), but for most of it our paths are pretty similar. Auburn has also learned they have a much easier path to being a national powerhouse in sports other than football, and they have spent a great deal of time, money, and effort to give themselves that opportunity, while maintaining a serviceable football team. That is what I want Georgia Tech to be, but our fans have to let go of that fever dream that we were once a football factory. That’s not the case, and will probably never be again. Auburn is selling out gymnastic meets at an 8,000 seat arena because their fans are fully invested in supporting all sports. Tech fans won’t support any of our sports, and I’m sure at least some of it is because they’re embarrassed about our football team.

Lots of great points.

I think the roller coaster type years schools like ours have are hard to avoid before taking the next step if they ever do. Hopefully we do some day.

 

[ramblingman]

I think both the NIL and portal will be net positives for all GT sports.

 

[GoldZ]

I mean, that’s been an issue at Tech for decades, all the way back into the 50s. Before 1990, the last 10 win year was 1956, followed by a 4-4 season in ‘57. After the natty in ‘90 we went 8-5, and then the Bill Lewis era started. With GOL there was a little bit of sustained success, but even that faltered. Same thing with Paul in 08-09. The UGA loss in 09 hurt (and I think it truly hindered the future of the program). But that 11 win year with the ACC championship was followed with 6-7, and a loss to another miserable UGA team. Win that game and Georgia’s bowl streak ends, and they may have went down a spiral like what we’ve seen out of the likes of FSU, Tennessee, Texas, and Nebraska when they’ve went through major coaching shifts. But enough about them. Same thing after 2014, a 3-9 season followed. And even after a 9 win year we followed that with another losing season in 2017. The roller coaster was hitting peaks and valleys at a rapid rate.

I don’t think we’ll ever be a consistent 9-10 game winner like Wisconsin is currently, but somebody like Iowa who is gonna win 7-8 most years but throw in some semi-regular 10 win seasons. I said in another thread that Auburn is creating the mold we need to follow. Granted they have a much larger fanbase and a lot more resources, but I think given the conference circumstances we’re pretty similar, and can compete on similar levels within our respective conferences. Auburn probably plays the toughest schedule in the SEC year-in year-out, they are second fiddle in their own state, but they’re a pretty consistent winner. Fanbase and resource wise they are probably 7th-ish in the SEC behind Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, LSU, and A&M. That’s pretty similar with us behind Clemson, Miami, FSU, UNC, VT, NC State. They certainly have a lot more highs in their history (especially recently), but for most of it our paths are pretty similar. Auburn has also learned they have a much easier path to being a national powerhouse in sports other than football, and they have spent a great deal of time, money, and effort to give themselves that opportunity, while maintaining a serviceable football team. That is what I want Georgia Tech to be, but our fans have to let go of that fever dream that we were once a football factory. That’s not the case, and will probably never be again. Auburn is selling out gymnastic meets at an 8,000 seat arena because their fans are fully invested in supporting all sports. Tech fans won’t support any of our sports, and I’m sure at least some of it is because they’re embarrassed about our football team.

Agree completely with the historical rollercoaster point, but completely disagree that we are similar to Auburn. The cultures are vastly different. The coincidences of Bama, difficult rivals, and relative resources in their conference, in no way makes them similar. Their resource standing in the sec places them far far above us. They fire good coaches and pay them huge payouts more often than Brady completes a pass, and are about to do it yet again. Five or six boosters have run their program for decades and will probably do great harm to it going forward. And finally, there's not an SAT score or gpa low enough, or payout high enough, to prevent Auburn from signing a player they covet.

 

[GoldZ]

I think both the NIL and portal will be net positives for all GT sports.

I don't know how old you are ramblinman (great font!), but I'm downright ancient, and so far I haven't seen one change to cFB that harmed the major programs and helped the mediocre programs. I'm not so sure that even a better W-L record will keep majors from poaching our players that show they are playing better than their recruiting ranking.

 

[CEB]

I don't know how old you are ramblinman (great font!), but I'm downright ancient, and so far I haven't seen one change to cFB that harmed the major programs and helped the mediocre programs. I'm not so sure that even a better W-L record will keep majors from poaching our players that show they are playing better than their recruiting ranking.

I couldn’t agree more. I’m not ancient (perhaps approaching “vintage” in today’s vernacular), but I see the same. There’s an argument to be made that the big boys will simply be better and more capable of exploiting any and every advantage, but I do believe the separation between programs is growing wider and every rule change accelerates the widening. I don’t know the answer but I do see the current set up relegating smaller programs to virtually a “developmental league” status for the big boys. It’s going to be like AAU; if some kid comes out and smacks your boys in the mouth, you just recruit that kid to your team for next year. I don’t see transient college athletes being good for anyone except the programs doing the poaching.

 

[RamblinRed]

The issue for the schools like GT is the portal, just like how almost everything else is set up, will benefit the factory schools compared to others.

The best players at the non factory schools will be picked off by the factory schools. Offering them more exposure and money potential. The ones that haven't worked out at the factory level will be the ones that drop down to a lower level. That is a net gain for the factory schools. The best players at the factory schools that transfer will transfer to another factory school where they see more opportunity - see the QB From OSU to TX or the CB from LSU to AL or the WR from UGA to AL.

Recruiting is not an exact science, every team - including the factory schools, miss on players. Over the long run the players the factories miss on with go down from that level, but the ones they missed on could very well leave a lower level team to go to the factory level.