And so it begins ... Life of the NIL ERA

[catdaddyp]

On 11/20/2025 at 10:07 PM, MangoZip said:

Another O Lineman goes in 

Thanks. I’m 99% sure he was a walk-on, but I’ll add him to the list and note it.

[MangoZip]

[catdaddyp]

2 hours ago, MangoZip said:

Finally has a really good game and hits the door….

[Blue & Gold]

We spend $$$ and 3 years developing him & he has one good game for us and leaves.

[Captain Kangaroo]

11 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

We spend $$$ and 3 years developing him & he has one good game for us and leaves.

I guess he needed game tape and was running out of time?🤷🏼‍♂️

[MangoZip]

7 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

Finally has a really good game and hits the door….

I guess the question is: will one good game translate into a better situation and some money??

[MangoZip]

[akzipper]

4 hours ago, Blue & Gold said:

We spend $$$ and 3 years developing him & he has one good game for us and leaves.

 

That's the sad reality of college sports. It's no different than Major League Baseball and why I freaking HATE P5 and major conference schools.  

 

You have two tiers of teams and we're just the farm system for bigger schools now. We develop the athletes and they have the money to poach them away.

 

Maybe every few years a small school can make a run in the CFP or March Madness. But by the next year that program will be completely gutted and will have to start from scratch. 

[Captain Kangaroo]

55 minutes ago, akzipper said:

 

That's the sad reality of college sports. It's no different than Major League Baseball and why I freaking HATE P5 and major conference schools.  

 

You have two tiers of teams and we're just the farm system for bigger schools now. We develop the athletes and they have the money to poach them away.

The most criminal part is - they can steal your best players with zero restitution. In any professional sport you need to pay, or make a trade to land a coveted player from another team. In college football you just take them for free. We are a free minor league for the P5 programs...must be nice.

[UAZipster0305]

1 hour ago, akzipper said:

 

That's the sad reality of college sports. It's no different than Major League Baseball and why I freaking HATE P5 and major conference schools.  

 

You have two tiers of teams and we're just the farm system for bigger schools now. We develop the athletes and they have the money to poach them away.

 

Maybe every few years a small school can make a run in the CFP or March Madness. But by the next year that program will be completely gutted and will have to start from scratch. 

And historically small schools success with March Madness has depended on having more team chemistry from four years of developing the same players in the same system, despite their being smaller, less athletic, etc. That opportunity has been wiped away. Also, football revenues now directly fund NIL for basketball players. Hence why the last men's NCAAT was dominated by the "Big Ten" and SEC...that's where all the football money is so they simply buy the basketball players.

[kreed5120]

10 minutes ago, UAZipster0305 said:

And historically small schools success with March Madness has depended on having more team chemistry from four years of developing the same players in the same system, despite their being smaller, less athletic, etc. That opportunity has been wiped away. Also, football revenues now directly fund NIL for basketball players. Hence why the last men's NCAAT was dominated by the "Big Ten" and SEC...that's where all the football money is so they simply buy the basketball players.

 

It's not just football revenue. It's TV money as well. Even though football is the biggest revenue generator, basketball is still great for them to fill time slots on SEC or B1G networks. Basketball pays for itself. It's the other sports that football subsidizes. 

[MangoZip]

I try finding all of these on X but so many slip through - and I’m sure there will be many more coming

[catdaddyp]

40 minutes ago, MangoZip said:

I try finding all of these on X but so many slip through - and I’m sure there will be many more coming

I think he could still develop into a solid linebacker wherever he lands, but he was leapfrogged by both Boswell and Hocker this year.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'll miss his 3.5 GPA.

[catdaddyp]

 

[Zippy87]

16 hours ago, catdaddyp said:

 

 

Adams was great in 2022 but never the same after that. 

[akzipper]

22 hours ago, Captain Kangaroo said:

The most criminal part is - they can steal your best players with zero restitution. In any professional sport you need to pay, or make a trade to land a coveted player from another team. In college football you just take them for free. We are a free minor league for the P5 programs...must be nice.

 

If the NCAA really cared, they would force bigger schools to pay restitution or kickbacks for poaching players.

 

Something like 15-25% of the NIL deal paid back to the former school. Not a lot, but it's better than nothing and would provide resources to replace outgoing athletes. 

 

[catdaddyp]

Spriggs to the portal. Not a surprise, just tough for us, because he’s yet another guy this staff developed when nobody else really came calling out of high school. Someone out there will pay him, no doubt.

Edited November 29 by catdaddyp

[bobbyake]

Northeast Ohio, especially the Akron area, cannot support 2 mid-size football schools and be competitive, while that team in Columbus absorbs all the fan support in this area. I was just at Dick's in North Canton and they did not have a single Akron licensed item. Kent and Akron need to just merge their football programs into one school. NIL money would be easier to come by.

 

People in Summit and Portage County would vote on a levy to increase taxes to pay for stadium improvements in Columbus before they would vote on improvements towards anything for Akron or Kent.

[GP1]

1 hour ago, bobbyake said:

Northeast Ohio, especially the Akron area, cannot support 2 mid-size football schools and be competitive, while that team in Columbus absorbs all the fan support in this area. I was just at Dick's in North Canton and they did not have a single Akron licensed item. Kent and Akron need to just merge their football programs into one school. NIL money would be easier to come by.

 

People in Summit and Portage County would vote on a levy to increase taxes to pay for stadium improvements in Columbus before they would vote on improvements towards anything for Akron or Kent.

Competitive against who?  Both schools finished in the middle of the MAC. Respectable seasons for both as far as the MAC goes. 

 

You could go to a Dicks and Kalamazoo and not find WMU gear. 

[bobbyake]

25 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Competitive against who?  Both schools finished in the middle of the MAC. Respectable seasons for both as far as the MAC goes. 

 

You could go to a Dicks and Kalamazoo and not find WMU gear. 

Could easily dominate the MAC and be in the hunt for the college playoffs each year if both programs merged. AI is going to replace a lot of college jobs. Costs Rica and the Philippines has already replaced many engineering and finance jobs. Just merge the schools. We would share NIL money which could easily rival Cincinnati. Toledo and Bowling Green should also merge. Times are changing.

[GP1]

7 minutes ago, bobbyake said:

Could easily dominate the MAC and be in the hunt for the college playoffs each year if both programs merged. AI is going to replace a lot of college jobs. Costs Rica and the Philippines has already replaced many engineering and finance jobs. Just merge the schools. We would share NIL money which could easily rival Cincinnati. Toledo and Bowling Green should also merge. Times are changing.

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense. 

[bobbyake]

4 minutes ago, GP1 said:

Thanks for the clarification. That makes more sense. 

AI is still lacking and makes a lot of mistakes but it will be fine tuned into agents like 3d printers to do specific tasks which could replace a good percentage of college degree jobs. The trades are what high school students should be thinking. College is a great experience but it’s expensive and enrollment will drop when degrees don’t matter for jobs. Heck, merge Cleveland State with Akron and Kent as well. That would be a market that could rival Ohio State.

[GP1]

34 minutes ago, bobbyake said:

AI is still lacking and makes a lot of mistakes but it will be fine tuned into agents like 3d printers to do specific tasks which could replace a good percentage of college degree jobs. The trades are what high school students should be thinking. College is a great experience but it’s expensive and enrollment will drop when degrees don’t matter for jobs. Heck, merge Cleveland State with Akron and Kent as well. That would be a market that could rival Ohio State.

Brilliant. I see now how if those three incompetently managed organizations were brought together, they could dominate higher education in Ohio. Thanks!

 

Maybe we could get Jim Grobe to be the President, or at the very least the head coach of the football team. 

Edited November 29 by GP1