How worth it is storrs central?

[UConnTrumbull]

The NIL collective has money from donors. I'm confused by your question.

Just like when the Hartford Courant collects subscriptions and uses the money to pay their staff, so does BBFG. Obviously, the end result is different and the net is used much differently, but it's pretty much a basic business operation from what I've seen.

I subscribe for SC. My biggest question revolves around subscription numbers. It’s been voiced loudly that SC needs 5000 subscriptions long term (currently at 500-600) to keep UConn NIL competitive. My simple question is why? What difference is 5000 10$ subscriptions versus 5000 donations of 10 dollars or more. Besides that fact that subscriptions renew, if chosen to. I’d just like to know what makes SC imperative to UConn NIL versus the holistic approach to NIL

 

[Matt1010]

Anything to support NIL is well worth it, but Storrs Central swung and missed big time by not partnering with the BY. Monthly subscription numbers would probably be double had they done that.

 

[mets1090]

I don't understand how the money makes sense.

You have to pay the guy who comes on here (who's been at UConn all of half a year) imploring us to donate to UConn as a moral obligation, and then you need to pay the staff writers at least on a per article basis, then just the maintenance of the site in general. The money has to come from somewhere.

Do you blame other fundraiser organizations for trying to convince you to "do your part"? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but either way someone has to do that work. Funds do not raise themselves. If they hired Ray Allen to post a video saying the same exact things that Jared Thomas has said and you never even learned who Jared Thomas was, would you be as opposed to contributing?

I assume the site is not profitable yet, but sitting back and waiting for other people to make it profitable is also not helping the situation. If you can afford $100 a year and want to help NIL, subscribing to Storrs Central seems to be a good start. If you can afford more than that and want to help NIL, donating to Bleeding Blue for Good also seems to be a good way to help in a tax deductible way.

If anyone can't or doesn't want to spend the $100, no one is going to blame them for continuing to spend their time on the Boneyard and getting their information that way when it inevitably leaks out.

 

[husky429]

I subscribe for SC. My biggest question revolves around subscription numbers. It’s been voiced loudly that SC needs 5000 subscriptions long term (currently at 500-600) to keep UConn NIL competitive. My simple question is why? What difference is 5000 10$ subscriptions versus 5000 donations of 10 dollars or more. Besides that fact that subscriptions renew, if chosen to. I’d just like to know what makes SC imperative to UConn NIL versus the holistic approach to NIL

At 5,000 subscribers, they're pulling $600,000 a year for NIL. I'd say that's a big difference. That's a minority stake in the total NIL for the basketball and football teams, but it's not nothing.

And why the subscription? It's a nice place for folks to discuss UConn ball, get a few articles, and a drip of inside info here and there. It's not nothing, but you're also able to just donate 10$ to a collective each month without SC if you want to. I haven't gained much from the SC forum, but I'd rather a little bit than just donate money straight up, I guess.

 

[Matt1010]

I subscribe for SC. My biggest question revolves around subscription numbers. It’s been voiced loudly that SC needs 5000 subscriptions long term (currently at 500-600) to keep UConn NIL competitive. My simple question is why? What difference is 5000 10$ subscriptions versus 5000 donations of 10 dollars or more. Besides that fact that subscriptions renew, if chosen to. I’d just like to know what makes SC imperative to UConn NIL versus the holistic approach to NIL

The difference is that the approach of pay/donate $10/month to SC is much easier to sell to fans because they are actually providing a product. Plus the overwhelming majority of people will either pay for a full year and/or auto renew.

If 5000 people started donating $10 a month consistently (in addition to other donations that are already made) the importance of SC would be drastically diminished, but people are never going to do that.

 

[August_West]

One last thing I appreciated was they came out and said the rumors about Brea having ludicrous NIL demands were false, and that the program has nothing but good things to say about the kid. Stops fans from spiraling and saying he's not a culture fit etc.

Wish it was 100% effective because I see a lot of people here and on twitter now saying "he just wants the money"

 

[August_West]

Do you blame other fundraiser organizations for trying to convince you to "do your part"? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but either way someone has to do that work. Funds do not raise themselves. If they hired Ray Allen to post a video saying the same exact things that Jared Thomas has said and you never even learned who Jared Thomas was, would you be as opposed to contributing?

I assume the site is not profitable yet, but sitting back and waiting for other people to make it profitable is also not helping the situation. If you can afford $100 a year and want to help NIL, subscribing to Storrs Central seems to be a good start. If you can afford more than that and want to help NIL, donating to Bleeding Blue for Good also seems to be a good way to help in a tax deductible way.

If anyone can't or doesn't want to spend the $100, no one is going to blame them for continuing to spend their time on the Boneyard and getting their information that way when it inevitably leaks out.

Their goal is 5000 subscribers, I can't speak to exactly why that is their goal and if it has anything to do with a profitability bench mark, they are a long way off. Like by 4300 people.

Here is the way it is. Everyone who can. should donate to NIL. You can do it to Storrs Central and get something in return if that is your wish. Or you can do it to Bleeding Blue for Good directly. It doesn't matter. It just matters that it gets done.

 

[KemBuckets21]

It's worth it. If you can spare the subscription fee, do it.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

The NIL collective has money from donors. I'm confused by your question.

Just like when the Hartford Courant collects subscriptions and uses the money to pay their staff, so does BBFG. Obviously, the end result is different and the net is used much differently, but it's pretty much a basic business operation from what I've seen.

My point is that the majority of people subscribing are just footing the opex bill.

Do you blame other fundraiser organizations for trying to convince you to "do your part"? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but either way someone has to do that work. Funds do not raise themselves. If they hired Ray Allen to post a video saying the same exact things that Jared Thomas has said and you never even learned who Jared Thomas was, would you be as opposed to contributing?

It's almost as if some people are more effective at this than others when it comes to soliciting donations.

 

[Yanksrock615]

Its just nice supporting our NIL.

The “insider info” is basically nothing. The staff says he “drops hints” but everything you see there is stuff you’ll see here or on Twitter. No insider information.

 

[tuvent08]

Its just nice supporting our NIL.

The “insider info” is basically nothing. The staff says he “drops hints” but everything you see there is stuff you’ll see here or on Twitter. No insider information.

I'm not sure that's true. The Brea information has been more detailed, and they don't have a policy that precludes discussion about the unintended consequences of portal additions. But, yeah, overall it's best thought of as a $100 contribution with any extra contextual information just a little bonus.

 

[McLovin]

I don't understand how the money makes sense.

You have to pay the guy who comes on here (who's been at UConn all of half a year) imploring us to donate to UConn as a moral obligation, and then you need to pay the staff writers at least on a per article basis, then just the maintenance of the site in general. The money has to come from somewhere.

Jared did a podcast that explains the money behind it.

The way I understand it is that eventually all of the operating costs will be offset by advertising space they sell on the site (i.e. An interview with Tom Moore presented by Dunkin Donuts). But in order to sell ads, they need subscribers and people reading their content.

The goal for Storrs Central is to give as much money back to the athletes as they can, and given that the coaching staff sees them as a valuable partner to their roster building efforts, should speak volumes.

 

[Yanksrock615]

I'm not sure that's true. The Brea information has been more detailed, and they don't have a policy that precludes discussion about the unintended consequences of portal additions. But, yeah, overall it's best thought of as a $100 contribution with any extra contextual information just a little bonus.

I really have not found it that detailed. They don’t drop news early at all. It’s just small tidbits. Like they’ll say good news is coming maybe 10 minutes before it’s seen on Twitter or say a visit went very well. It’s okay, I understand they can’t reveal stuff because it might effect recruitment.

 

[UCfor3]

I just pulled the trigger. UConn hoops has given me so much enjoyment. It's the least I could do. Wish Bleeding Blue for Good did another team signed ball or jersey this year.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

Jared did a podcast that explains the money behind it.

The way I understand it is that eventually all of the operating costs will be offset by advertising space they sell on the site (i.e. An interview with Tom Moore presented by Dunkin Donuts). But in order to sell ads, they need subscribers and people reading their content.

The goal for Storrs Central is to give as much money back to the athletes as they can, and given that the coaching staff sees them as a valuable partner to their roster building efforts, should speak volumes.

How much do you think that's realistically worth to an advertiser - to sponsor content on a site with 700 subscribers?

To me, the school really should have organized all efforts under one banner, as opposed to Storrs Central, D'Amelio's group, and Bleeding Blue for Good. Cut down on a lot of admin costs and actually get the most money towards the NIL for the athletes.

 

[Greedo]

I just pulled the trigger. UConn hoops has given me so much enjoyment. It's the least I could do. Wish Bleeding Blue for Good did another team signed ball or jersey this year.

This is how I see it. I honestly forget the site exists until I see something on here referencing it, but this team has given me so much enjoyment that paying $100/year is worth it for me to "give back" a little.

 

[nomar]

You guys have talked me into it. Besides, the Eagle flies tomorrow.

Me too. Good sales job.

 

[McLovin]

How much do you think that's realistically worth to an advertiser - to sponsor content on a site with 700 subscribers?

To me, the school really should have organized all efforts under one banner, as opposed to Storrs Central, D'Amelio's group, and Bleeding Blue for Good. Cut down on a lot of admin costs and actually get the most money towards the NIL for the athletes.

That’s why they have a goal to get to 5,000+ subscribers.

But as someone with a content marketing background, a specific super niche targeted audience like a sport team news site can command a premium from an advertising standpoint to the right partners.

As for organizing NIL, the schools have to be somewhat fire-walled from the collectives due to NCAA rules.

But Storrs Central is the “for profit” vehicle of the Bleeding Blue For Good entity. So the guy who runs BBFG also runs Storrs Central. (From what I understand about the D’Amelio collective 100% of his collective admin costs are paid for by him - he tweeted something to that effect recently).

I’m not an accountant or lawyer but from what I understand, having a for-profit entity, as opposed to purely the non-profit entity, which BBFG started as, gives them a lot more flexibility in how they can pay athletes for their NIL.

The podcast Jared did on the CT Scoreboard Pod goes into that in detail.

He is on here from time-to-time too, so he may be able to provide more detail if he sees this.

But at the end of the day, I know some of the Storrs Central people personally and can 100% say they are doing everything they can to ensure every dollar that can possibly make it to the athletes, does.

 

[temery]

You won't find a better site with direct access to each UConn team.

 

[PlayItLeo]

I just pulled the trigger. UConn hoops has given me so much enjoyment. It's the least I could do. Wish Bleeding Blue for Good did another team signed ball or jersey this year.

FYI Jared from Storrs Central/BBfG tweeted on April 11th that they will start to take orders for 2024 autograph balls with the Back-2-Back logos on May 5th. There will be 300 available. Haven't seen anything else posted about it since, but I kept the screenshot in my phone as a reminder since I also want one.

 

[ZooCougar]

Questions about where the money goes and what is sustainable are totally legit.

I broke down and subscribed today. Was pleasantly surprised at the amount of content there.

Some of us might remember the totally AWFUL Rivals and Scout News sites. Rivals was decent for a brief period with Adam Gorney.

But SC is basically what you wanted Rivals and Scout to be. Only the money is going to UConn NIL instead of people that basically hated us like Mike Farrell.

This should be better and probably much better. Coaches are incentivized to provide info because it will help generate NIL and help their recruiting. Players should participate since they are “on the payroll” and helps them be more competitive on the field.

The Collective needs a crowdsourcing vehicle to translate access into value to give it that additional revenue stream. And they have access in heaps so this really should be kind of elementary.

If you look at Tennessee’s collective you have to pay $25 a month and you basically get vapor in return. I just don’t think that will fly.

 

[BBFGExecDir]

I don't understand how the money makes sense.

You have to pay the guy who comes on here (who's been at UConn all of half a year) imploring us to donate to UConn as a moral obligation, and then you need to pay the staff writers at least on a per article basis, then just the maintenance of the site in general. The money has to come from somewhere.

I am paid by BBFG and take $0 from Storrs Central. Sorry if I made it seem like a moral obligation--I'm just trying to be a cheerleader because I'm just trying to win. I convinced two of our BBFG donors to make additional investments of seed capital for Storrs Central to cover the expenses for the year.

 

[BBFGExecDir]

I subscribe for SC. My biggest question revolves around subscription numbers. It’s been voiced loudly that SC needs 5000 subscriptions long term (currently at 500-600) to keep UConn NIL competitive. My simple question is why? What difference is 5000 10$ subscriptions versus 5000 donations of 10 dollars or more. Besides that fact that subscriptions renew, if chosen to. I’d just like to know what makes SC imperative to UConn NIL versus the holistic approach to NIL

There is a chance that the IRS takes away 501(c)(3) status for non-profit NIL collectives, which would require a for-profit alternative. We needed to find the best "product" to sell. We have access, so we try to monetize access. Having this model allows us to engage with corporate sponsors, which I intend to make our primary revenue stream for NIL as soon as possible (you may have saw that FedEx is giving like $5m to Memphis' NIL effort). That's where we need to move. Companies will be able to advertise on the site (need subscribers for that to be worthwhile), in our email newsletters, at our fundraising events, at our charity events, and with UConn athletes, whereby I will be acting as a pseudo-agent on behalf of the athletes to get them money/endorsement deals with Connecticut companies.

Finally - with the total dollar amounts trending the way they are, and BBFG answering directly to the IRS, there is a limit on what we can pay per event and a worry that we can't hit the total dollar amount. For-profit collectives don't have those restraints and have infinitely more flexibility.

 

[BBFGExecDir]

Anything to support NIL is well worth it, but Storrs Central swung and missed big time by not partnering with the BY. Monthly subscription numbers would probably be double had they done that.

Never say never. We had the discussion with Tom. We decided to hold off out of the gate as the launch timeline was expedited to get it up in time for March. We're friends with Tom. Neither side ever permanently ruled it out.

 

[Gburyhusky]

In addition to the excellent insider-type scoops, some other examples of really good content right now on Storrs Central: well written long-form piece on Geno's early life and his beginnings in coaching; lengthy interview posted today with new football offensive coordinator; in depth film analysis of new basketball recruits. Definitely worth it!

 

[BBFGExecDir]

How much do you think that's realistically worth to an advertiser - to sponsor content on a site with 700 subscribers?

To me, the school really should have organized all efforts under one banner, as opposed to Storrs Central, D'Amelio's group, and Bleeding Blue for Good. Cut down on a lot of admin costs and actually get the most money towards the NIL for the athletes.

700 subscribers in one month of operation.

BBFG and Storrs Central can't legally be the same company as one is a non-profit and one is a for-profit. D'Amelio is D’Amelio. He's doing a different thing, he's a big name, and recruits love when he retweets them.

 

[BBFGExecDir]

You won't find a better site with direct access to each UConn team.

Thank you so much for this, Tom. Remain a huge fan of yours.

 

[BBFGExecDir]

I'd also add these two things:

1) I say every piece of inside information I'm allowed to say (plus some additional in the form of breadcrumbs)
2) RE: Other content... We did a Q&A with Cam Spencer on there where he answered questions from subscribers. Cam will be writing a Players' Tribune style article about his entire tournament run that will come out soon. We'll eventually start rolling out podcasts and videos with coaches, etc.

Doing our best. Sorry again if my approach came off as too pushy. Go Huskies.

 

[bigknight3]

Do you blame other fundraiser organizations for trying to convince you to "do your part"? Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but either way someone has to do that work. Funds do not raise themselves. If they hired Ray Allen to post a video saying the same exact things that Jared Thomas has said and you never even learned who Jared Thomas was, would you be as opposed to contributing?

I assume the site is not profitable yet, but sitting back and waiting for other people to make it profitable is also not helping the situation. If you can afford $100 a year and want to help NIL, subscribing to Storrs Central seems to be a good start. If you can afford more than that and want to help NIL, donating to Bleeding Blue for Good also seems to be a good way to help in a tax deductible way.

If anyone can't or doesn't want to spend the $100, no one is going to blame them for continuing to spend their time on the Boneyard and getting their information that way when it inevitably leaks out.

Eh, I'd have issue if fundraiser organizations come to another org that is already operating in that space, delivering similar services for free and then tried to explain to me why my paid subscriptions (plus 4,999 others) for those same services is so imperative...

 

[PlayItLeo]

FYI Jared from Storrs Central/BBfG tweeted on April 11th that they will start to take orders for 2024 autograph balls with the Back-2-Back logos on May 5th. There will be 300 available. Haven't seen anything else posted about it since, but I kept the screenshot in my phone as a reminder since I also want one.

FYI for anyone keeping tabs: