NIL Question

[temery]

If a school is allowed to help find a player money, can part of the agreement include the player not be on an athletic scholarship?

If so, some schools would be able to stockpile players, and call up their own version of minor leagues, as needed.

 

[MexicoHusky]

I don't have the answer, but it does seem like the actual scholarship is less relevant.

 

[McLovin]

I know that a kid can’t get financial (scholastic) aid if they were offered a scholarship and decide to join as a walk on.

But as Drummond did, a player offered a scholarship can still join as a “walk on” if they apply, enroll and pay their own way.

Don’t know the NCAA has changed that rule since NIL (doubtful because the NCAA is stupid)

 

[HuskyHawk]

If a school is allowed to help find a player money, can part of the agreement include the player not be on an athletic scholarship?

If so, some schools would be able to stockpile players, and call up their own version of minor leagues, as needed.

Student recruited counts against the scholarship if they receive an athletics or academic scholarship. And kind of school provided aid. If a player is independently wealthy as an Instagram star or something, then yes, they could be a walk on and not count against the limit. I don't think this will be a thing, as what kid is going to pay the $40-80k if they can get a school to pay for it? Not many.

 

[CL82]

Student recruited counts against the scholarship if they receive an athletics or academic scholarship. And kind of school provided aid. If a player is independently wealthy as an Instagram star or something, then yes, they could be a walk on and not count against the limit. I don't think this will be a thing, as what kid is going to pay the $40-80k if they can get a school to pay for it? Not many.

Well, I have a general theory that if there is an opportunity to exploit the rules, people will find it and use it. If you’re a kid who is killing it at a small school in John Ruiz offers you a half million dollars to go to Miami do you care that you have to pay 50,000 in tuition? What if John Ruiz offers you $550,000 to go? Yeah, you’re going to have to go through the slog of doing a 15 commercial for lifewallet, but life is hard, am I right?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Well, I have a general theory that if there is an opportunity to exploit the rules, people will find it and use it. If you’re a kid who is killing it at a small school in John Ruiz offers you a half million dollars to go to Miami do you care that you have to pay 50,000 in tuition? What if John Ruiz offers you $550,000 to go? Yeah, you’re going to have to go through the slog of doing a 15 commercial for lifewallet, but life is hard, am I right?

NCAA is about to shut down what John Ruiz is doing. The reality is that UConn can't find enough players to fill our scholarships. UGA and LSU, two major programs in the SEC with lots of money, had zero players at one point. There isn't any time out there that is out of scholarships and needs to add a really good player. Because no really good player is going to go to a school in that situation. The guys filling out the end of the roster aren't going to be pulling major NIL money. Football is even more this way, with far more scholarships available than quality players to fill them.

 

[CL82]

NCAA is about to shut down what John Ruiz is doing. The reality is that UConn can't find enough players to fill our scholarships. UGA and LSU, two major programs in the SEC with lots of money, had zero players at one point. There isn't any time out there that is out of scholarships and needs to add a really good player. Because no really good player is going to go to a school in that situation. The guys filling out the end of the roster aren't going to be pulling major NIL money. Football is even more this way, with far more scholarships available than quality players to fill them.

I’m not so sure about that. Ruiz isn’t running a NIL collective, he has a legitimate business and requires the kids who get NIL money from him to do a commercial. Now, he can’t incentivize a kid to go to Miami by offering them an NIL deal if they come, but he certainly can offer deals after Miami signs them. Form over substance? Perhaps, but it would seem to be in compliance with the current landscape.

As to Connecticut having trouble filling its roster spots, I’m not seeing it. I think that Hurley and Company have made smart strategic additions, and they’re not done yet. As, I think, you have pointed out, the time to fill out depth positions from the portal will be after players realize that they are facing a risk of the music stopping and there being no chairs left. So I’m not particularly worried about the coaching staff handing out offers based on YouTube dunk videos quite yet.

 

[gtcam]

If a school is allowed to help find a player money, can part of the agreement include the player not be on an athletic scholarship?

If so, some schools would be able to stockpile players, and call up their own version of minor leagues, as needed.

Very possible Tom and I have heard that topic brought up on ESPN College radio - no one had an answer
Everything in this insipid NIL world is so unsettled that there will be exploitation and boundless inequity. Some kids will be hurt in the end.

 

[McLovin]

NCAA is about to shut down what John Ruiz is doing. The reality is that UConn can't find enough players to fill our scholarships. UGA and LSU, two major programs in the SEC with lots of money, had zero players at one point. There isn't any time out there that is out of scholarships and needs to add a really good player. Because no really good player is going to go to a school in that situation. The guys filling out the end of the roster aren't going to be pulling major NIL money. Football is even more this way, with far more scholarships available than quality players to fill them.

Correct (to the part in bold).

Each kid will make their own decisions, but I don't see a freshman who could be playing starter minutes at a decent mid major becoming a walk-on for a team like LSU or UGA as a 14th / 15th / 16th man with absolutely 0 path to minutes just to make some quick NIL money.

They could always go play at a school like Dayton or St. Mary's for a year, prove themselves and then secure a big NIL bag in the transfer market to a starter position.

It seems like there are work around to the scholarship rule to have this sort of "minor league" system within a program funded by NIL deals. But I think most top programs and their donors will be content just using the mid majors as their farm leagues lol.

(I'm talking basketball, not football).

 

[traitor71]

Ruiz isn't a collective, and he has kids at FIU and Florida as well.