Howe: Iowa Needs to Pick Up Pace in NIL Race

BTW, found out this week who is leading Iowa's collective. Fans should feel good about it. It's someone who is a financial wiz and can help maximize the Hawkeyes in the space. Hopefully the athletic department doesn't screw it up.
Ashton Kutcher?
 
Ashton Kutcher?
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The news of Jay Wright retiring came the day after you posted this. He is 60, but looks 45 and has Villanova rollin. He decided to check out. We will find out in the next day or two why...got a feeling it is what you are describing as being the main culprit. He will speak in code and say all the right things, but in reality he is just pulling a Roy Williams(I can't do this anymore... I'm out).

I heard that as well. I was listening to a sports show on the radio and they made reference to this exact thing and possibly being a reason for his abrupt retirement.
 
Barta brings in cash, it’s why he was hired and why he is still there. There are some valid criticisms about him but this isn’t one of them.
Bringing in cash and being able to put in place a creative and effective NIL package are two completely different things.
 
Barta in a recent interview talked about NIL and Iowa and he droned on about it as if he were an NCAA official. Just stupid. He was talking as if NCAA agents were listening in. No SEC or serious football program's athletic department is going to be that guarded about NIL. Its not necessary. But its something to say because he has nothing else to say...no information.

My take is that schools that stood up collectives quickly have a few powerful boosters to simply make it happen. The apparatus was already there and they simply codified it. My take is that Iowa has a more distributed power base among its boosters and supporters. Consensus takes longer.

Big money matters to big time recruits. Iowa rarely sniffs big time recruits but they did last year and are now. I don't think they're ready to bid on that in-state 5 star lineman.

I also expect more transfers of blue chip players who once they get their cash will not settle for sitting out. They want to play. This may be where Iowa picks up guys... the aftermarket. of course fit is necessary. Kirk won't bring in a mercenary.

The other issue is that Iowa has an earned reputation for poor, plodding offense. This makes it that much harder to attract skill guys.

Earlier someone suggested that there should or would be NIL cash limits. This would not do anything. The competition will drive illicit cash just as it does today, just as it always has. The NCAA is a poor policing body and nobody wants to add more policing to the NCAA's busy agenda.
 
Earlier someone suggested that there should or would be NIL cash limits. This would not do anything. The competition will drive illicit cash just as it does today, just as it always has. The NCAA is a poor policing body and nobody wants to add more policing to the NCAA's busy agenda.
The last thing the NCAA wants to do is police NIL. They're just glad the bagman networks have been legitimized.
 
In football, Charlie Batch offered Caleb Williams $1 million if he would transfer to Eastern Michigan. In basketball, Nijel Pack agreed to transfer to Miami for $800K.

The combination of the NIL and transfer portal will likely be the relegation of 'developmental programs' such as Iowa to farm clubs for the elite programs, as 'developed', players leave for greener pastures during their prime years.
 
If the NCAA could see what NIL would do, I doubt they would have changed the transfer rule. The NCAA is not going to touch NIL without Congress' blessing. Too afraid of treble damages in court.

But, they can still control the transfer portal. They should return to the old rule of sitting out a year. No exceptions. Bag men are going to be much less likely to pay 6 figures for a guy that cannot help for another 2 years. It would slow down this insanity and bring back some level of stability to MBB and FB. The schools with the deepest pockets poaching talent from lesser schools with impunity is bad for the sport, whether Iowa is the poacher or the poachee.
 
If the NCAA could see what NIL would do, I doubt they would have changed the transfer rule. The NCAA is not going to touch NIL without Congress' blessing. Too afraid of treble damages in court.

But, they can still control the transfer portal. They should return to the old rule of sitting out a year. No exceptions. Bag men are going to be much less likely to pay 6 figures for a guy that cannot help for another 2 years. It would slow down this insanity and bring back some level of stability to MBB and FB. The schools with the deepest pockets poaching talent from lesser schools with impunity is bad for the sport, whether Iowa is the poacher or the poachee.
Yes. The NCAA needs to do something for the good of college sports. Even the pro leagues have salary caps and drafts to try to maintain some level of parity.
 
How are these NIL Collective groups treating current players at their respective schools vs. potential recruits? I have heard a lot about big money being offered to recruits, but are the current players also being taken care of? It seems to me that getting that shored up is even more important than attracting splashy recruits (who might just up and leave as soon as they spot a greener pasture somewhere), especially for a developmental program like Iowa.
 
Good quote from a recent article in the Athletic about the new world for College Football:

We should be OK with the end of the old college football.

  • “But it’s not the end of college football. It’s a bumpy, difficult introduction to a new world that, to those no longer viewing the sport through the unconstitutional lens of the NCAA, is a lot less icky and a whole lot more just. That’s not something to fear. It’s something to celebrate.”
 

Anyone else feel a bit skeptical when reading this section (emphasis added)?

The most important part of any deal: it has to have a quid-pro-quo between the athlete and an individual or business. The student-athlete must fulfill a service in exchange for the money they receive. NIL deals cannot be used as a recruiting tool or an enticement for any athlete to play at a specific school; in other words, pay-for-play is not allowed.
 

Rob, you have mentioned that Iowa could be making a big mistake and getting way behind in the game by not fast-tracking the NIL Collective deal, which I generally agree with.

To play Devil's advocate, what are the risks, if any, of moving forward quickly WITH A BAD PLAN? Could having an immediate, poorly structured collective be worse than a well-structured one in a month's time? Impossible to foresee at this point, but what might be an example of mistake or flaw in structure that could reveal itself down the road?

I feel so lost in this new world, I am not even sure what to ask or what the potential risks are.
 
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