College Baseball Coaches, Michigan Updates NIL Efforts, Oregon Bill, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #216
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Quick Hitters:
College Baseball Coaches Share on NIL, the Portal
College baseball begins this week, and writers from The Athletic sat down with eleven current coaches to hear their takes on NIL and the transfer portal.
Tom Walter, Wake Forest, on NIL: “I hate it for the mid-majors. […] I do like that teams can use NIL opportunities to keep kids out of the draft. I do like that you might not see as many kids sign for $150,000 or $200,000 as they used to.”
Steve Owens, Rutgers: “‘When the portal first kind of got going a few years ago, you could recruit a player and he talked about, ‘What are your needs? Like, how do I fit in? What’s your style of coaching? What’s the scholarship?’ Now, some of the first questions are, ‘Do you have NIL?’”
Jim Schlossnagle, Texas A&M: “It’s gradually becoming as much of a problem as it is in football. Not quite yet. But it’s getting there.”
Jay Johnson, LSU, on the portal: “It’s affecting [the game] a lot. The teams that are using it will never have a young team. And so, at least in our league, it appears that everybody’s old and experienced every year because of it.”
Craig Gibson, Mercer, on the portal: “It’s absolutely destroyed the college game. And I say that because three years ago, my shortstop leads the SEC in home runs, RJ Yeager at Mississippi State. Last year, my first baseman Angelo DiSpigna is all-conference in the ACC (at Georgia Tech). And then two years ago, we had four kids drafted. They all had NIL deals at Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Ole Miss, but they all signed professionally.”
Tom Walters, who started coaching at the mid-major level, and Craig Gibson, who currently coaches at that level, agree that the detrimental effects of NIL and the portal can devastate a roster that took years to develop.
Michigan Moves Forward Post-Harbaugh with NIL Focus
This past week, the University of Michigan announced two significant moves in an effort to modernize their NIL efforts in recruiting and player retention.
Last Saturday, the University announced that they would be hiring Sean Magee as Associate AD and General Manager for Football. Magee was previously the Associate AD for Football at Michigan and most recently the Chief of Staff for the Chicago Bears.
Part of Magee’s role as the new General Manager is to “establish and execute short and long term goals as it relates to the overall vision of Michigan Football's NIL activities.”
On Wednesday, the University also announced an expansion of its existing partnership with Learfield and the addition of Altius Sports Partners for NIL.
“I will assure you we’ll be as aggressive as we can be within the rules in making sure our current student-athletes and our prospective student-athletes know Michigan’s focus in investment in providing NIL opportunities to them,” said Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel.
Coming Soon? Oregon v. NCAA
On Tuesday, the Oregon House Committee on Higher Education voted unanimously (8-0) to send House Bill 4119 to the floor with a recommendation of passing.
HB 4119 would amend the current Oregon NIL law, prohibiting the NCAA, conferences, and any other athletics governing body from punishing any athlete or university in Oregon due to actual or alleged violations of the NCAA’s NIL regulations.
The Bill also adds that “athletic reputation” alone may suffice for compensation, and that although compensation may not be conditioned on performance, it may be conditioned on an “athlete’s attendance at a particular school.”
ICYMI
Creighton launched an officially-licensed NIL store in partnership with Campus Ink. LINK
Ohio State QB Julian Sayin — an Alabama transfer — announced a deal with The Foundation, the Ohio State-focused collective. LINK
Adidas signed four Overtime Elite athletes as NIL ambassadors. LINK
Have you checked out OSC’s website?
Head to www.OptimumSportsConsulting.com to find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources include State by State Resources for Admins, Agents and Athletes, including our initial “OSC Summaries” for over a dozen states coming soon.
More to come too, including links to helpful state information- agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!