Lebanon, TN – Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY Network’s SEC Columnist, delivered an informative column regarding the current angst between the NCAA and the University of Tennessee regarding alleged violations of NIL Policy. His January 31 article, “I have no sympathy for NCAA, but not much for Tennessee Vols, either. Both asked for this.” We agree. And this is most likely a testing ground for the NCAA before it starts to consider violations among other members.
There’s an irritating aspect of this entire, pre-fabricated witch hunt and why it’s a waste of time. The NCAA consists of all the members of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). They not only abide by the current terms, but they formulated and approved the Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) policy. In the meantime, the membership also started lobbying their local state governments. They wanted to protect their fiefdoms from any possible NCAA violations. States arbitrarily passed new laws to eventually do so.
NIL? Collectives? News to me
In doing research for my book released last October, Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly, the ugliness of college football truly exposed itself to me. My curiosity piqued when I conversed with some fans of a major powerhouse on a shuttle bus back to the parking lot after a game. In nonchalant conversation, they said how the school administration invited season ticket holders/boosters to on-campus presentations. The admin proposed that they each donate $25,000 to the NIL fund being run by their “collective.” If they met a designated financial goal, two Fortune 500 companies would each donate one million dollars to the collective’s NIL fund.
Right to my sources
I approached several collectives and athletic departments of institutions of higher learning directly about explaining how this NIL policy could not violate “pay for play” violations. They basically crawled into their shells. All are FBS members or affiliated with them. One private school collective rep was very open about the policies. With minimal direct state government ties, the former player discussed the policy as openly as I could respect. I sent him my final notes, and he was fine about what I had written. We discussed basically how their collective would operate. After results of further analysis, I determined to keep him and his school anonymous in Fifty Years along with the others I approached.
Narrower collective focus
My second discussion with a collective from a Group of Five school went differently. I could tell my questioning didn’t go well with him. Like the first contact, I sent him my proposed verbiage to use in the book. After his review, he insisted not to use his name. As a former player, he felt I was anti-player. He surmised I was totally against players not making any income off their Names, Images and Likenesses. It was a tough line of questioning I admit. I derived that skill from my career as a Purchasing Manager. However, I was seeing the perspective better from the players’ side.
On the other hand, my further research indicated an excess of what he talked about and what I thought it would be. I agreed to abide by with his wish. However, in my parting email, I asked if he felt Power Five teams with more money in their NILs would poach his school’s players. I never got a response to that.
Who’s keeping an eye on NIL compliance?
I realized my most pressing question still needed to be answered. I targeted to interview an NIL compliance officer at some school, any school. Another program with which I have some pretty good ties to just avoided me after I spoke to my primary contact. At another, a terse and telling message came from the compliance officer. Through my contact there, I was told the manager refused to talk to me. I was told that their job regarding compliance meant being sure that the collectives were “in compliance with their state laws.” That said everything to me. The NIL policy released by the NCAA triggered all the state schools to start enlisting their lobbyists to protect them from any future infractions. Through third parties known as collectives, states started buffering legal protection against NCAA violations. Recruiting was about to become a free-for-all.
Built-in Loopholes
As researched online and reported in my book, the “Do’s and Don’ts of NILs” stipulate rules to be followed by schools, members of the NCAA, and potential student athletes. I assumed high school recruits only. Who is not specifically mentioned among these creative rules and regulations are specifically “collectives.” Such third parties strategically formed outside the jurisdictions of the schools themselves. Evidently, the limitation for them to offer such opportunities to potential student-athletes left the door wide open for the new transfer portal policy. If that was intentionally done or just an oversight, it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s happening, and no one is stopping it. Last summer, some coaches made statements that their current players were approached. Nobody, however, named the accused.
As addressed in one of my book’s closing essays, “Vision of the Future,” I venture why the NCAA membership wants to do this. In my final essay, “For the Love of the Game,” I offer some solutions. My objective is to find happy mediums among schools, players and fans. If there is no turning back these policies with such little thought regarding implications or necessary controls (here, I interject,” supposedly”) to build more fairness rather than less for 134 FBS members, we could lose our great, national pastime.
NIL – only the beginning of losing legal battles for the NCAA
As Toppmeyer summarizes at the end of his article, “(University of Tennessee Chancellor Donde) Plowman wrote to (NCAA President Charlie) Baker, the NCAA lacks credibility. The association’s pleas for congressional help in the areas of antitrust and NIL fell on deaf ears, and the courts stand ready to hand a toothless NCAA its next crippling defeat.” The University of Tennessee and 133 other FBS members make up the NCAA. The schools put the NCAA exactly where they wanted them. More steps yet to come for what the major universities want. It falls in line with the entire scheme I propose in Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly. Emphasis on the word “ugly” here, of course.
-Steve Koreivo, ed. Member of the Football Writers Association of America
