P.J. Fleck 'really excited' about where Gophers football stands with NIL

BleedGopher

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Per Nolan:

“It’s always a work in progress. It always will be, always has been. We’ve had some very generous donors step up big time for us and continue to do (so) and work with Dinkytown Athletes,” Fleck said of the progress with NIL. “… I’m really excited about where we are and the progress we continue to make every single day.”


Go Gophers!!
 

Compared to our peer programs (let’s just say the old big ten west) , it does seem like our NIL effort is more cohesive, active and has a vision of who it wants to recruit and retain
 

Compared to our peer programs (let’s just say the old big ten west) , it does seem like our NIL effort is more cohesive, active and has a vision of who it wants to recruit and retain
My main fear would be new Glarus and the badgers teaming up for an NIL beer. That revenue could vault them ahead of the blue bloods /s
 




Compared to our peer programs (let’s just say the old big ten west) , it does seem like our NIL effort is more cohesive, active and has a vision of who it wants to recruit and retain
U of M did a lot of work standardizing and being prepared ahead of time.

That seems to be paying off, also with similarly prepared and capable partners.

Some schools it seems to be chaos like.
 

U of M did a lot of work standardizing and being prepared ahead of time.

That seems to be paying off, also with similarly prepared and capable partners.

Some schools it seems to be chaos like.
It probably helps that we are not playing in the crazy NIL space where the stupid money is flying around. Makes it easier to be structured and make sure guys get taken care of.
 

It probably helps that we are not playing in the crazy NIL space where the stupid money is flying around. Makes it easier to be structured and make sure guys get taken care of.
Program building is still the ticket. Throwing away money on one off guys might work in hoops but not football. Need a team.
 




It probably helps that we are not playing in the crazy NIL space where the stupid money is flying around. Makes it easier to be structured and make sure guys get taken care of.
MN seems to have made good choices with Dinkytown Athletes, and Dinkytown Athletes seems to be operating smartly.

At other schools it seems like there is a mix of orgs and ... some are straight amateur hour / or legally very questionable.

I remember someone asking the folks at Dinkytown Athletes why they're not a non-profit and IIRC they consulted with legal and they told them they didn't think that within the law now that an NIL group could operate like that.

I know at other schools some did claim to be non-profits... and suddenly stopped claiming that or straight vanished. I think Dinkytown Athletes was likely right in that choice ;)

I know Iowa actually selected one NIL group and ... did not cooperate with a few others that popped up. The very uh ... immature response of those other groups made me think Iowa dodged a bullet, i'm not sure every school has done so.
 

At other schools it seems like there is a mix of orgs and ... some are straight amateur hour / or legally very questionable.

^ Kinda the norm for most businesses 🤷‍♂️

Speaking of which, The Swarm tax return should be popping up on the ProPublica charity database soon.
 


I have always been hopeful that NIL could be a reset on college parity, and an opportunity for the Gophers to re-establish themselves as being more than an also-ran program.
The recent news of a major donor stepping up and matching donations was awesome, the creation of Duck Duck beer was also fantastic. There's still a LOT of money to be got in the Twin Cities.

Most of all, this season has proven to me that the decade or so that Huntington has been open has really grown this fanbase. This is evidenced by the ongoing mostly-full stadium that we have on saturdays. All this adds up to more money coming in.

PJ showing growth, NIL getting more robust, attendance seeming stable.... things feel positive in Dinkytown once again.
 



My main fear would be new Glarus and the badgers teaming up for an NIL beer. That revenue could vault them ahead of the blue bloods /s

Lol. Yeah, the Sconnies can pound some beerz. That could be a game changer.

I liken Spotted Cow to obnoxious friends at a party. The first one or two is great but it gets old really fast. It's the exact opposite of Duck Duck Beer when tailgating. The first one or two is, ho hum, another light beer, but then turns into chants of "this is the best beer ever!" after a few.
 

If things keep going like they are, the NIL general manager equivalent position at universities might become just as important as the coach. The head coach has historically been the czar of team building. That's why they get the big $$. That responsibility might be shifting.
 

My main fear would be new Glarus and the badgers teaming up for an NIL beer. That revenue could vault them ahead of the blue bloods /s
Not if MN residents quit buying it. It isn’t nearly as popular to Wisconsin residents as it is MN residents.
 

MN seems to have made good choices with Dinkytown Athletes, and Dinkytown Athletes seems to be operating smartly.

At other schools it seems like there is a mix of orgs and ... some are straight amateur hour / or legally very questionable.

I remember someone asking the folks at Dinkytown Athletes why they're not a non-profit and IIRC they consulted with legal and they told them they didn't think that within the law now that an NIL group could operate like that.

I know at other schools some did claim to be non-profits... and suddenly stopped claiming that or straight vanished. I think Dinkytown Athletes was likely right in that choice ;)

I know Iowa actually selected one NIL group and ... did not cooperate with a few others that popped up. The very uh ... immature response of those other groups made me think Iowa dodged a bullet, i'm not sure every school has done so.
I think it's smart having a former player run the NIL program too.
 

I have always been hopeful that NIL could be a reset on college parity, and an opportunity for the Gophers to re-establish themselves as being more than an also-ran program.
The recent news of a major donor stepping up and matching donations was awesome, the creation of Duck Duck beer was also fantastic. There's still a LOT of money to be got in the Twin Cities.

Most of all, this season has proven to me that the decade or so that Huntington has been open has really grown this fanbase. This is evidenced by the ongoing mostly-full stadium that we have on saturdays. All this adds up to more money coming in.

PJ showing growth, NIL getting more robust, attendance seeming stable.... things feel positive in Dinkytown once again.
It seems to me NIL/transfer portal has evened things out a little bit in football. Oregon, Ohio St, Georgia, etc are still going to be better than everyone else but I think the gap has shrunk some.

It's done the opposite for basketball.
 


Fleck has been much more positive about NIL recently. Hopefully a good sign that we will be able to keep our players and be in position to go get the guys we want, even if we aren't one of the big spenders on the NIL front.
We just might be a low key big spender, who knows? We must have paid up for Brosmer and to keep Taylor...
 

It seems to me NIL/transfer portal has evened things out a little bit in football. Oregon, Ohio St, Georgia, etc are still going to be better than everyone else but I think the gap has shrunk some.

It's done the opposite for basketball.

IMO, Oregon comes back to earth once Knight leaves the scene. They have no built-in advantages other than donor money. It's the perfect example of success in the modern NIL/portal era.

The traditional blue bloods like Georgia, Alabama, Texas, Ohio State, have built-in recruiting advantages, fandom and infrastructure that give them more room for error. One would think USC should be in that list too, but it's a classic case of mismanagement on many levels. Still, the blue bloods can no longer stack multiple years of 5-star and high 4-star recruits on the roster like they used to. That's good for everyone else.

On the one hand, I hate the portal because of all the player churn and potential to lose stars every year. On the other hand, it also opens opportunities with good management. I'm torn.
 

On the one hand, I hate the portal because of all the player churn and potential to lose stars every year. On the other hand, it also opens opportunities with good management. I'm torn.
I feel like the portal/NIL has overall been a positive for Minnesota football and a negative for Minnesota basketball over the past few years.

In football we have seemed to retain the majority of our stars and have brought in some quality players from the portal.

In basketball the results have been much more mixed.
 


I feel like the portal/NIL has overall been a positive for Minnesota football and a negative for Minnesota basketball over the past few years.

In football we have seemed to retain the majority of our stars and have brought in some quality players from the portal.

In basketball the results have been much more mixed.

"Mixed" results is an understatement for the basketball team. They are making it hard to be a fan.
 

It seems to me NIL/transfer portal has evened things out a little bit in football. Oregon, Ohio St, Georgia, etc are still going to be better than everyone else but I think the gap has shrunk some.

It's done the opposite for basketball.
I think it's the portal that's evening things out. NIL is the opposite.
 

My main fear would be new Glarus and the badgers teaming up for an NIL beer. That revenue could vault them ahead of the blue bloods /s
If Duck Duck isn't pulling in enough, they've got Surly or Lupulin Brewing as potential alternatives.
 

Apologies if this has been mentioned. An alum has developed an app to hopefully help with our NIL.
Interesting, anyone have any intel on using this app? Any reason it's better than DinkyTown?
 

If Duck Duck isn't pulling in enough, they've got Surly or Lupulin Brewing as potential alternatives.
Not partnering with Surly is head scratching. Duck Duck isn't a bad beer, but I think SURLY has a lot more equity and brand recognition, even if they are union-busters.
 

Not partnering with Surly is head scratching. Duck Duck isn't a bad beer, but I think SURLY has a lot more equity and brand recognition, even if they are union-busters.
Or Summit, or Schells, both of which are larger than Surly.

And New Glarus makes several beers that are much better than Spotted Cow. Moon Man is their best.
 





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