STrib: Mark Coyle, Phil Esten: How Minnesota's top athletics directors are living with NIL

[BleedGopher]

Per Day:

The two Division I schools in Minnesota exist in different financial realities and philosophical spaces. The U of M a state school entrenched in a Power Five conference with enrollment over 50,000. St. Thomas a private Catholic university with teams in several conferences trying to learn how to be a Division I program with enrollment under 10,000.

But Coyle and Esten were surprisingly similar in saying that their overriding hope is once the dust settles on these changes, they can get back to a more holistic look at the relationship between academics and athletics. They both said their core ethos remains: provide an experience to student-athletes that is about the rest of their lives not just the years they're on campus.

Is that actually possible? At a time when the NCAA can't win a court case, where every challenge to the traditional structure of college athletics seems to succeed, the most difficult reality might be that athletics directors and universities and the NCAA are no longer in control.

"I think good, bad or indifferent, the pandemic showed us anything can happen at any time," Coyle said. "The last four years in college athletics has just been a shifting landscape and it's going to continue to be a shifting landscape."

That's Division I athletics in the NIL era. Unstable ground and very few opportunities to settle your feet, close your eyes and take a deep breath.

Gophers’ Mark Coyle, Tommies’ Phil Esten: How Minnesota’s top athletics directors are living with NIL

On constant change, ‘chasing ghosts’ and just catching a breath in the NIL era of college sports.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[bga1]

Per Day:

The two Division I schools in Minnesota exist in different financial realities and philosophical spaces. The U of M a state school entrenched in a Power Five conference with enrollment over 50,000. St. Thomas a private Catholic university with teams in several conferences trying to learn how to be a Division I program with enrollment under 10,000.

But Coyle and Esten were surprisingly similar in saying that their overriding hope is once the dust settles on these changes, they can get back to a more holistic look at the relationship between academics and athletics. They both said their core ethos remains: provide an experience to student-athletes that is about the rest of their lives not just the years they're on campus.

Is that actually possible? At a time when the NCAA can't win a court case, where every challenge to the traditional structure of college athletics seems to succeed, the most difficult reality might be that athletics directors and universities and the NCAA are no longer in control.

"I think good, bad or indifferent, the pandemic showed us anything can happen at any time," Coyle said. "The last four years in college athletics has just been a shifting landscape and it's going to continue to be a shifting landscape."

That's Division I athletics in the NIL era. Unstable ground and very few opportunities to settle your feet, close your eyes and take a deep breath.

Gophers’ Mark Coyle, Tommies’ Phil Esten: How Minnesota’s top athletics directors are living with NIL

On constant change, ‘chasing ghosts’ and just catching a breath in the NIL era of college sports.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

Coyle will wait and see how the dust settles. We hope for a holistic approach between academics and athletics. Welcome to the MIAC!

No plan to win and get ahead of things. It's all about hoping things settle. Please send your season ticket payment!

 

[BarnBurner]

Coyle will wait and see how the dust settles. We hope for a holistic approach between academics and athletics. Welcome to the MIAC!

No plan to win and get ahead of things. It's all about hoping things settle. Please send your season ticket payment!

Exactly. Whatever you do, do not act like a leader. Ever. What a putz.

 

[SelectionSunday]

Coyle will wait and see how the dust settles. We hope for a holistic approach between academics and athletics. Welcome to the MIAC!

No plan to win and get ahead of things. It's all about hoping things settle. Please send your season ticket payment!

Well said, Beeg.

St. Thomas has the better AD. Too bad Esten isn’t still at the U. … UST’s gain.

 

[EasyThere Pilgrim]

I'm 100% against colleges paying the students. But...instead of waiting until the dust settles...

I'd strike while the iron is hot.

For about $6M, we could have had a super-team. We could have added 3 of the best players in the country to our already good players.

Buy a championship 1 time. And then we can be cheap for the next 10 years.

 

[Off-GridTNgopher]

I'm 100% against colleges paying the students. But...instead of waiting until the dust settles...

I'd strike while the iron is hot.

For about $6M, we could have had a super-team. We could have added 3 of the best players in the country to our already good players.

Buy a championship 1 time. And then we can be cheap for the next 10 years.

Fug it.. let them row in dough.. I'm in... But only because they mainly... Win

 

[Roland Brooks]

UST has a couple alums just waiting to spend some dough on hoops… obviously since football is non scholarship the main focus can be hoops…

 

[Spaulding!No!]

UST has a couple alums just waiting to spend some dough on hoops… obviously since football is non scholarship the main focus can be hoops…

Why are you here?

 

[Roland Brooks]

Where should I be?

 

[EasyThere Pilgrim]

Why are you here?

His comment wasn't bad...compared to the Fountain Of Negativity this board is after every loss.

But yeah it's surprisingly positive in here now during this off-season...in which we had the worst off-season in all of college basketball.

Strange indeed.

 

[mngg11]

I've brought this up a few times on the FB board, but why Coyle and the U aren't pumping the Wolves and Vikings for some kind of partnership to generate greater interest/more NIL dollars in our programs, I have no idea. And maybe they are, but if they aren't (or already tried to no avail), it's a potentially huge advantage we always pose as a disadvantage in having a college in a pro sports town that could boost us significantly in terms of competitive resources.

 

[disco]

I've brought this up a few times on the FB board, but why Coyle and the U aren't pumping the Wolves and Vikings for some kind of partnership to generate greater interest/more NIL dollars in our programs, I have no idea. And maybe they are, but if they aren't (or already tried to no avail), it's a potentially huge advantage we always pose as a disadvantage in having a college in a pro sports town that could boost us significantly in terms of competitive resources.

Why would the Wolves and Vikings do that? College and pro sports are entertainment. And they are competing for a finite number of entertainment dollars that exist to be spent by sports fans in this market. Why would you help fund a competitor?

And as far as the owners go, the Vikings are owned by a couple dudes from New Jersey. The Wolves are owned by a guy who went to MSU-Mankato, and has donated a bunch to that school. There are no ties to the U at all.

 

[Gopher_In_NYC]

Where should I be?

An existential response

 

[short ornery norwegian]

the pitch has to be a "support the community" pitch. Obviously, the FedEx situation is different because Memphis does not have as many teams competing for the sports and entertainment dollars. you have the NBA Grizzlies and then the U of Memphis. but still, someone was able to convince the powers-that-be at FedEx that giving money to the school would reflect favorably on the company.

like any sales pitch, you need the right salesperson with the right pitch, and a receptive customer.

and I will say this: Mark Coyle is not the right salesperson. keep him away from this. find a younger, more personable, more articulate person to lead the effort. and take Parker Fox along. that kid has a big future in sales or media.

 

[howeda7]

Have Mark Coyle and Joel Maturi ever been in the same room?

 

[mngg11]

Why would the Wolves and Vikings do that? College and pro sports are entertainment. And they are competing for a finite number of entertainment dollars that exist to be spent by sports fans in this market. Why would you help fund a competitor?

And as far as the owners go, the Vikings are owned by a couple dudes from New Jersey. The Wolves are owned by a guy who went to MSU-Mankato, and has donated a bunch to that school. There are no ties to the U at all.

I'm sure a marketing major would be able to explain far better than I can how it would benefit both the Wolves/Vikings and the U from an advertising standpoint. These organizations are flush with money and if they can make a minor contribution via NIL that would result in a few more butts in the seats or a furthering of their image in the public, they would do it. I don't buy that it makes no sense at all, there has to be some kind of value even if the return is minimal. It's the same reason people pay to have their name on stadiums.

 

[2nd Degree Gopher]

Have Mark Coyle and Joel Maturi ever been in the same room?

Yes!

 

[kix4kix]

I'm sure a marketing major would be able to explain far better than I can how it would benefit both the Wolves/Vikings and the U from an advertising standpoint. These organizations are flush with money and if they can make a minor contribution via NIL that would result in a few more butts in the seats or a furthering of their image in the public, they would do it. I don't buy that it makes no sense at all, there has to be some kind of value even if the return is minimal. It's the same reason people pay to have their name on stadiums.

No sense at all.

Far more synergy with the fortune 500 companies in the area sections to take employees/execs for outings, added value of being visible in the biggest and best college in the state ect.....

 

[mngg11]

No sense at all.

Far more synergy with the fortune 500 companies in the area sections to take employees/execs for outings, added value of being visible in the biggest and best college in the state ect.....

The argument wasn't regarding a Fortune 500 company being preferred over the two options, it was getting the Wolves and Vikings on board with our NIL as a means to recruit better players. I also don't buy the "competition for people's dollars" argument made by disco. People who are attending these games, both college and pro, aren't having an existential crisis on a weekly basis on who they're going to dump money on because they won't be able to feed poor Johnny if they put into both. Different leagues, same product at the baseline. The need for some of you to look at the pro market like it's some predatory monster that's keeping us from being successful is crazy sometimes.

 

[disco]

The argument wasn't regarding a Fortune 500 company being preferred over the two options, it was getting the Wolves and Vikings on board with our NIL as a means to recruit better players. I also don't buy the "competition for people's dollars" argument made by disco. People who are attending these games, both college and pro, aren't having an existential crisis on a weekly basis on who they're going to dump money on because they won't be able to feed poor Johnny if they put into both. Different leagues, same product at the baseline. The need for some of you to look at the pro market like it's some predatory monster that's keeping us from being successful is crazy sometimes.

If you don't buy the competition for dollars issue, (and yes, I agree it's not people who can't afford food) it's also competition for time. In which team are people going to invest time?

That said, the competition for discretionary entertainment dollars is a real thing. There have been studies done on it to disprove the notion that we should spend public money on pro sports stadiums. The fact is that money spent on sports - college or pro - would be spent elsewhere in the market on some other good or service that would contribute to the economy. For entertainment dollars, the Wolves and Vikings compete with the Gophers.

(Note: As a sports fan, I don't care if we spend money on stadiums, but the argument that they bring money into the economy isn't really true. Sure, the occasional Taylor Swift concert moves the needle, but those events are a few times a year).

 

[GoldMedalCounty]

Back to the issue at hand, I’m not inspired by Coyles creativity or fundraising abilities. He’s like a banker that only makes loans to people who don’t really need money…not that special.

 

[EasyThere Pilgrim]

Back to the issue at hand, I’m not inspired by Coyles creativity or fundraising abilities. He’s like a banker that only makes loans to people who don’t really need money…not that special.

Coyle has no connection whatsoever to Minnesota. He couldn't care less if we win in football & basketball or not.

He was hired...for who knows why. Probably insider friendships. Anyway...his job is public relations.

 

[mngg11]

If you don't buy the competition for dollars issue, (and yes, I agree it's not people who can't afford food) it's also competition for time. In which team are people going to invest time?

That said, the competition for discretionary entertainment dollars is a real thing. There have been studies done on it to disprove the notion that we should spend public money on pro sports stadiums. The fact is that money spent on sports - college or pro - would be spent elsewhere in the market on some other good or service that would contribute to the economy. For entertainment dollars, the Wolves and Vikings compete with the Gophers.

(Note: As a sports fan, I don't care if we spend money on stadiums, but the argument that they bring money into the economy isn't really true. Sure, the occasional Taylor Swift concert moves the needle, but those events are a few times a year).

I mean, I know a ton of people who invest the same amount of time in both the Gophers and the Vikings, for instance. Neither of those compete for TV time against one another. I don't buy that argument. Maybe for basketball, but I have idea how hoops schedules line up in the leagues. I think we're going to go back and forth on this one to no avail. I disagree with you but I do appreciate your respectfulness, same with the others.

 

[EG#9]

I really hate how all the articles written about Gopher sports seem to be with a victim mentality. Why can't Minnesota be a school that adapts quickly to this "shifting landscape"? It should be looked at as an opportunity. Coyle's teams in the revenue sports have not been very good (football 2019 a notable exception) before this "shifting landscape", so what was the excuse then? Waiting/hoping things go in a certain direction is not a plan and doesn't show the leadership that should be expected out of an AD at any level much less in the Big Ten.

 

[jamiche]

Coyle has no connection whatsoever to Minnesota. He couldn't care less if we win in football & basketball or not.

He was hired...for who knows why. Probably insider friendships. Anyway...his job is public relations.

Coyle was a safe choice and he was nice. Most importantly, he wasn't Norwood in any way. That's what the U wanted and needed at the time.

The problem is that he can't sell, can't motivate, isn't remotely innovative, is risk averse and doesn't lead. He is not what the U needs now.

 

[BleedGopher]

Coyle was a safe choice and he was nice. Most importantly, he wasn't Norwood in any way. That's what the U wanted and needed at the time.

The problem is that he can't sell, can't motivate, isn't remotely innovative, is risk averse and doesn't lead. He is not what the U needs now.

100% agreed. Coyle was the right hire at the time, following Mega Tongue. The role of the AD is much different today than it was when he was hired.

The landscape of major college athletics has changed so dramatically in the last 2-3 years, that University Presidents/AD's need to evaluate whether the leaders they have in the power positions (AD, men's/women's basketball, football) are the right hires in the current environment. Coyle proudly touted Johnson's ability to recruit in state as the #1 attribute - one could argue that's no longer as important as it was pre-Portal/NIL Era. Fleck seems to have adapted quickly and well. Coach P seems to navigate this new Era pretty well so far too.

Go Gophers!!

 

[disco]

I really hate how all the articles written about Gopher sports seem to be with a victim mentality. Why can't Minnesota be a school that adapts quickly to this "shifting landscape"?

What in the past history of this athletic program would make you think this is remotely possible?

 

[jamiche]

100% agreed. Coyle was the right hire at the time, following Mega Tongue. The role of the AD is much different today than it was when he was hired.

The landscape of major college athletics has changed so dramatically in the last 2-3 years, that University Presidents/AD's need to evaluate whether the leaders they have in the power positions (AD, men's/women's basketball, football) are the right hires in the current environment. Coyle proudly touted Johnson's ability to recruit in state as the #1 attribute - one could argue that's no longer as important as it was pre-Portal/NIL Era. Fleck seems to have adapted quickly and well. Coach P seems to navigate this new Era pretty well so far too.

Go Gophers!!

Coyle is a rock solid "compliance" AD. He makes sure the department is in "compliance" with the best of 'em. The problem is that there is really nothing to comply with anymore. Rules are a 2010 thing. The only rule now is to raise maximum dollars to bring in maximum talent in FB, MBB and WBB. He doesn't have that skill set.

 

[bga1]

I really hate how all the articles written about Gopher sports seem to be with a victim mentality. Why can't Minnesota be a school that adapts quickly to this "shifting landscape"? It should be looked at as an opportunity. Coyle's teams in the revenue sports have not been very good (football 2019 a notable exception) before this "shifting landscape", so what was the excuse then? Waiting/hoping things go in a certain direction is not a plan and doesn't show the leadership that should be expected out of an AD at any level much less in the Big Ten.

Winners lead in a changing landscape. Losers use the changes as an excuse for failure.

 

[EasyThere Pilgrim]

Coyle was the right hire at the - one could argue that's no longer as important as it was pre-Portal/NIL Era. Fleck seems to have adapted quickly and well. Coach P seems to navigate this new Era pretty well so far too.

Go Gophers!!

That's another good cliché. Navigating this new era.

But what would Fleck & Pitino actually have done differently than Johnson to keep Payne, Hawkins, & Christie?