BleedGopher
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Per the WSJ:
It’s no secret how the best college basketball teams are assembled these days: Follow the money.
It isn’t hard to find. The boosters who spend millions to lure in prized freshmen and coveted transfer players sit courtside at games, while the fundraising collectives that pool money to attract premier talent actively solicit donations online.
But if you’re looking for the money behind the most iconic brand in college basketball, the favorite to win the NCAA tournament and the team that landed future No. 1 NBA pick Cooper Flagg, you’re likely to find nothing at all.
Duke has steamrolled its way to the Final Four because it has one of the greatest collections of players in modern college basketball history. Yet who exactly is paying for a roster that cost millions of dollars to put together remains a gigantic mystery.
In a move that’s highly unusual for a major college program, there’s virtually no online footprint for Duke basketball’s booster collective. That’s not because the Blue Devils have somehow managed to construct a star-studded team without gobs of cash lining players’ pockets, though.
Instead, Duke is in a position to compete for its sixth national championship thanks to a group of high net worth donors who have chosen to operate in a way that makes them unique in the braggadocious world of college sports—by conducting their business from the shadows.
People involved with the operation say the group’s silence is intentional. They say their goal is to give coach Jon Scheyer the resources to compete, to support his vision and never be a distraction from the ultimate goal of winning national championships.
Go Gophers!!
It’s no secret how the best college basketball teams are assembled these days: Follow the money.
It isn’t hard to find. The boosters who spend millions to lure in prized freshmen and coveted transfer players sit courtside at games, while the fundraising collectives that pool money to attract premier talent actively solicit donations online.
But if you’re looking for the money behind the most iconic brand in college basketball, the favorite to win the NCAA tournament and the team that landed future No. 1 NBA pick Cooper Flagg, you’re likely to find nothing at all.
Duke has steamrolled its way to the Final Four because it has one of the greatest collections of players in modern college basketball history. Yet who exactly is paying for a roster that cost millions of dollars to put together remains a gigantic mystery.
In a move that’s highly unusual for a major college program, there’s virtually no online footprint for Duke basketball’s booster collective. That’s not because the Blue Devils have somehow managed to construct a star-studded team without gobs of cash lining players’ pockets, though.
Instead, Duke is in a position to compete for its sixth national championship thanks to a group of high net worth donors who have chosen to operate in a way that makes them unique in the braggadocious world of college sports—by conducting their business from the shadows.
People involved with the operation say the group’s silence is intentional. They say their goal is to give coach Jon Scheyer the resources to compete, to support his vision and never be a distraction from the ultimate goal of winning national championships.
Go Gophers!!
