Biscuits, Woj goes to the Bonnies, and Michigan State’s $10M NIL donation

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It’s been a busy week for NIL news – ESPN’s superstar reporter left the company to take an NIL general manager job at his tiny alma mater. Meanwhile, Marshall’s football coach is trying to lure Ohio State players to the portal with… all-you-can-eat NIL biscuits? Yeah, seriously. It’s all coming up right now!

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— Cole, Justin and Collin

The Big 3

Woj ➡️ St. Bonaventure’s NIL General Manager

ESPN’s superstar insider Adrian Wojnarowski just retired from sports media to become the general manager for St. Bonaventure’s basketball team. After working in basketball media for thirty seven years, Woj called the opportunity to reunite with his former school “The thrill of a lifetime.”

“Woj is the perfect person to fill this new role,” St. Bonaventure AD Bob Beretta said, expressing that Woj’s “intimate knowledge of St. Bonaventure” and “deep network of relationships he has built across the worlds of professional and intercollegiate basketball” made him the best possible candidate. 

In his new role, Wojnarowski will be handling NIL allocation, player recruitment, and roster construction for the Bonnies. The team has made the NCAA tournament only three times since the turn of the century. (More)

Can Biscuits Pay NIL Bills?

Marshall’s head football coach presented a hilarious NIL offer to rival players this week. The pitch? All you can eat biscuits.

“We’ve got a Tudor’s Biscuit NIL all you can eat [deal],” said Charles Huff, “So if any of those guys that run really really fast at Ohio State like Tudor’s biscuits, I promise you, all you can eat, all day, if you transfer here.” 

The offer was more of a joke than anything, which Huff emphasized when he spoke about the talent they’ve already acquired. “I feel good about the track we’re on, trust me,” he said. “I know where we are, but I feel good about the track we’re on. And I feel good about the players we have.” (More)

NCAA to “Clarify” Stance on Boosters, Collectives

When Judge Claudia Wilken implored both sides of the House v. NCAA settlement to “Go back to the drawing board,” many thought the NCAA would be forced to entirely drop its ability to police NIL collective and booster involvement. That doesn’t seem to be on the table, however.

The NCAA is firmly against pay-for-play for reasons we explain here. That’s why they proposed the NIL clearinghouse, which would make sure all NIL payments were for “legitimate NIL business.”

Judge Wilken didn’t like the NCAA’s hands-on approach, but instead of giving up, lawyers for both sides of the settlement are now trying to “clarify” the language around collective and booster engagement. We’ll see whether “clarifying” is good enough – another hearing is scheduled for Thursday the 26^th. (More)

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ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Arch Manning

• School: University of Texas

• Position: Quarterback 

• Sport: Football 

• Class: Sophomore

• Accolades: 

• Appeared in the season opener against Colorado State, completing five-of-six passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.

•  Entered the game vs. UTSA for an injured Quinn Ewers, completing 9-of-12 passes for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

• Accounted for five total touchdowns vs. UTSA, including a 67-yard rushing touchdown and a 75-yard touchdown pass to Wingo.

• Became the fifth SEC freshman QB in the last 15 years to record a 65+ yard rushing touchdown and the first in UT history to have a 65+ yard pass and run in the same game.

• Named SEC Co-Freshman of the Week, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award National Player of the Week, and added to the Davey O'Brien Award Great 8 list for his performance against UTSA.

• NIL: His NIL valuation is up $18K after last week, putting him at $3.1M and #3 in top NIL valuations. 

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Details have been released on the “Players Era” NIL basketball tournament set for the fall 

♦️ Michigan State just received a massive $10 million injection from the Ishbia family

♦️ Wisconsin’s Greg Gard wants NIL market transparency

♦️ The University of Houston just launched a $200K NIL donation matching campaign

♦️ Walk On’s, a sports bar chain, just announced they’re matching the $50K NIL gift that Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman gave to his walk-on teammates

♦️ Michigan’s NIL guru talks to NPR about the job’s biggest challenges

♦️ College athletes don’t feel their voices were heard during conference realignment talks

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BATTER UP

Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

Is the introduction of A.I. for NIL deals good or bad for college sports?

• It’s good - 41%

• It’s bad - 59%