Hey there,

NIL isn’t exactly the easiest topic to decode, but we’ve made it our goal to do precisely that. One way we want to keep you in the loop is by providing interviews with industry insiders – professors, businesspeople, and more.

That’s why we talked to professor Greg Dooley, who teaches a wildly popular class on NIL at the University of Michigan. Professor Dooley is an expert on the history of college athletics, which gives him a wide-angle perspective into where NIL fits into the grand narrative of collegiate sports. He also runs MVictors.com, which dives into the history and culture of Michigan athletics.

The following is an interview with professor Dooley. We asked him about a variety of topics, like why people are frustrated with NIL, what changes he’s anticipating in the near future, and how schools can set themselves up best for NIL success. We also had to ask him about Michigan’s NIL transition after the Jim Harbaugh era too, of course. We hope you enjoy!

As always, we’d love to hear from you. Shoot us an email at editor@nil-wire to get in touch for business partnerships or even just good old fashioned feedback.

— Cole, Justin and Collin

Interview with Greg Dooley

When and why did you start this class? The demand for the class looks to be overwhelming – why are people so attracted to it?

This is the third semester we've offered the NIL class. The School of Education at Michigan has been pretty innovative with its course offerings, and the leadership knew this was a hot topic and potentially an interesting addition to the school. Part of the motivation was to draw a diverse set of students from across campus and it's definitely done that.

The class is pretty popular as you note, and there's obviously a ton of students at Michigan who are serious fans of college athletics. I think a big part of the appeal is that the class is structured to literally be shaped by the headlines in college athletics. We also bring in outstanding guest speakers pulled from across the school (coaches, players, administrators, collectives, agents, Regents, businesses, large donors, marketing experts, etc.)

Many people seem upset about NIL these days. Why do you think that is?

 Upset, dissatisfied, disillusioned - I think all these emotions are coming out. Anytime there's change fans struggle with it but it's more than that. The main frustration is the lack of faith in leadership to help us through this. School presidents are hesitant to step on each other's toes and demand changes.

The NCAA is only interested in defending its turf, and only acts when backed into a corner. Coaches are at odds with school compliance departments. NIL oversight is at worst a joke, at best inconsistent.  It's frustrating because many fear this thing they love, akin to religion for many, could be crumbling while the NCAA flops around.

What has been a bigger factor in the most recent upheaval in college sports: changes to the transfer portal or the introduction of NIL? 

I don't think you can separate the two, because on one or both ends of a transfer is a conversation about NIL. Both have made the lives of coaches harder, and created a more complex relationship with the players on their rosters. It used to be about playing time, now families, agents, and other schools are potentially involved and weighing in on how a particular player is being treated. All this said, I think players deserve these rights and I don't think they are going away.

Where do you see NIL going from here? What will change? What changes would you like to see yourself?

I would think that revenue sharing will certainly come, and TV contract money will be shared with the athletes, with escalators based on network exposure. I could see the bulk of the revenue then being controlled, distributed and regulated by the schools (or conferences) allowing for more opportunity for oversight and control.

This will change the role of collectives, which will act more like value-add marketing agencies vs. today, which is basically a service to pool and funnel money to athletes. You might also get more transparency through this model which would help.

How do schools best set themselves up for NIL success? 

I think it starts with having excellent communication & marketing to all the stakeholders, everyone from existing coaches and players on policies, services and education, to fans, businesses and donors about how they can get involved, and even to recruits and their families to provide a consistent message about the rules, and opportunities at your school. This takes resources - people and staff - to be done right. Most athletic departments are not flush with budget to invest in this, but that's what it takes to get really serious about this.

In your opinion, how does Michigan stack up against the rest of the country on NIL? How do you anticipate football coach Sherrone Moore will handle NIL moving forward? Will it be different than Jim Harbaugh?

Michigan has 29 varsity teams, and several collectives, and has done a pretty good job if you take all the programs into account. In the highest profile sports (football & basketball), Michigan is behind the top tier, it just hasn't attracted the size or scale of donors through the collectives of many other schools. But it ultimately managed to do enough to keep its crown jewel team together that won a national title, and there does seem to be solid donor traction in 2024. As far as an athletic department, Michigan was a tad slow, I think deliberately, in throwing resources at NIL but that too seems to be moving toward more investment and focus. 

Jim Harbaugh is vocally a huge advocate for players rights - from NIL, to revenue sharing to even the transfer portal - and definitely supported NIL efforts tied to his program.

I think Sherrone Moore is going to make it a high priority and if there's a difference, he appears to be willing to take a more hands-on approach and put himself out there to make sure Michigan excels in offering NIL opportunities. He's a bit more relatable than Jim Harbaugh and I think he'll use that to connect with donors and businesses in an effective way.  Michigan athletics hasn't always been the first mover or innovator, but usually in the end it gets it right. We'll see.

To get in touch with professor Dooley, check out his LinkedIn.