[Kricket]

If I understand this correctly, starting July 1st, Liberty can legally compensate athletes. This could give us a huge leg up in recruiting in football and other sports.

Interesting Mccaw is quoted in the article:

McCaw said Liberty planned to adhere to the NCAA's restrictions. Athletic directors from other FBS-level schools in Virginia declined interview requests.

https://www.espn.com/college-sports/sto ... hletes-nil

If I'm understanding correctly, he's saying Liberty won't pay athletes until sanctioned by the NCAA.

Thoughts?

[ATrain]

I think we should do whatever Tech and UVA do as far as offering money. Those are my thoughts.

Also, reading the article, it sounds like Ian McCaw was unaware that this was happening, and he said something off the cuff instead of declining to comment or saying "I'll get back to you later."

[cruzan_flame13]

I think we should do whatever Tech and UVA do as far as offering money. Those are my thoughts.

I'm sure we've heard this countless of times about Jerry Sr.'s vision of competing with the best of the best. In order to do so, LU needs to get great athletes to even compete. It would be asinine if McCaw along with coaches/department do not take this opportunity to step up to higher level of recruiting in which many in here never thought could happen until a decade or two. I guess LU can remain somewhat stagnant and limit themselves until athletes get the clearer picture of the Liberty bubble and attend here!

[ballcoach15]

Congress needs to get involved and pass a law capping the amount of money an athlete can receive. This needs to be the same for mid majors and the rogue Power 5 schools. Buying players off portal should be illegal. Actually congress should eliminate portal. The stupid portal is more harmful to college sports than the NIL.
And the NCAA should start issuing post season bans of at least 3 years, to schools caught cheating. As it stands now, a school can cheat and nothing happens to them, other than a light slap on the wrist with a chicken feather.

[cruzan_flame13]

Congress, and everything else in D.C., is a corporate body (D.C. Organic Act [1871] 41st Congress Session 3 Ch. 61, 62), so why can't young adult athletes be paid for services under a corporate entity of entertainment? If we strongly limit the financial abilities for these student athlete, who are young adults (have to say that a second time), we should do the same for those making the decisions federally. Why not make them get careers and volunteerialy "represent" the people as is historically claimed from the "good 'ol days"

[ATrain]

Congress needs to get involved and pass a law capping the amount of money an athlete can receive. This needs to be the same for mid majors and the rogue Power 5 schools. Buying players off portal should be illegal. Actually congress should eliminate portal. The stupid portal is more harmful to college sports than the NIL.
And the NCAA should start issuing post season bans of at least 3 years, to schools caught cheating. As it stands now, a school can cheat and nothing happens to them, other than a light slap on the wrist with a chicken feather.

Please explain how the portal has harmed college sports

[tyndal23]

I think we should do whatever Tech and UVA do as far as offering money. Those are my thoughts.

I'm sure we've heard this countless of times about Jerry Sr.'s vision of competing with the best of the best. In order to do so, LU needs to get great athletes to even compete. It would be asinine if McCaw along with coaches/department do not take this opportunity to step up to higher level of recruiting in which many in here never thought could happen until a decade or two. I guess LU can remain somewhat stagnant and limit themselves until athletes get the clearer picture of the Liberty bubble and attend here!

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

[TH Spangler]

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/c ... 382657007/

[flamehunter]

Congress needs to get involved and pass a law capping the amount of money an athlete can receive. This needs to be the same for mid majors and the rogue Power 5 schools. Buying players off portal should be illegal. Actually congress should eliminate portal. The stupid portal is more harmful to college sports than the NIL.
And the NCAA should start issuing post season bans of at least 3 years, to schools caught cheating. As it stands now, a school can cheat and nothing happens to them, other than a light slap on the wrist with a chicken feather.

Yeah, like the government getting more involved in anything is ever a good idea. It's not, it's a very bad idea.
Republicans - those who are against big government until it comes to pushing what they want, then it's the more the better.

[Ill flame]

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

$50 million a year would nearly double the budget and I'm pretty sure would put us at the top of D1 in NIL. When the toughest team on the schedule is app state, is spending more than most if not all P5s worth it? I think we should do everything we can to be the top G5 in everything but significantly going above and beyond seems like a waste of resources as long as we're in CUSA.

[Kricket]

As a fan I’d like to use this window of opportunity to become elite. No guts no glory.

The more rational side of me wonders if the NCAA would come down on us hard if we decided to jump in guns blazing and we’d be stuck in a legal battle.

Who else would the NCAA like to punish more?

I suppose this one is for Mccaw to figure out.

[cruzan_flame13]

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

$50 million a year would nearly double the budget and I'm pretty sure would put us at the top of D1 in NIL. When the toughest team on the schedule is app state, is spending more than most if not all P5s worth it? I think we should do everything we can to be the top G5 in everything but significantly going above and beyond seems like a waste of resources as long as we're in CUSA.

Maybe not spend that much, however, we have to do something to get great athletes to come here to boost our programs prestige. How else would we look valuable if we are not dominating CUSA plus competing heavily in post game play in the major sports? College sports have changed drastically and the separation between P4 and G5 is more greater than ever. We may never get this chance again to even be apart of the bigger stage (well semi-big stage behind the SEC-BIG10) and the G5 is left behind completely. The proposal that SMU had done and now the financial contribution given to Memphis is not something random. They're seeing the writing on the wall and made or making the effort to not be left behind. It will look like waste now, but in the long run it will be worth the attempt since it's all about money. Wasn't it worth it when LU decided to do whatever it took to get into the FBS when it seem like it wasn't a good idea? Look at the outcome; made it to 4-5 bowls (one was a NY6) and one of the best G5's in the nation in less than a decade. How could LU improve if they don't take risks in this business?

Side story; I still remember an interview that the Flame Central podcast had with Coach Dot about softball and LU athletics. Till this day, I can still hear her talking about LU football (who were still independent)leading the way and how the other sports can improve and get into a great conference. This was a time where football and some of the olympic sports were competing well with ACC teams on their schedule. Coach Dot literally said why can't we competing with these teams on an annual basis, and she had a point. She added that McCaw should do what it takes to negotiate and even not take any tv money for a few years until the programs are at the top half of the ACC (similar to what SMU just did). In the end she said that its all about money, and what we've seen in realignment thus far, she was right. By the way, I know that academics would have to be funded and expanded along with sports. Just a thought.

[cruzan_flame13]

I think we should do whatever Tech and UVA do as far as offering money. Those are my thoughts.

I'm sure we've heard this countless of times about Jerry Sr.'s vision of competing with the best of the best. In order to do so, LU needs to get great athletes to even compete. It would be asinine if McCaw along with coaches/department do not take this opportunity to step up to higher level of recruiting in which many in here never thought could happen until a decade or two. I guess LU can remain somewhat stagnant and limit themselves until athletes get the clearer picture of the Liberty bubble and attend here!

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

[Ill flame]

I'm sure we've heard this countless of times about Jerry Sr.'s vision of competing with the best of the best. In order to do so, LU needs to get great athletes to even compete. It would be asinine if McCaw along with coaches/department do not take this opportunity to step up to higher level of recruiting in which many in here never thought could happen until a decade or two. I guess LU can remain somewhat stagnant and limit themselves until athletes get the clearer picture of the Liberty bubble and attend here!

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

Raising scholarships to regular students by $50 million a year or spending that much on research would do more to raise the profile of the school than giving it to athletes. You think saban single handedly raised the profile of Alabama? No, they started significantly raising the number of scholarships to out of state students shortly before he took over and his success provided a catalyst. Like I said before, we should spend at the top of G5 in every category we can but spending Alabama levels of money when our toughest conference opponent is western kentucky would not be a very effective use of resources.

[cruzan_flame13]

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

Raising scholarships to regular students by $50 million a year or spending that much on research would do more to raise the profile of the school than giving it to athletes. You think saban single handedly raised the profile of Alabama? No, they started significantly raising the number of scholarships to out of state students shortly before he took over and his success provided a catalyst. Like I said before, we should spend at the top of G5 in every category we can but spending Alabama levels of money when our toughest conference opponent is western kentucky would not be a very effective use of resources.

So you responded to this response, but not the other one that was a reply to your previous message . I'm pretty sure it was the name brand of Bama football that made the increase of students go there. The increase of scholarships happened quickly because of the brand recognition. Lets be real. Knowing people from California that went to Bama wasn't because they were now giving opportunity to students out of state. Lets not be silly here; most students are not going to these school under loans/some scholarships to gain as much education as possible. They're there to have a great time and being a part of a nationally known and ranked brand in sports. That's why college football makes so much annually.

[Ill flame]

So you responded to this response, but not the other one that was a reply to your previous message . I'm pretty sure it was the name brand of Bama football that made the increase of students go there. The increase of scholarships happened quickly because of the brand recognition. Lets be real. Knowing people from California that went to Bama wasn't because they were now giving opportunity to students out of state. Lets not be silly here; most students are not going to these school under loans/some scholarships to gain as much education as possible. They're there to have a great time and being a part of a nationally known and ranked brand in sports. That's why college football makes so much annually.

I honestly completely missed that first reply lol. Alabamas enrollment was growing by 1k a year during the 5 years before saban took over when they were playing mediocre football. It would've continued to grow with or without his success although it certainly helped.

Maybe not spend that much, however, we have to do something to get great athletes to come here to boost our programs prestige. How else would we look valuable if we are not dominating CUSA plus competing heavily in post game play in the major sports? College sports have changed drastically and the separation between P4 and G5 is more greater than ever. We may never get this chance again to even be apart of the bigger stage (well semi-big stage behind the SEC-BIG10) and the G5 is left behind completely. The proposal that SMU had done and now the financial contribution given to Memphis is not something random. They're seeing the writing on the wall and made or making the effort to not be left behind. It will look like waste now, but in the long run it will be worth the attempt since it's all about money. Wasn't it worth it when LU decided to do whatever it took to get into the FBS when it seem like it wasn't a good idea? Look at the outcome; made it to 4-5 bowls (one was a NY6) and one of the best G5's in the nation in less than a decade. How could LU improve if they don't take risks in this business?

We just finished the regular season undefeated and are looking to have an even better team this year. What more would $50 million on NIL accomplish? It's not lack of athletic success that's keeping us from P5. If we could take that $50 million and bribe a P5 like SMU did then I'd be all for it but no one is taking our money. Meanwhile all it takes is $5 million a year in research to become a carnegie R2 school which would significantly raise our profile overnight. That's what we should spend money on if we want to be a P5.

[tyndal23]

So you responded to this response, but not the other one that was a reply to your previous message . I'm pretty sure it was the name brand of Bama football that made the increase of students go there. The increase of scholarships happened quickly because of the brand recognition. Lets be real. Knowing people from California that went to Bama wasn't because they were now giving opportunity to students out of state. Lets not be silly here; most students are not going to these school under loans/some scholarships to gain as much education as possible. They're there to have a great time and being a part of a nationally known and ranked brand in sports. That's why college football makes so much annually.

I honestly completely missed that first reply lol. Alabamas enrollment was growing by 1k a year during the 5 years before saban took over when they were playing mediocre football. It would've continued to grow with or without his success although it certainly helped.

Maybe not spend that much, however, we have to do something to get great athletes to come here to boost our programs prestige. How else would we look valuable if we are not dominating CUSA plus competing heavily in post game play in the major sports? College sports have changed drastically and the separation between P4 and G5 is more greater than ever. We may never get this chance again to even be apart of the bigger stage (well semi-big stage behind the SEC-BIG10) and the G5 is left behind completely. The proposal that SMU had done and now the financial contribution given to Memphis is not something random. They're seeing the writing on the wall and made or making the effort to not be left behind. It will look like waste now, but in the long run it will be worth the attempt since it's all about money. Wasn't it worth it when LU decided to do whatever it took to get into the FBS when it seem like it wasn't a good idea? Look at the outcome; made it to 4-5 bowls (one was a NY6) and one of the best G5's in the nation in less than a decade. How could LU improve if they don't take risks in this business?

We just finished the regular season undefeated and are looking to have an even better team this year. What more would $50 million on NIL accomplish? It's not lack of athletic success that's keeping us from P5. If we could take that $50 million and bribe a P5 like SMU did then I'd be all for it but no one is taking our money. Meanwhile all it takes is $5 million a year in research to become a carnegie R2 school which would significantly raise our profile overnight. That's what we should spend money on if we want to be a P5.

A realistic chance to beat 5 seed Texas as a 12 seed vs lose by 45...3 top 50 recruits in hoops men and women to break through, making World Series in softball and baseball, NC in field hockey - pretty much a Baylor level rise in all sports that they had past 15 years. I don’t really care if a P5 won’t come here for a few years and we only play one in the playoffs if we can beat them with level of talent our NIL generated. Being the top G5 in NIL isn’t enough - be in the top tier of all FBS. We are G5 in all aspects except $ - use it. As for Research $ and scholarship $ - go for it. It isn’t an “either or” situation. Also, the Bigger the success - the more donors kick in.

[JK37]

We’ve defeated a 12-seed before. Wasnt all that long ago. Just sayin

[tyndal23]

We’ve defeated a 12-seed before. Wasnt all that long ago. Just sayin

You think Ritchie could recruit better with $ 5 million NIL annually and make us a 5 seed Instead of the 12 seed ? Somehow I think he could find high character kids that will play D - $ doesn’t solve everything and creates its own set of problems, but....I doubt any of our coaches would complain about $50 million NIL across all sports hampering their ability to coach and be a detriment to success.

[Purple Haize]

Agreed Cruzan. Memphis just got $5 million a year from FedEx NIL. There is an open spot for G5 every year in the playoffs - with the new VA law, LU should be leader of NIL $ by 5x nearest G5 and among top half of Big 12. Opportunity is staring us right in the face to become a Baylor in sports in 2-3 years vs 50 years. And it makes since if the goal is to have 50k student residential campus - the formula of successful sports driving application growth is proven. No cap on NIL, in a state that allows you to pay direct, in a window with unlimited Transfers, in a Conference you can dominate - you really can’t ask for a better gift horse - yet we are apparently looking in its mouth, and scratching our heads and worrying about being good Conference and NCAA members...

35m football
5m men’s hoops
5m women’s hoops

Divvy up the rest among other sports.
Do it for 2 year’s and see what happens - scale it up or down after review and a close study on economic/growth impact.

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

Raising scholarships to regular students by $50 million a year or spending that much on research would do more to raise the profile of the school than giving it to athletes. You think saban single handedly raised the profile of Alabama? No, they started significantly raising the number of scholarships to out of state students shortly before he took over and his success provided a catalyst. Like I said before, we should spend at the top of G5 in every category we can but spending Alabama levels of money when our toughest conference opponent is western kentucky would not be a very effective use of resources.

You bring up really good points. At what dollar amount does LU hit the point of diminishing returns? I’m all for LU spending the money they need to in order to be competitive. But at some point bolstering the academic side will pay more dividends then shoveling more money into athletics. I’ve been absolutely shocked (pleasantly so) at the amount of money LU has dedicated towards Athletics. Very out of character from ‘back in the day’. However at what point would putting $10 million into academics be better than another $10 million in athletics. I don’t know when that will be and it’s a great problem to have!

[cruzan_flame13]

So you responded to this response, but not the other one that was a reply to your previous message . I'm pretty sure it was the name brand of Bama football that made the increase of students go there. The increase of scholarships happened quickly because of the brand recognition. Lets be real. Knowing people from California that went to Bama wasn't because they were now giving opportunity to students out of state. Lets not be silly here; most students are not going to these school under loans/some scholarships to gain as much education as possible. They're there to have a great time and being a part of a nationally known and ranked brand in sports. That's why college football makes so much annually.

I honestly completely missed that first reply lol. Alabamas enrollment was growing by 1k a year during the 5 years before saban took over when they were playing mediocre football. It would've continued to grow with or without his success although it certainly helped.

Maybe not spend that much, however, we have to do something to get great athletes to come here to boost our programs prestige. How else would we look valuable if we are not dominating CUSA plus competing heavily in post game play in the major sports? College sports have changed drastically and the separation between P4 and G5 is more greater than ever. We may never get this chance again to even be apart of the bigger stage (well semi-big stage behind the SEC-BIG10) and the G5 is left behind completely. The proposal that SMU had done and now the financial contribution given to Memphis is not something random. They're seeing the writing on the wall and made or making the effort to not be left behind. It will look like waste now, but in the long run it will be worth the attempt since it's all about money. Wasn't it worth it when LU decided to do whatever it took to get into the FBS when it seem like it wasn't a good idea? Look at the outcome; made it to 4-5 bowls (one was a NY6) and one of the best G5's in the nation in less than a decade. How could LU improve if they don't take risks in this business?

We just finished the regular season undefeated and are looking to have an even better team this year. What more would $50 million on NIL accomplish? It's not lack of athletic success that's keeping us from P5. If we could take that $50 million and bribe a P5 like SMU did then I'd be all for it but no one is taking our money. Meanwhile all it takes is $5 million a year in research to become a carnegie R2 school which would significantly raise our profile overnight. That's what we should spend money on if we want to be a P5.

You can look into the Carnegie Classification thread where I promoted the school going through a study in order to reach R2 status. Actually, LU should've done so since 2019 and gradually work through the process. Unfortunately, LU is still banking on online for the most part, which btw is the leading cause to why the graduation rate is so low (people start but don't finish for different reasons). A good size residential enrollment plan and population will always be beneficial along with its funding in academia/research. Athletics play a big part in that, which is why I am responding the way I am on this thread. Athletics bring in a lot more in order to support the academic side of things. LU shouldn't bank on being a nonprofit alone; they should have other funds coming in for stability just like many of the grandfather schools do/have done over the decades. I'm not even asking to just dump $50 million into NIL, but suggesting to put in whatever it takes to get great athletes that can compete and make us dominate (especially in the post season). If LU continue getting into post season and making it deep amongst the best (NCAA tourneys and C. World Series for example), that could give us more favor for us to make the playoffs even when we're still in CUSA. Money talks and the more eyes that is placed on LU, the more LU will be favored by those who have the stronghold in the business (mostly ESPN). That's just the game and it shouldn't be ignored. I guess we should just hope for the best and get decent players who may get us there, but get blown out by a top seed. Then hope we get there again, even though those making the final decision will likely take a SDSU, Tulane,JMU, BSU, App State, USF, etc over us if they believe they can compete better in the playoffs.

[cruzan_flame13]

So you responded to this response, but not the other one that was a reply to your previous message . I'm pretty sure it was the name brand of Bama football that made the increase of students go there. The increase of scholarships happened quickly because of the brand recognition. Lets be real. Knowing people from California that went to Bama wasn't because they were now giving opportunity to students out of state. Lets not be silly here; most students are not going to these school under loans/some scholarships to gain as much education as possible. They're there to have a great time and being a part of a nationally known and ranked brand in sports. That's why college football makes so much annually.

I honestly completely missed that first reply lol. Alabamas enrollment was growing by 1k a year during the 5 years before saban took over when they were playing mediocre football. It would've continued to grow with or without his success although it certainly helped.

Maybe not spend that much, however, we have to do something to get great athletes to come here to boost our programs prestige. How else would we look valuable if we are not dominating CUSA plus competing heavily in post game play in the major sports? College sports have changed drastically and the separation between P4 and G5 is more greater than ever. We may never get this chance again to even be apart of the bigger stage (well semi-big stage behind the SEC-BIG10) and the G5 is left behind completely. The proposal that SMU had done and now the financial contribution given to Memphis is not something random. They're seeing the writing on the wall and made or making the effort to not be left behind. It will look like waste now, but in the long run it will be worth the attempt since it's all about money. Wasn't it worth it when LU decided to do whatever it took to get into the FBS when it seem like it wasn't a good idea? Look at the outcome; made it to 4-5 bowls (one was a NY6) and one of the best G5's in the nation in less than a decade. How could LU improve if they don't take risks in this business?

We just finished the regular season undefeated and are looking to have an even better team this year. What more would $50 million on NIL accomplish? It's not lack of athletic success that's keeping us from P5. If we could take that $50 million and bribe a P5 like SMU did then I'd be all for it but no one is taking our money. Meanwhile all it takes is $5 million a year in research to become a carnegie R2 school which would significantly raise our profile overnight. That's what we should spend money on if we want to be a P5.

You can look into the Carnegie Classification thread where I promoted the school going through a study in order to reach R2 status. Actually, LU should've done so since 2019 and gradually work through the process. Unfortunately, LU is still banking on online for the most part, which btw is the leading cause to why the graduation rate is so low (people start but don't finish for different reasons). A good size residential enrollment plan and population will always be beneficial along with its funding in academia/research. Athletics play a big part in that, which is why I am responding the way I am on this thread. Athletics bring in a lot more in order to support the academic side of things. LU shouldn't bank on being a nonprofit alone; they should have other funds coming in for stability just like many of the grandfather schools do/have done over the decades. I'm not even asking to just dump $50 million into NIL, but suggesting to put in whatever it takes to get great athletes that can compete and make us dominate (especially in the post season). If LU continue getting into post season and making it deep amongst the best (NCAA tourneys and C. World Series for example), that could give us more favor for us to make the playoffs even when we're still in CUSA. Money talks and the more eyes that is placed on LU, the more LU will be favored by those who have the stronghold in the business (mostly ESPN). That's just the game and it shouldn't be ignored. I guess we should just hope for the best and get decent players who may get us there, but get blown out by a top seed. Then hope we get there again, even though those making the final decision will likely take a SDSU, Tulane,JMU, BSU, App State, USF, etc over us if they believe they can compete better in the playoffs.

[tyndal23]

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

Raising scholarships to regular students by $50 million a year or spending that much on research would do more to raise the profile of the school than giving it to athletes. You think saban single handedly raised the profile of Alabama? No, they started significantly raising the number of scholarships to out of state students shortly before he took over and his success provided a catalyst. Like I said before, we should spend at the top of G5 in every category we can but spending Alabama levels of money when our toughest conference opponent is western kentucky would not be a very effective use of resources.

You bring up really good points. At what dollar amount does LU hit the point of diminishing returns? I’m all for LU spending the money they need to in order to be competitive. But at some point bolstering the academic side will pay more dividends then shoveling more money into athletics. I’ve been absolutely shocked (pleasantly so) at the amount of money LU has dedicated towards Athletics. Very out of character from ‘back in the day’. However at what point would putting $10 million into academics be better than another $10 million in athletics. I don’t know when that will be and it’s a great problem to have!

Athletics - results in 1 year.
Academics - 10 year process for real return.
Online - I think the online strategy has proven to have longer life span than most ( or at least Jerry Jr ) thought - invest in upgrade across the board and make it the best online option out there.
Residential - what % growth is manageable ? 10% annual ? 1500 new students a year. Cincinnati pulled it off for a decade. Excited to see “the plan” from the Prez.

[alabama24]

I think the online strategy has proven to have longer life span than most ( or at least Jerry Jr ) thought

I hope our online presence is strong for decades to come. However, without our online presence, none of the rest of this would be possible. There are many things which could cause this house to crumble. At some point, congress is likely to take up education reform. Those changes could be quite devastating to our standing. (The things I have in mind have nothing to do with attacks on our faith, by the way)

[prototype]

This right here. You think most of the out of state students are going to schools like Bama, GA, FSU, etc for academia? Lets be real here. In order to make it worth putting lots of money in academia/research, LU needs to grow residential enrollment. According to Costin, that's what he wants along with higher graduation rates.. How can we get students want to come here and remain until graduation and even continue in post grad? Have great athletics that is known and talked about frequently (even by haters/trolls) around the nation (help with recruiting as well).

Raising scholarships to regular students by $50 million a year or spending that much on research would do more to raise the profile of the school than giving it to athletes. You think saban single handedly raised the profile of Alabama? No, they started significantly raising the number of scholarships to out of state students shortly before he took over and his success provided a catalyst. Like I said before, we should spend at the top of G5 in every category we can but spending Alabama levels of money when our toughest conference opponent is western kentucky would not be a very effective use of resources.

You bring up really good points. At what dollar amount does LU hit the point of diminishing returns? I’m all for LU spending the money they need to in order to be competitive. But at some point bolstering the academic side will pay more dividends then shoveling more money into athletics. I’ve been absolutely shocked (pleasantly so) at the amount of money LU has dedicated towards Athletics. Very out of character from ‘back in the day’. However at what point would putting $10 million into academics be better than another $10 million in athletics. I don’t know when that will be and it’s a great problem to have!

Whatever they do commit to - they absotlutly better match that and spend it on acidemics... They will get killed if they don't do that.