Penndemonium
PhD Student
Posts: 1903
Reg: 11-29-04
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03-26-24 07:06 PM - Post#366571
In response to CM
Yes, the new environment will clearly favor the Power 4 conferences and schools willing to spend for their players. That will leave an awful lot of teams at the next tier, and it is unclear how stratified that tier will be. It's not hard to imagine either scenario - the ivies climbing up the tables because the spread of Ivies vs. the rest of the 2nd tier compresses, or else Ivies lagging all schools in NIL and dropping further.
Back to what I would do if I were Penn... I think I would raise some form of NIL collective. I don't think there is a formal agreement on what to do here, and Penn is at no disadvantage on ability to raise NIL. None of the Ivies are going to spend their endowment on NIL, so HYPr are not likely at an advantage. Penn has as large a population of wealthy alumni pool as any of the Ivies, and it has historically had a more sports interested alumni group - from years of indifference to sports from Harvard and Yale.
The main argument against NIL money is that it would be competitive with general school fundraising. Right now, even $10M makes a big difference for a basketball program. I think the data would show that winning sports team can inspire giving - there could be a return on investment. I don't think it would vastly undermine the league, there probably aren't Ivy rules against it, and financially it would have a standalone fundraising and spending budget. It wouldn't directly impact the school's balance sheet. It would also alleviate some of the antitrust and unionization conversations around the league.
Strategically, it could lead to more TV appearances, which are good free advertising. It could also bring in revenue from ticket sales, merchandising, and sponsor revenue.
This would at least be a part of my plan for Penn. Better to be the league pioneer than the last one to integrate more active NIL.
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