From the day Ace committed until the 2024-2025 portal opened pike had 400+ days to build the NIL war chest
- Thread starter KK1827
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And by the way .. spending lots and lots of money with NIL isn’t guaranteed by any means.
Indiana basketball dropped coin and they’re very very average
Indiana basketball dropped coin and they’re very very average
We lost a bunch of close games without the best offensive player in the country, one capable of taking over a game in ISO when other guys shots aren’t falling. We’re probably 9-2, 8-3 in the B1G with a healthy Harper.
Or a Covid year where we probably get in?
Or getting hosed two years ago?
I think Cam and Paul on team last year we get a bid. Really blaming Pike for that?
That’s arguably and a decent argument for 5 bids in 9 years. For a team that went 30 + years without a bid.
No business was putting up the NIL to land Dylan and Aces supporting cast because there is no ROI.
The situations I’m familiar with, it’s been the fans that have ponied up the primary NIL. Other NIL was ancillary. Ace and Dylan’s situation is the exception.
Somewhat.
Players will be paid directly by the school once the settlement is finalized.
But they will also receive supplemental payments from NIL Collectives. This is where we are lacking as our Collectives don’t have enough support.
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Ah there it is, another post from people pointing to a rich guy to solve the problem.
We have some of the most shallow donor pools in P4, but sure let's keep looking for the Lochness monster instead of looking in the mirror.
Yes it’s the small donors that are the problem. Not the lack of big donors.
Good to know.
Keep crying that we are terrible in sports while not giving. Surely things will change with that strategy while our peer schools widen their donor base.
You really are clueless these companies invested in Dylan for his FUTURE not for this season.
The OP is spot on.
This board was in disbelief, anger, when we realized we weren't getting a decent center. I can find the thread if you want. The overwhelming take from people on here was "we can't go into the season with just Lathan and Ogbole'.
Then to cope, this board talked up the rest of the roster over the summer.
It's just an epic fail by Pike and Hobbs to not work harder to fundraise to fill out the rest of this roster for this one season. A season that could have springboarded us to being a perennial tournament program.
What was the point in flying to freaking Hungary to watch Dylan play if you're not going to surround him with at least an average big ten team?
This board was in disbelief, anger, when we realized we weren't getting a decent center. I can find the thread if you want. The overwhelming take from people on here was "we can't go into the season with just Lathan and Ogbole'.
Then to cope, this board talked up the rest of the roster over the summer.
It's just an epic fail by Pike and Hobbs to not work harder to fundraise to fill out the rest of this roster for this one season. A season that could have springboarded us to being a perennial tournament program.
What was the point in flying to freaking Hungary to watch Dylan play if you're not going to surround him with at least an average big ten team?
Honestly I wouldn’t say I disagree with you, but can you blame the fan base?
It’s been 30+ years of getting dragged through the mud and our last AD wouldn’t even shake your hand unless you had deep pockets.
Prior to that we had a DEI hire.
There hasn’t been serious leadership in the athletic department for seemingly decades.
There’s no alignment at the university regarding athletics and the importance of their success.
I didn’t go to RU, but I speak more favorably about the University than the vast majority of RU grads. I met a random RU guy the other day and the first thing the guy mentioned when RU came up was “we’re giving that average football coach 5 million a year!”
Again, I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, but this is an issue that starts with the University, not the fan base.
Then of course to wrap all that up, you have the most hyped basketball season of all time, and I’m sure a few first time NIL donors pitch in. What happens? We fall flat on our face and effectively remove ourselves from the post season conversation in JANUARY.
I wouldn’t bank on those first time NIL donors to stick around for next season, and I wouldn’t expect any new ones to pop up. Pike will need to find success yet again with the overlooked athletes, and he’ll need an AD that doesn’t have his head up his ass to help move things forward.
Yup. Pike's is a developmental system/program at its core, but he has to decrease his rate of recruiting misses. If you're thing is to mold and develop, you need to start with the best raw material you can get.
Wow. Good point. Every time I hear a sports commentator say "... in his ninth year on The Banks...", I think "Damn, we're talking about a decade, practically. We all should expect a little more in that time." There's been a good amount of excitement in that time but not enough wins that move the needle.
We're not getting any younger.
The only way to decrease recruiting misses is to recruit better players, which will require increased financial support.
The facts are, the programs with the most and largest number of whales are winning the nil arms race. Look at the programs with the biggest war chests. Miami, texas a&m in football. st johns and arkansas in basketball. Handful of whales
He got and had paid for the number 1/2 and the number 2/3 players in the NBA Draft along with 3 other very highly rated freshmen. Pike got plenty of support. The problem is he retained none of his previous recruits, is completely inept identifying portal talent, does not run an offense, and is bad in game coaching.
I would argue we had alignment for the first time in forever with Holloway (pro sports guy) and Hobbs (who fundraised multiple buildings for the first time in forever). I am way more nervous right now than I was a year ago plus one of the Gubernatorial candidates from the left is a wacko who wants retired RU professors on the BOG (would set us back to the Stone Age). Hopefully Amy knocks some sense into the other decision makers picking a school President.
At the end of the day Rutgers fans like to be excuse machines for why they can't give. I paid tuition already, it's hard to transfer my football tickets, parking is $30 for basketball, the team is no good, I got a parking ticket on College Ave, New Brunswick is dangerous, blah blah blah. Meanwhile other schools alum for whatever reason understand the importance of giving back and they have larger donor pools to work. Those schools are better in sports. It's not a hard concept.
I do blame RU for doing a poor job of engaging and cultivating new donors and for targeting the students they target who are never going to give back because they live across the globe. I personally am doing what I can with that to refer people to my R Fund rep to start to connect but my God the excuses I read on here and then the whining why we stink.
Would you like to find out how many donors they have overall vs Rutgers?
Do those schools also need to raise money for infrastructure?
Do they also need to raise money to endow scholarships for sports?
Much easier to direct larger money to one cause vs three causes at Rutgers.
You are oversimplifying a complicated issue.
Not to mention NIL isn't everything. You still have to execute. Indiana bought an incredible B1G, also has 5 stars and they're quite average.
Years ago Rutgers decided to join the B1G Ten Conference.Rutgers was told the facilities needed to be enhanced in order to successfully compete.They were given a loan to help with the transition .The State of New Jersey helped with funding the practice facility.Its now 2025 and the athletic department lacks a director .There are 22 teams all having difficulty competing against league rivals.Blaming fans/donors that have supported their favorite teams for decades is ridiculous.The problem is the donor base is too small from alumni and there aren't enough big donors .The NIL and transfer portal give decided advantages to schools with a winning tradition and financial resources to attract top tier coaches and recruits.
Hobbs was effective at pushing things through because he was a politician. People can disagree with that fact, but that’s just my take.
The Halloway/Hobbs thing was super short lived. Rutgers needs alignment for 20+ years to get to where they need to get to.
Three years ago I committed to giving a sizable (for me) annual donation to my high school (private NE prep). I did this for several reasons. Their rep connected with me and made me feel a part of the school/team again, we met for lunch and shared stories. I said I want all the money going towards the men’s lacrosse program and they gave me multiple donation levels and were direct about what they’d be buying with each level. Lastly, I had an overall awesome experience at the school and I’m happy to contribute towards that for the people coming after me.
I got a hand written letter from school leadership thanking me for my commitment, and a nice Nike men’s lacrosse hat. I was happy with that, and knowing I could help improve the experience of future lax teams at my old stomping grounds is awesome for me.
RU’s problem is that they’ve put out minimal effort. I’ve been around the University since I was like 5 years old, I’ve posted on this board since I was like 16. Other than John Newman posting about his NIL thing on here, not once has anyone ever reached out to me to make a donation. Or is the expectation that I go out of my way to give up money to a university I didn’t go to?
If they’re targeting RU grads only then their fundraising strategy is horrible. There are plenty of non grads in the area that are proud to call RU their state university. Maybe they should try providing those people with more access for some small donations. The truth is our B1G peers have a bigger pool to draw from because the university is an extension of the state/region, not just the people that actually went there.
"And when you ask 'em, "How much should we give?"
Ooh, they only answer, "More, more, more, more""
If businesses aren't stepping up because there's no ROI, fans are in the same boat - there's absolutely no return on investment to fans from tossing a coin into the one-arm-bandit of NIL. This year we had millions coming from outside the fanbase and had two superstars... and we aren't even making the tournament.
I'm definitely at the point where I'm not only not giving NIL, but I'm reevaluating whether I'm going to continue buying season tickets at all in football or basketball.
Ooh, they only answer, "More, more, more, more""
If businesses aren't stepping up because there's no ROI, fans are in the same boat - there's absolutely no return on investment to fans from tossing a coin into the one-arm-bandit of NIL. This year we had millions coming from outside the fanbase and had two superstars... and we aren't even making the tournament.
I'm definitely at the point where I'm not only not giving NIL, but I'm reevaluating whether I'm going to continue buying season tickets at all in football or basketball.
Great. At best just 1 Big10 caliber starter and still no adequate starting big.
No program with enough $$ to lure them away will want them anyway, so the idea of needing to keep them is moot.
To your last paragraph and point: what's the ROI on tossing extra money (above ticket/parking face value) to the Athletic Department?
We haven't exactly been a consistently competitive department over the decades.
I’m moving on from basketball season tickets to just picking a couple games a year but for me it’s the distance that’s the real issue. Dropping 2 of 4 in football. Debating the 2 still.
I can't make all the games, and I'm frequently surrounded by opposing fans when I'm there.
I have 4 season tickets in football for 16 seasons, and 2 in basketball for 2 seasons. That's 28 possible annual ticket uses in football.... in 2023, we used about 16 of those, and in 2024 just 7. In basketball, I've made it to about 80% of games, and my son has made it with me to about 60%. I've only found Rutgers fan friends to take my tickets about 30% of the time. It's a lot of money being spent for empty seats, which is hard to justify.
Burning an extra bundle of cash on the sacrificial altar of NIL just isn't going to happen.
your prerogative...
you could also sell your tickets you aren't using on the open market, which will allow you to recoup some of your costs and then donate to NIL. i know some feel that is sacrilege...but i would assume everyone at RU would prefer this than an empty seat (or RU fan at a discount) and no donation to NIL.
but like i said everyone can do what they want with their property (tickets) and esp their own money. but the more diehard fans who donate nothing the deeper we fall behind. until the billionaires start rolling in that is...
I stopped nil in January. I have a couple of non-profits in mind that I know from personal experience are doing great work.
I’d add Oklahoma State, Texas, SMU, but hey let’s attack all the loyal RU fans who do donate, give and buy unused tickets.
Who’s our big whale? Inquiring minds want to know.
