My apologies if I am a little late to the party on this one. (For that matter, I might not even be invited to this party as an avid reader rather than an elder, but I thought I would make a run at chiming in with a few things.) Overall, there are several things I agree with strongly in this thread, and I thought I would comment on a few of those and maybe give some reason for optimism.
Over the past few months, the commitment from our Athletic Department to support NIL efforts, in all their forms, has increased greatly. Over the past several years, they have allowed The Bulldog Initiative to be marketed on the video boards and have helped in other ways, but they have now scaled out a full team to support the growth of NIL opportunities for MSU athletes, both through BDI and otherwise. Some of this is shown through the recent launch of https://hailstate.com/feature/nil. It is no secret that NIL efforts will very likely be moving increasingly (although not exclusively) in-house across the country. If and when that happens, MSU will be fortunate to have laid significant groundwork and to have built an experienced team (as shown on the website) with background of working with NIL issues at several other schools. I know we are already benefiting from that experience.
Someone made a very good point about needing to be more engaged on Instagram – duly noted; I think we had become too X focused. Otherwise, I think people have seen and will continue to see our athletes increasingly engaged and more active, whether signing autographs before the football games, or creating video content in connection with our corporate sponsors. There are many more of these to come as we work to grow the corporate sponsor base (added one more last night).
The lead post in the thread emphasized a need for urgency, and I couldn’t agree more. I do believe we will be well-positioned to compete, both in terms of retaining our roster and attracting new talent, when the next signing date / portal opens in December. We have been working almost every day (likely too much in the dark) in one-on-one meetings. Views on NIL are still what they are, and that can be quite challenging, but we are making progress. People can differ, and the recent loss at Arizona State certainly overshadows things, but I think we added some talented players, particularly on offense, during the last portal cycle. But, we have to continue to be positioned to infuse more talent. Although I know there is some dispute about what sports should be valued, I am also hopeful that the work in the basketball portal will give us an exciting winter and early spring.
I wont argue with anyone that thinks BDI would benefit from somebody else leading the charge. (If I get my way, there may even be some good news on that before too long.) In the meantime, I am going to do everything I can to keep fighting the good fight and to be responsive to suggestions, where we can. As I’ve said here before, I am happy to talk and to discuss what we are doing; I am just leery of doing those things on public message boards. If you want to sit down, shoot me a message - I will even meet up with you to talk in person tomorrow morning, or this Sunday morning or afternoon if you are going to be in town. If not, I’m happy to do it next weekend. Although there are a few comments that I believe to be off-base and unfair, I recognize that most of the input just comes from wanting to win and frustration of losing. Me too.
In closing, I think it is safe to say that we are throwing more elbows than some would know. Yeah, I know the vague references won’t gain me any cred here, but there isn’t much to be gained from trying to prove it. Come sit down with me, though - I’m happy to talk. I will buy the coffee, and even bring the stickers, hats, or t-shirts.
Over the past few months, the commitment from our Athletic Department to support NIL efforts, in all their forms, has increased greatly. Over the past several years, they have allowed The Bulldog Initiative to be marketed on the video boards and have helped in other ways, but they have now scaled out a full team to support the growth of NIL opportunities for MSU athletes, both through BDI and otherwise. Some of this is shown through the recent launch of https://hailstate.com/feature/nil. It is no secret that NIL efforts will very likely be moving increasingly (although not exclusively) in-house across the country. If and when that happens, MSU will be fortunate to have laid significant groundwork and to have built an experienced team (as shown on the website) with background of working with NIL issues at several other schools. I know we are already benefiting from that experience.
Someone made a very good point about needing to be more engaged on Instagram – duly noted; I think we had become too X focused. Otherwise, I think people have seen and will continue to see our athletes increasingly engaged and more active, whether signing autographs before the football games, or creating video content in connection with our corporate sponsors. There are many more of these to come as we work to grow the corporate sponsor base (added one more last night).
The lead post in the thread emphasized a need for urgency, and I couldn’t agree more. I do believe we will be well-positioned to compete, both in terms of retaining our roster and attracting new talent, when the next signing date / portal opens in December. We have been working almost every day (likely too much in the dark) in one-on-one meetings. Views on NIL are still what they are, and that can be quite challenging, but we are making progress. People can differ, and the recent loss at Arizona State certainly overshadows things, but I think we added some talented players, particularly on offense, during the last portal cycle. But, we have to continue to be positioned to infuse more talent. Although I know there is some dispute about what sports should be valued, I am also hopeful that the work in the basketball portal will give us an exciting winter and early spring.
I wont argue with anyone that thinks BDI would benefit from somebody else leading the charge. (If I get my way, there may even be some good news on that before too long.) In the meantime, I am going to do everything I can to keep fighting the good fight and to be responsive to suggestions, where we can. As I’ve said here before, I am happy to talk and to discuss what we are doing; I am just leery of doing those things on public message boards. If you want to sit down, shoot me a message - I will even meet up with you to talk in person tomorrow morning, or this Sunday morning or afternoon if you are going to be in town. If not, I’m happy to do it next weekend. Although there are a few comments that I believe to be off-base and unfair, I recognize that most of the input just comes from wanting to win and frustration of losing. Me too.
In closing, I think it is safe to say that we are throwing more elbows than some would know. Yeah, I know the vague references won’t gain me any cred here, but there isn’t much to be gained from trying to prove it. Come sit down with me, though - I’m happy to talk. I will buy the coffee, and even bring the stickers, hats, or t-shirts.
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