Inside NIL plans for SMU's bold, new Boulevard Collective

Chris Schoemann has heard the punchline for years. SMU was the example of what would happen to schools who paid players.

More than 30 years later, the Mustangs are laughing in the NCAA’s face. The infamous “death penalty” for paying players isn’t an afterthought just yet — but it’s close. They just brought in one of the top transfer portal classes at the Group of Five level. And on Monday, the Boulevard Collective launched.

Men’s basketball and football players will receive $36,000 a year — a total payout of $3.5 million annually — for NIL activity. It’s an unprecedented move. And it catapults SMU into the same breath as SEC schools for the most ambitious and advanced NIL programs.

“For so many years, this is an institution that’s been part of the discussion, fairly or unfairly, with respect to NCAA enforcement infractions,” Schoemann, who will serve as the organization’s executive director, said over the phone on Monday afternoon.

“In NIL’s 13 month life, these collectives have become part of that overall valuation of the student-athlete’s experience. I think Boulevard and the commitment the collective is making, puts the student-athletes on par with their Power Five counterparts.”

Collectives are not an option in the new age of NIL. They’re a must for schools, such as SMU, to stay competitive. Driven by Dallas business leaders and SMU alumni, Chris Kleinert, CEO of Hunt Realty Investments, and Kyle Miller, president and CEO of Silver Hill Energy Partner, conference realignment played a role in Boulevard’s formation. Schoemann and his partners want it known that SMU is not going anywhere.

“While our first activation here was for football and men’s basketball, we’re not limiting Boulevard’s membership and athletes we offer opportunities to in just those sports,” he said. “Our plans go beyond that. The plan is to open it up past those two sports.”

Plans for payments, growth of Boulevard Collective

Team-wide payments have become a popular NIL deal this summer. The Matador Club, a Texas Tech collective, unveiled plans last month to pay each football player $25,000 a year. And The Athletes Advocate Consortium announced last week that the entire Arkansas basketball roster signed a deal with the a local charity.

Kleinert and Miller are just the two who have taken it a step further. Schoemann said the Dallas businessmen have already discussed membership with another group of boosters.

“It certainly was well received by the players on Saturday night, and I think that was uniform across the room as we unveiled this thing,” Schoemann said.

Boulevard is the second collective to hit the SMU market. Pony Sports DTX has already executed $1 million worth in deals. And it has had success with donations, too, thanks to annual and individual contributions. The two collectives are not competitors, and there has not been any talks of merging.

Payment plans were outlined to athletes on Saturday, too. Players will not be paid lump sum payments, and they will not be front-loaded at the start of the season. Opendorse will oversee NIL education, disclosures and tax-related preparation.

Athletes will also have to earn the compensation through a variety of activities.

“We’ve come up with a menu we’re going to unveil as we go forward. It’s going to be a combination of activities along those lines,” Schoemann said. “We’ve got other community, Dallas-based initiatives that we want and feel good about engaging with. We also have some that are going to be along the lines of student-athlete, content-driven activities for them to engage in.”

Role of NIL inducements in recruiting

While student-athletes can now make a profit off their performance on the field, NIL has created a recruiting war across college football.

The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel reported in March that a Class of 2023 five-star prospect signed a multi-million deal with a school’s NIL collective. The report outlined how the recruit could make up to $8 million by the end of his junior year in college, with $350,000 coming immediately. 

It is widely believed that Tennessee quarterback commit Nico Iamaleava is the prospect. The report sent shockwaves through the college football coaching community.

Similar stories have followed. And it is a reality schools like SMU are dealing with. The Mustangs’ new NIL program will help keep them competitive on the field. Participating in inducements are not in the plans whatsoever.

“It was important when I started talking to the two main seeders of the collective,” Schoemann said. “It was important for me, given my background, that we were philosophically not going to be with prospects. Getting that established with my guys was a huge part of me being attracted in helping them as it was. With that as a structure, and what we’ve planned here from a budgetary perspective, I think that puts SMU on par with everyone.”

SMU was picked to finish fourth in the AAC preseason poll. That’s with first-year head coach Rhett Lashlee. Add in Monday’s news, and the Mustangs are positioned to constantly compete for the top spot in the Group of Five.