I am confident that by June, 6 of the 8 Ivies will be officially or unofficially using some variation of NIL. 2 are now and soon 3. The number for Okereke is $750,000 and obviously Cornell can’t match, but he does want that degree. Remember, there is no NIL scrutiny until July 1. The numbers now are out of sight. A female player at Quinnipiac, a good student is in the portal and is at $350,000 plus. This will start to hit men’s Ivy lacrosse, as well.
Does any Ivy have an NIL collective in place?
Yes
Three schools paid players and there will be more next year
Understand that players were paid unofficially. I’m curious if any schools have actually encouraged and put together a legit collective. I feel like having an established collective, even with minimal $$, is an important step. We have heard James say that Yale has not done that yet.
There are no Ivy League team collectives and probably will not be. Different issue.
So how are they paid??? Who provides the $ ?
A booster writes a check to the kid. Then later wishes he could get a refund. Haha.
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Venmo or zelle, typically
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There are some
It’s my understanding that Okereke is graduating early and wouldn’t be staying even if Cornell could match.
Yes, Professor: Brown, Harvard,
Princeton - 1,2,3.
An interesting twist, which you may be able to read depending on how their paywall works:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-03-27/march-madness-or-college-football-nil-rules-force-choice-on-schools?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0MzExMjk1MywiZXhwIjoxNzQzNzE3NzUzLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTVFM2TzJUMEFGQjQwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIyQjZDQzZEQUE0NDc0RTQ1QjhENTlFMjZBMjQxQjNERCJ9.azfsF9vT8qtv00A9Kzc3Pp_w6oISiCE-ovt4wNKJhDg&leadSource=uverify%20wall
Key quotes:
"Next month, a court will likely approve a [legal settlement] between the NCAA and former athletes that puts a $20.5 million cap on the revenues that NCAA Division I schools can share with athletes.
For football-first schools, like those that belong to the SEC, that’s going to lead to a hard choice: Prioritize either top-tier basketball or football programs. In the new NIL era, schools will struggle to have both…
Aided by groups of donors known as collectives, a kind of free agency emerged in which schools bid on other, less resourced schools’ best players. The SEC is better positioned than most to play in that market. According to On3, a college sports news site, [7 of the top 15] wealthiest collectives were conference members in 2024.
The money and the model work. SEC member Auburn University, the tournament’s top seed this year, is winning with [a group of experienced transfer athletes].
How much does that kind of roster cost? Auburn’s NIL budget hasn’t been divulged. But the University of Arkansas built a similar, transfer-based roster for a [reported $5 million] this year, and — like Auburn — they’re in the Sweet Sixteen.
That $5 million basketball budget may soon become more difficult to justify, especially for schools with popular football programs that have growing NIL needs. In February, for example, the University of Georgia — a major SEC football powerhouse – that it would devote at least 75% of its revenue share to football (after deducting $2.5 million worth of new scholarships), while basketball will get around 15%.
If it wants to spend more, the money will have to come from somewhere. Should NIL money for the five-star high school quarterback take priority over paying the highly touted point guard transfer? In the football-centric SEC, the quarterback almost certainly wins out.
When he does, what will that mean for the competitiveness of SEC basketball?
For starters, there will still be competitive SEC basketball programs because it’s not like the conference is poor. Plus, players and coaches often have other reasons than money to choose an athletic department. But the process of building one will become harder. Schools will again need to rely upon players they have to develop.
Second, it creates a talent drain — and not just among basketball players. Coaches who equate more money with more wins are prioritizing jobs at programs that are spending NIL resources on their sports. Last week, for example, West Virginia University’s first-year basketball coach Darian DeVries left for Indiana University, which promised better NIL resources.
Lastly, a growing divide between big-time football and basketball schools may well set the stage for a new round of college sports realignment. Top coaches, including retired Duke University legend Mike Krzyzewski, have recently lent support to the idea of creating a basketball super-conference by merging the Big East and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Among other advantages, a new conference would likely draw a large media rights deal that infuses its basketball-oriented schools with even more cash that can be shared with athletes."
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Bruce pearl’s UM preview presser is incredible talking about atlanta hoops being as good as anywhere in the country (he’s correct) but despite all the pros he has recruited here (and/or graduated)…it’s just all about the nil $ now when recruiting in this metro.
He also calls Danny wolf Larry bird😂
An interesting look into Duke’s contrarian approach to running a basketball NIL collective:
https://www.wsj.com/sports/basketball/duke-cooper-flagg-nil-collective-ncaa-tournament-final-four-196aa6b1?st=6UUJD5&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink