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Maybe so, just haven't seen anything stating such in the literature, which all state that NIL draws its funding exclusively from private sources. We'll see how it draws out in a few years. UND will continue to get its share of studs & be able to compete, provided they get a competent coach. Much of this doomsday talk about no longer getting elite talent is nothing more than fans overreacting. NIL has been around a few years now & the smaller schools are doing just fine.

Good job, Brian. Am wondering though, how can you be certain that your donation will go specifically to the hockey team & not some other sport, like football?

From the article: Gov. DeWine’s order permits “any postsecondary educational institution in the State of Ohio” that is “covered” by the proposed settlement to “offer compensation or compensate an intercollegiate student-athlete for the use of such student-athlete’s NIL” provided that state funds are not used for such purposes." "However, the order enacted by Gov. Kemp is broader in that it allows schools to “facilitate[e] compensation,” which can be read as permitting schools to work directly with student-athletes to secure NIL compensation with third parties."

And also from the article you submitted: "If finalized, the deal would allow the biggest schools to establish a pool of about $21.5 million in the first year to distribute money to athletes through a revenue-sharing plan. Athletes would still be able to cut name, image and likeness deals with outside groups." The revenue-sharing deal is different from anything associated with NIL deals.

NIL vs. Direct Payment from Colleges One key thing to remember is that NIL money doesn’t come from the schools themselves. Colleges aren’t paying athletes directly; instead, NIL deals are between the athletes and outside companies or sponsors. This keeps the focus on personal branding and the athlete’s individual influence, rather than on funding from the universities. NIL allows athletes to use their own hard work, popularity, and personal brand to earn money, completely separate from their college’s support. https://www.gogamechange.com/blog/where-does-nil-money-come-from#:~:text=One of the most common,promote their products or services. -------------------------- "It's important to note college athletes still cannot be paid directly by the school. Instead, that's done through NIL collectives, which organize funds from donors. The money is directed to pay athletes through NIL deals." "Collectives cannot be directly involved in recruiting, just like boosters in the old days. However, most operate in coordination with the schools and tend to be endorsed by coaches and school officials. According to Business Insider, 80% of money going toward NIL comes from collectives, with the rest coming from brand deals." https://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/2024/03/16/what-nil-college-sports-money-endorsement-deals-name-image-likeness/72998239007/

People keep saying that schools are or will be paying the players directly, yet I can find no evidence online to support this; all articles point towards private donors with regards to NIL money. If you can steer me towards an official NCAA link stating that schools are allowed to do this, that would be appreciated.

The teams that are doing well this year in that conference has less to do with talent via NIL money, & more about having good recruiting classes & developing their talent when they get to campus. I remember last year when the B10 was pretty much dominating the NCHC in the regionals, some here lamented that the B10 was starting to surpass the NCHC. Agreed that the B10 is bound to win a title eventually, it's almost a given, but sports are cyclical & the NCHC isn't going anywhere in terms of relevance. The NCHC will be back.

Exactly, everyone's getting their panties in a bunch over schools like MI, OSU, MSU, PSU & Notre Dame getting more elite players via NIL, when their truly big donors probably don't even give a rat's ass about their hockey programs. Those schools worship at the altars of fb & bb; whereas hockey is a marquee sport at UND.

NIL became official in the summer of 2021, almost 4 years ago. If NIL is so important to be successful at the D1 level, how come no B10 team has won a title yet?

Do you see any other D1 hockey coaches actively campaigning for NIL money? Maybe the reason BB isn't is because he already has a sizable war chest from private donors that the public isn't aware of. Who knows, NIL isn't transparent & it's difficult for the public to know with certainty what's happening in the back rooms. Not going to lose sleep over NIL ... it can be a nice addition for the program; but a savvy coach like Ferschweiler or Carle who can recruit & develop the right players is infinitely more important than flashing the latest Canadian phenom with big wads of cash. And if a player's first priority is an exorbitant amount of money, one should question if that player will be fully invested in the team & will do anything to help it succeed.

6 of the 10 are seniors, I thought this year was the last year for 5-year players..unless these 6 are all graduate students.

If any of these highly-drafted players leave for another school, would wager that it would be due to not seeing much promise in the coach's system for his development. Bottom line is one will probably never know a player's true reason for transferring, unless one happens to be in his inner circle. And if college hockey is so cutthroat & the best players are constantly being wooed by other programs' money, the 3 players you mentioned would have already been offered lucrative deals by others & there's a good chance some of them may have never set foot on campus as a result. But they still came. Boisvert in a January interview said he never even seriously considered about going to any place other than UND. And Perron stated he knew UND was where he wanted to go as soon as he visited. Doesn't sound like money was a defining reason for them, unless they're being given large sums of money that the fans aren't aware of, which I doubt. If any of the 3 bolt, perhaps Emery because he seems to be the most impulsive. People have speculated Boisvert out east due to family, but he left home (Quebec) at 14 to play in the US to elevate his game, so he doesn't strike me as a homebody type who would prefer to play closer to family. But like you said, who knows. Boisvert is the most crucial of the 3, & of the team, because the offense next year will be built around him if he stays. He is the king on the chessboard that BB needs to protect at all costs. Whatever that takes.

Thanks, was wondering when the new goalie would be arriving.

Anyone know the opening & closing dates for the portal this year?

That would require 6 periods of consistent, passionate hockey; TJ playing unconscious & channeling his inner Matt Davis; winning the specialty teams; & BB outcoaching the opposition...all from a team who had 0 shots on goal in the 3rd period Friday & went goalless over 60 minutes on the weekend against a very average UNO team.

"Still growing" is a more acceptable way of saying the team still doesn't know what it's doing.

And of course Croal is sitting again. No lessons learned after last night's game. UND won after all, which means the ol' Bubster runs back the same players & the same strategy; while the one guy (Croal) the team needs for energy when the team loses momentum sits in the stands again...BB would rather sacrifice his left nut than bench #27 or #29; because they're seniors, after all, & have earned their ice time.

An orchestra is only as good as its conductor.

The same dude who was a healthy scratch 2x last weekend.

I was suggesting if another school was trying to poach him..but as @AJSsaid, & this makes sense, it's highly unlikely that a player currently on the roster will transfer to another school for monetary reasons. It would probably be because he felt his skills weren't developing enough, chemistry issues, the team wasn't being managed properly or the team just flat out sucked & there was no chance for postseason success. NIL for college fb & bb is a whole other beast compared to college hockey, as you were saying. If NIL had been around 20 yrs ago & we were dumping absurd amounts of cash on guys like Toews, Oshie, Parise, Nelson, we'd still be without a title while those guys played. A savvy coach like Ferschweiler or Carle who can recruit & develop the right mix of players is much more conducive to success than shelling out a lot of money for the latest phenom. Not saying NIL isn't important, as it can be used occasionally for the right player or two, but it's not something a program should build around or be overly worried about.

That's a summary of your previous opinion, which I'm not interested in. If anyone here can summarize Brad S's podcast, pls do so.

If you want to make a point, summarize it in a paragraph. Not going to spend 1.5 hrs listening to a podcast.

Correct. Local media in a small market will almost always try to deflect any negativity away from the HC. The Herald is no different. Expect slanted articles where feelings don't get hurt & honesty doesn't get revealed. Which is unfortunate, because a journalist should never be a mere mouthpiece for the program. I pay $9.99/month for Schlossman's reporting on players, recruits, game recaps, etc, not his honesty. Discernment.

Using Boisvert as an example & if he were being lured away with big bucks to another program, I think UND would move heaven & earth to find a donor to outbid anyone else. He's that important to the team. So that if he or any other player of his caliber left UND & it wasn't related to playing time, it would likely be because that player felt he wasn't developing like he thought he should be or the team's potential didn't match his expectations.

Your moderator skills are only surpassed by your sense of humor. If that actually happened, it would rank as one of the greatest coaching feats in college hockey history, considering they currently can't string 2 solid games together to save their lives, let alone 8.