Stanich

[FloridaGuy]

>>>>>>> My understanding is that NIL funding can take various forms——-and does not even have to to specifically involve a coach.

A booster could contact a potential recruit, separate from the coach, and offer money, a car, etc if that recruit goes to the booster’s preferred school.

By the same token, an athlete can make a separate deal with booster to sell an autographed photo, give a speech at an event, etc.

Schools have turned to collectives to try to combine fund rising and control the process. The recent giving day process where contributors could select the sport was a form of a collective.

I reference LVWC because it’s technically separate from the school but works with the coaching staff and already raises and spends significant funds helping Lehigh wrestling. The Supreme Court NIL ruling opened the door for LVWC to support Lehigh wrestlers——which was verboten under the old NCAA rules.

My position is straightforward——-the rules of the game have changed———use some of the funding that attracts elite work out partners to also attract more elite, AA caliber wrestlers.

[HFO]

Michael Porter, Clusters and Competition

Lehigh Valley is a national cluster for wrestling. You have a Top 15 Collegiate team, an Olympic level club team LVWC, high school coaches who were NCAA All Americans, and depth of training all the way down to elementary school wrestling.

As the cluster excels and raises money, it is symbiotic. There will have to be many pots of money. Under LVWC charter, I doubt they could direct any of their funds to Lehigh Wrestling, other than funds to a Lehigh wrestler who happens to be eligible to train and compete for LVWC and then they would get money for travel, food, lodging and entrance fees and coaching.

Lehigh University does what it does which is standard AD fund raising. Whether Pat has full control of how the funds are used, I do not know, but at a minimum it contributes to the operations.

NIL are deals between the athlete and anyone who wants to do a deal with them. University has now role.

Collectives if a university intends to establish one is a way to put the university back into the conversation away from the individuals who had been dominating NIL at many big time schools. Deep pocket donors were having a greater influence than the university on recruiting and keeping players on campus.

That Lehigh Wrestling could not hit its goal of $200k, pretty much says that the money pool is not deep to using money as an enticement to come to Lehigh. However, selling parents on a lifetime income potential of $4 million and a solid marketable major can be.

So if a few one off deals can be had locally with local businesses and put some college spending money into the pockets of wrestling athletes, it would be nice. The rub is that the business also needs to feel that they get something from the marketing of that athlete in terms of marginal return and that may or may not be there.

Hotel Bethlehem can get ADR increases or increased occupancy by being the choice of visitors for wrestling. Not sure every business can generate the KPI from a relationship.

NIL will be limited at Lehigh for any sport.