Mr. Z and I have been having a conversation about NIL and how we want to participate, but I have a couple of questions. How does this work with athletic scholarships? Do players that receive NIL payments still receive their scholarships? Also, since NIL is basically "a salary", are we allowed to report NIL dollars on our taxes as a donation?
yes they get scholarships, no it’s not a deductible donationMr. Z and I have been having a conversation about NIL and how we want to participate, but I have a couple of questions. How does this work with athletic scholarships? Do players that receive NIL payments still receive their scholarships? Also, since NIL is basically "a salary", are we allowed to report NIL dollars on our taxes as a donation?
$16k in 1st day, nice!https://twitter.com/siusalukis/status/1789026294249746446?s=46&t=7s0hTttieSER8wqRSA0LoA
I just joined. Upped my donation from what I was giving for Saluki Football Alliance.
SIU sports means enough to me that I’m happy to do it.
Let’s roll.
I wonder how often someone will get poached in non-revenue sports. I know P5 schools have bigger pockets all around, but I’m not sure how much those schools are shelling out for non-revenue sports. If a pitcher loves SIU will they leave for $5k (random number)? I’d imagine the P5 schools are all hands on deck asking their donors to fund to revenue sports, since they are in an arms race with the other P5 schools for top QB prospects, etc. Do the filthy rich P5 donors care about their golf teams, or do they care about landing top football prospects?
They get poached ALL the time. An ace softball pitcher is as impactful to winning games as an elite quarterback. The difference is mid-major NIL donors usually can't afford elite quarterbacks.
If someone offers $5k and your current school offers $0 they will go.
If someone offers $10k but your current school is already giving you $5k they may stay.
Trustees at Wichita State University saw the success of their softball team (back-to-back NCAA Regionals) and announced a phased $19 million investment into the program. By investing in softball facility upgrades along with NIL Wichita State is now attracting P5 schools for non-conference home games. The "non-revenue" sport now generates major revenue for the school.
Here is a link from the WSU foundation if you're curious: https://foundation.wichita.edu/wilkins-stadium/
SIU softball has earned a spot in NCAA Regionals 5 times in 7 seasons. They have a 39-6 home record in the past 2 years. Crazy that Trustees at a former MVC school recognizes a good investment deal where SIU leadership apparently does not.
I’m sure SIU would love to invest more in softball but the fact of the matter is, all the attention needs to be going to the sport that makes SIU $$$ and can give them attention and that’s basketball.
I’m sure SIU would love to invest more in softball but the fact of the matter is, all the attention needs to be going to the sport that makes SIU $$$ and can give them attention and that’s basketball.
If you think I am suggesting SIU stop investing in basketball you totally misunderstood my post.
I love going to SIU basketball games but if you think one sport is the only way to generate revenue or create good publicity for the school, you should check your facts.
I’m sure SIU would love to invest more in softball but the fact of the matter is, all the attention needs to be going to the sport that makes SIU $$$ and can give them attention and that’s basketball.
If you think I am suggesting SIU stop investing in basketball you totally misunderstood my post.
I love going to SIU basketball games but if you think one sport is the only way to generate revenue or create good publicity for the school, you should check your facts.
What revenue do you think softball generates? I'm proud of our softball program and followed their run to the NCAA's but their ceiling is making the Tournament and losing to a non-mid major program like LSU in the regionals.
I love football too and what Nick Hill has built but I don't even think that needs to be much of a priority. We're competing against schools like Bradley and Belmont in the MVC that don't have football programs to fund. If you fall behind, you are never going to compete again in men's basketball.
Agree - at least among the athletic culture in this country, softball garnered more good publicity for SIU than basketball.
In the national media though, men's basketball is going to get way more coverage than softball, assuming SIU has a team good enough to warrant any news, which hasn't been true in years. Domask at Illinois and Jones at Purdue are about the only media mentions SIU has received in years in basketball.
Still think it's very important to support successful minor sports like softball as much as possible.
As far as facilities, SIU has very nice softball facilities. The pro-pay aspect of college sports is about all that counts now. Ruination in my opinion.
Not sure if that's why the Groffs left. May have been homesick - who knows? My bet is Nebraska or other Power 5 schools have probably been dangling the green in front of them.
Eventually there's going to be Title IX laws passed because schools are literally just going to funnel money into football/men's basketball and ignore their other programs
I give $$ to Pride of Little Egypt because I want SIU to retain our star players. When the new collective was announced, Tim Leonard talked with Luke Martin about softball specifically. If the best freshman pitcher in the country is wearing a Saluki uniform I want to see them stay at SIU.
With a 2nd year head coach and freshman pitcher, softball beat three Big10 teams; won both the MVC regular season and tournament title; and knocked a former national champion out of the NCAA Tournament. Yes, they ultimately lost to an SEC school on their home field. But you seriously think that was their ceiling??
We should have had this new collective organized and launched much sooner.
The Groffs entered the portal right after the NCAA regional - they're gone...bought by a bigger school with more money.
