NCAA awakens, notices NIL

Marvin Westwestwords

Knoxville-based Spyre Sports Group has been in the college football recruiting spotlight since president and co-founder Hunter Baddour described the company plan to sportswriter David Ubben of The Athletic.

David delivered an exciting report about the new, money-fueled frontier of the arms race. The headline: “Cars, apartments and six-figure packages.”

In an amazing turn of events, the NCAA noticed.

Spyre Sports intends to raise $25 million annually for University of Tennessee athletes under the big, bold banner of name, image and likeness.

The idea behind that idea is to catch and pass the big names in recruiting, the same big names in top 10 polls, those in or around the playoffs.

“If this is how the game is played, then game on,” said Baddour.

Baddour and Spyre co-founder, James Clawson, just happen to be UT graduates. Likewise, Sheridan Gannon, an early add-on. They are sharp. They have experience in sports marketing. They were thinking about what was coming before the Supreme Court forced the NCAA to give up its forever interpretation of amateurism.

Spyre was ready and waiting to help navigate unknowns and facilitate NIL deals for Volunteers. The official starting date was July 1, 2021. All sorts of endorsements and business partnerships were already in the incubation stage.

Motivation is obvious.

“We want Tennessee to be the premier NIL destination in the country,” Baddour said.

“I know a lot of people talk like that, but that’s the goal. There is no in-state competition here. We don’t count Vanderbilt. We don’t count Memphis. The resources Tennessee has … Vol Nation is everywhere.

“The Tennessee community is tired of losing, and they want to do whatever they can as donors or fans to bring Tennessee back. I think the majority view the NIL as a way to close the talent gap with places like Georgia and Alabama quicker than maybe the previous model, in which you had to build back the program slowly.

“We are all Tennessee guys. We are all from this area. We all went to UT. We have multiple degrees from Tennessee, and our blood runs orange…

“We are only doing this to support the University of Tennessee, and we are very passionate about it. We feel like NIL is a tremendous opportunity, maybe a Godsend, to get Tennessee back to where we all know Tennessee should be, competing for championships year in and year out.

“Rally the Valley!”

And Atlanta. And Charlotte. And Miami. And New York City. And Boston. And Houston. And all points in between. Tennessee fans are everywhere, even in Los Angeles and Boise.

You hear about how passionate the Tennessee fan base is. Passion is real. Those not yet aligned with the Vols can see the impact of the color orange.

Competition is tricky.

“Everyone has tradition, a fan base and great facilities,” Baddour said. “That’s no longer enough. Players are picking colleges based on benefit.”

Could that be how Texas A&M came up with the No. 1 recruiting class for 2022? Could be that is how the Aggies attracted Powell High defensive lineman Walter Nolen, No. 1 defensive tackle prospect in the country.

Georgia and Alabama and Ohio State seem very wise in recruiting techniques. Beware of Texas. And Michigan. Would Notre Dame do NIL? You better believe it.

Spyre already has proof that it knows what it is talking about. It did Josh Heupel a big favor last fall. It had meaningful discussions with nine prospects. Tennessee signed seven of them.

The complete overhaul of college sports is happening at incredible speeds.

The NCAA Board of Directors, doing its best Rip Van Winkle imitation, awakened last Friday and asked the Division I council what the heck is going on.

“We are concerned that some activity in the name, image and likeness space may not only be violating NCAA recruiting rules, particularly those prohibiting booster involvement, but also may be impacting the student-athlete experience negatively in some ways,” said board chair Jere Morehead, president at the University of Georgia.

“We want to preserve the positive aspects of the new policy while reviewing whether anything can be done to mitigate the negative ones.”

The NCAA board has heard about a school’s illegal involvement in NIL deals. That is bad.

The board has been told there are no real rules, that some states permit things other states do not allow. That is worse.

If the NCAA asks, please tell them Spyre Sports has a good reputation. Leaders are law-abiding citizens. OK, Spyre may have helped this state establish boundaries. It is politically savvy.

There is talk of something for everyone, even rowing and cross-country, but common sense says quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers are likely to profit most from NIL deals. Attendance numbers provide some guidance about which sports are most popular.

It may turn out that basketball players have advantages in the market place. They don’t wear helmets. Fans see faces. They see how much John Fulkerson loves the game.

(Marvin West welcomes comments and questions from readers. His address is marvinwest75@gmail.com

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