I’ve added to my guilty pleasure of reading Sooner sites. I also listened to a couple of podcasts. This is what they claim, and I’m curious as to other opinions of their accuracy.
1. They are frustrated with the modern state of the game. “It’s out of control. Something must be done”.
2. NIL seems to be a problem for them. They say that OU can get the money, but Brent wants to build a program on “relationships”, rather than “transactions”.
3. They say OU can get the money; it struggles in organizing the collectives and making the “ask”.
4. They want the NCAA to step in and regulate this. They think NIL really should just be compensation for promotions, and not pay for play. They also allow that there are probably a couple of key players on each team that deserve significant high six figure pay (you figure that one out).
5. They are bringing guys like Curtis Loftin and Mark Clayton in to work personnel staff “GM” and recruiting coordinator positions.
My thoughts:
Are you kidding me? The NCAA? Do they really think that’s still a thing? Hell, they started the dumping of the NCAA in football, with UGA, in the ‘80s.
Then, I figured it out. They may never have been real supporters of the NCAA, but it filled a real function for them, for decades. The NCAA had rules, and their key rivals, UT and NU, followed them. This was a huge part of their success. If Texas had bid for players against Switzer, he would never have won a single MNC. But Texas didn’t, and OU could pay a key recruit $150k to sign, no $30k per year, and Boomer Sooner.
Now, Texas’ boosters are funding NIL, and OU is struggling to keep up. They want the NCAA to step in, and regulate Texas, so they can get back to the good old ways.