Figured Id make this to separate from the traffic of the Bradley page. Obviously way too early to be thinking about this, but the speculation is inevitable.
Just reposted by cooper for physical confirmation
It was only a matter of time, money must be too good to pass up. If we lose All Wright too, it’s back to the drawing board for 2026.
It was only a matter of time, money must be too good to pass up. If we lose All Wright too, it’s back to the drawing board for 2026.
Yup. And that's the sad part. Until regulation comes (which it never will). Mid Majors will continue to be stripped of their talent, and power schools will continue to treat mid majors as second class citizens.
As predicted by some here, Powell's plan to rebuild the team by bringing in excellent freshmen, giving them opportunities to strengthen themselves and gain experience, was admirable, perhaps even noble; but it is contrary to the new environment of college sports, especially for mid-major basketball programs. The current NCAA landscape has ruined the possibility of such a path toward success.
The time has come to shift course and recruit a team of strong upper-class experienced transfers, both Div. I and lower level if necessary. If not, the fan base, who have been patient and allowed for a gradual rebuild with emphasis on community and loyalty, also will be hitting the transfer portal.
As predicted by some here, Powell's plan to rebuild the team by bringing in excellent freshmen, giving them opportunities to strengthen themselves and gain experience, was admirable, perhaps even noble; but it is contrary to the new environment of college sports, especially for mid-major basketball programs. The current NCAA landscape has ruined the possibility of such a path toward success.
The time has come to shift course and recruit a team of strong upper-class experienced transfers, both Div. I and lower level if necessary. If not, the fan base, who have been patient and allowed for a gradual rebuild with emphasis on community and loyalty, also will be hitting the transfer portal.
I think it is more a testament to where mid major ball stands in the food chain rather than Powell specifically. Although he is a good example of the hierarchy. Mid major basketball is the JV league now. The G league of college basketball. The only usefulness MM ball has in the realm of college athletics is Cinderellas and free player development.
My prediction is that if you are not a public school, or a private school with public school funding (Gonzaga, GCU, ect...). You are not going to survive more than 10 years in the current landscape of college athletics. Anytime you see some moniker of success, the P5s come in and offer spots to your players, that you developed and fostered connections with, flaunting money you could never dream of affording. Its as Paul said, disgusting.
Perhaps this is timely today:
Anytime you see some moniker of success, the P5s come in and offer spots to your players, that you developed and fostered connections with, flaunting money you could never dream of affording.
That’s why Valpo needs to sign players to 4 year NIL deals. It gives stability to the player and the program.
@mj08 At the end of the day...Most mid majors are going to have to go this route. Sign deals that offer buyouts in which the poacher must pay the school the full valuation of the money lost in transferring. (if possible, whatever the school poaching is offering the player. Say 500k, the poacher must offer compensation in the realm >50% of that evaluation).
EDIT: to put it another way. The NIL evaluation must be done by the NCAA for a given player. Once this evaluation takes place. The school wishing to "buy out" the contract of the player must pay a "transfer fee" of up to 25% of the total evaluation done by the NCAA.
However...I could see another lawsuit if this happens with another injunction that is tacked onto the hearing in July
Give up on recruiting incoming FR, as there is no loyalty nowadays. We don't want to be the school where you can focus the offense around such young talent and let them get their ppg/stats, only to allow the kid to leave after their FR/SO seasons. Sheldon did it while at Valpo, we are now seeing it with Cooper, with All's decision to come. Just focus on recruiting the transfer portal each season, and get the talent that already received their NIL and just wants playing time.
EDIT: to put it another way. The NIL evaluation must be done by the NCAA for a given player. Once this evaluation takes place. The school wishing to "buy out" the contract of the player must pay a "transfer fee" of up to 25% of the total evaluation done by the NCAA.
No, keep the NCAA out of the contract between Valpo and the player. You want to avoid restraint of trade claims. Both parties are entering into the deal on their own accord.
The terms of how to terminate the contract early and the payment made by the poaching team would all need to be spelled out in the deal. If players are going to be hiring agents, then they’ll need to sign contracts.
The more players that mid-majors get under contract, the more stability for college basketball.
Give up on recruiting incoming FR, as there is no loyalty nowadays.
This is what most mid-majors are going to do. So there is an opportunity to sign freshmen to favorable contracts that will allow them to play D1 ball immediately.
I forgot about the whole agent thing. Avoid anyone with an agent, as the agent is always going to push them to enter the transfer portal after each season, to get a better deal. This has gotten ridiculous.
Realistically, I made the NCAA the mediator in an attempt to give them some semblance of Power. I know we all have less than ideal opinions of the NCAA, but I would much rather have them in charge than the power schools.
I have been trying to research the legitimacy of contracts between players and schools and the info is fairly vague. It is uncharted territory, but it is essential for mid major survival. I do think having your buyout tied to the evaluation of the NIL deal of the poacher is critical. 25% seems like a good ballpark to keep.
Here is a litte more about how buyouts are structured currently. The House settlement allows for them to exist when they previously were not allowed
As predicted by some here, Powell's plan to rebuild the team by bringing in excellent freshmen, giving them opportunities to strengthen themselves and gain experience, was admirable, perhaps even noble; but it is contrary to the new environment of college sports, especially for mid-major basketball programs. The current NCAA landscape has ruined the possibility of such a path toward success.
The time has come to shift course and recruit a team of strong upper-class experienced transfers, both Div. I and lower level if necessary. If not, the fan base, who have been patient and allowed for a gradual rebuild with emphasis on community and loyalty, also will be hitting the transfer portal.
From an outsider perspective, this viewpoint makes total sense. I think the reality of our situation actually demanded the opposite. When the new staff got here, the Valpo NIL budget was approximately $30K. That is the cost for one mediocre bench player in the portal. So, the staff had to recruit high school kids that were overlooked as they were the ones that just wanted an opportunity as opposed to dollars. What this staff did with overlooked high school kids is actually amazing, they cultivated a kid with no offers into a transfer who is about to get paid 7 figures next year to play basketball. I know that for a fact, 7 figures is the going rate for Cooper. This is the reality of college hoops unfortunately.
As for the best solution at Valpo, that is the tough part. Although the NIL budget is improved it is nowhere near what every other school in the Valley can offer. Powell alluded to it when we played Evansville, it was the only example I recall him mentioning all year. We tried to get Turnbull (the kid who blocked 6 shots and dunked on Cooper 6 times). He got paid about $80K to go to Evansville (which is essentially pocket change in this NIL environment). Valpo was close to getting him but when it came down to dollars, we had no chance of coming close there. So, it is easy to say we go after transfers as that was the logical plan for the staff but it became obvious quickly that these kids want money which is something Valpo cannot compete with. I think this explains why we had to add a guy like Louth instead of the many bigs we lost out on.
With the end of season run we just had, hopefully there is some momentum on all fronts Valpo related to get some better transfers in the program. With that being said, and I know we all love this program, but we need to remove our blinders and understand what we are up against. It is tough to win a recruiting battle with our facilities and lack of resources. It just is what it is!
