Former University of Virginia (UVA) Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Tony Bennett was beaten by NIL, i.e. name, image and likeness. Three weeks ago, Tony Bennett announced his retirement. At 55-years old, Tony Bennett announced that “he is no longer the best coach to lead the program.” This was an abrupt and unexpected announcement. He is too young to retire.
Bennett pointed to the “current environment” in college sports as one of the driving forces to step down. There is increased emphasis on the transfer portal and NIL. Its going to be closer to a professional model Bennett states. And, he is right. “The game and college athletics are not in a healthy spot,” according to Bennett and yes, they will need a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
NIL and the current environment in sports extinguished Tony Bennett’s spirit for coaching college basketball players. His most telling comments are “winning is relief more than a celebration” and “losing sticks with you.” Bennett coached for 15 seasons at UVA, which is in the competitive Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). He had a winning record (73%) and is the all-time wins leader at UVA. He comes from excellent coaching pedigree, his father Dick Bennett (University Wisconsin-Green Bay and Washington State), and Bo Ryan (University of Wisconsin).
Coach Bennett is not alone. University of Connecticut’s (UCONN) Women’s Basketball head coach, Geno Auriemma has also addressed this NIL topic. Over the last two years, a local reporter asked Geno about Paige Buecker’s availability for an upcoming game. The implied inquiry was concerning her physical status. Is she ready? Have the doctors and training staff cleared Paige for play? Paraphrasing here, but Geno pauses thoughtfully and says, “I don’t know.” I don’t know if Paige is available. I would first have to check with Paige’s agent. Then I have to check with her accountant, and then check with BOSE’s, Nike, Unrivaled, Gatorade, Chegg, StockX, plus Dunkin to see if she’s available on (fill in the blank) night against (fill in the blank) team. If they all say she’s available, then, I guess, yes, she’s available to play against (fill in the blank). Geno Auriemma’s sarcastic answer reflected Tony Bennett’s missing joy and reasons for retiring from UVA.
Imagine as a coach having to run through that type of availability checklist for every single player. Not just your All-American.
According to the Bleacher Report, Geno responded to NIL-related questions during the Big East’s 2024 Media Day in October. Auriemma opined that “the old student-athlete model is now a charade.” “It more resembles semi-professional, pay-for-play sports.., that should be treated like a business.” As for the transfer portal, Geno says “how about we teach kids how to make a commitment and stick to it” and “let’s make it a business.” Never short of opinions, back in January 2024, Auriemma wondered “how do you coach in an environment, where the players feel like they owe you nothing and you owe them everything?”
The three main marketplaces for athletes to earn money are endorsements of corporate brands, sales of merchandise and signed memorabilia, plus from NIL collectives (typically booster-led). The collectives often pay de-facto salaries in exchange for services such as attendance at meet and greets, or participating in charity work. The Washington Post recently published an excellent article on NIL – the Hidden NIL Economy of College Sports on October 21, 2024 <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2024/nil-money-deals-college-sports-athlete-pay/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="">https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/interactive/2024/nil-money-deals-college-sports-athlete-pay/</a> .
Who, if anyone, is NIL-less? The three service academies, Army, Navy, and Air Force are NIL-less and are prohibited from accepting other forms of compensation. Another excellent article on the topic is by Ross Dellenger in yahoo!sports on October 24, 2024 https://sports.yahoo.com/in-era-of-nil-and-transfer-portal-navy-and-army-are-thriving-without-either-how-are-they-pulling-it-off-we-are-a-unicorn-130515113.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMHPTGQ9oL1HtEZfzwi_n2F5F7F64KHd7zvxs8ESnO-Zfg4SJ6aXP_x3UZgMW6W7fSlQOKAVW3ipGQrgPgMfnOLRqxSF8BjrtMtrnPQ53JgBYkAzKwvuF5VMh0plle0UEAGBQIIytqnaHm8VXAWbzd82Of1lhw7bXwty4dKXiqFP . During mid-October both Army and Navy football were undefeated (not since 1945 at this point in the season) and ranked in the top 25 in the country (not since the 1960s).
The Muse’s has had generations of family attending Army football games at Michie Stadium on the campus of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY. The NIL topic and Army’s recent football success was of interest. How did this happen? Mr. Dellenger’s article above provided insight. Army and Navy have no booster-led NIL collectives. As for the portal and transfers into the service academies, cadets must start over as freshmen, no matter their incoming academic status. There is an emphasis and importance placed on team chemistry, cohesion, and trust. Go Army!
What about the Ivies, which already do not offer athletic scholarships? Similarly, there are no NIL-collectives at the Ivies, which like scholarships, are self-imposed. At Princeton, the NCAA, Ivy League, and the University have set guidelines that must be abided by in all NIL deals. The University states that it will not provide advice to students on outside commercial activities. Essentially, the Ivy League places academics above all else. Princeton Athletic Director, John Mack ’00 said that the NIL collectives did not align with the school’s institutional values. The payoff is on the backend – a degree from a top school in the country with exceptional job and salary opportunities.
The Daily Pennsylvanian published a recent article on the topic https://www.thedp.com/article/2024/10/nil-college-sports-transfer-portal-ivy-league-penn. A former University of Pennsylvania (Penn) basketball player Jordan Dingle was interviewed for the article. Dingle has transferred to St. John’s for his final collegiate year. He states “that the NIL opportunities at Penn were limited, with many of the benefits amounting to some free meals or some clothes.” This Penn article cites the NCAA’s NIL dashboard, which lists that the average men’s basketball starter in a power conference earns roughly $171,000 annually through NIL opportunities, while the rest of Division I is roughly $20,000. Wow. The Muse wonders how NCAA women’s basketball players compare.
Besides collective bargaining, Coach Tony Bennett also cites the need for a restriction on the salary pool; transfer regulations/restrictions; limits on agent involvement; and mental health implications. No wonder Tony Bennett was beaten by NIL. There will be a place for Coach Bennett and other NIL-beaten coaches at the service academies and the Ivies.
So as the 2024-25 college basketball season is about to tip-off, teams are assembled like fantasy rosters or AAU squads, and are transactional. Will this model work? Will paying millions to certain players produce wins? What happened to the team over individualism? What about the team’s chemistry, cohesion, trust, and effort? Will these qualities emerge? Or, will it be like the George Steinbrenner-lead NY Yankees of the late-1970s and early-1980s at the beginning of MLB baseball free-agency? Let the orange leather balls fly through the nylon nets.
