(03-02-2024 12:11 PM)Efan Wrote: I think NIL money, like it or not, is here to stay. And as we get into this new arms race, I can’t help but think this will end up hurting donations directly to the schools. They’ll have a hard time getting the same donations to athletic departments that they have in the past. The money just isn’t there to fund both at the same levels at any school. If donors give to NIL, that decreases money to schools. And then they are forced to raise student fees to try and keep up.
Schools that are willing to do that will succeed more at finding high level coaches and funding new facilities, and schools that don’t will settle in below them. It’s simple economics. So we’ll have to reach some sort of new equilibrium. And it’ll end up just like it was before. Schools with large enrollments, large alumni bases, and deep pocketed donors will always be ahead of the others. There’s really nothing new under the sun here at the end of the day.
If the rank and file students have tuition and fees raised beyond a certain point, even with scholarships and financial aid, that could eventually see a lot of students drop out, or find alternatives.
This is a major economics issue already where many students are getting degrees, be it from a regional school like ETSU, or flagship state school like UT, taking out sometimes tens of thousands in debt, but even if they get a job in a degree related field, they aren't getting the money. Or they aren't able to find a job even remotely relevant to their degree. Or they find decent paying jobs despite their degree.
A growing number of people are getting into skilled trades instead of universities, which TBF, some areas are in desperate need of an infusion of new younger workers. A lot of people also have better and better options in terms of community colleges. Why break the bank at ETSU or UT when you can get your first year or 2 of college done at Pellissippi State or Northeast State or Walters State for 1/2 or 1/3 the price, and walk away with an Associates Degree, or at the very least possibly a certificate or two, as opposed to going all in at a 4 year institution, burning out or going broke half or 3/4 of the way through, and walking away with absolutely nothing to show for it and possibly buried in crippling debt.
The one alternative I see going forward, and it's not just smaller schools and programs that face this prospect, some sports may end up getting the axe, or some programs might have to reevaluate what overall level they want to compete at. I know a lot of Atlantic Sun conference teams for example used to be Division II, many only moving to Division I within the last 20-30 years.
ETSU I think has the resources and support it could possibly avoid a downgrade, but on the other hand, I could easily see cutting one or two sports as an unfortunate but possibly not unnecessary option, assuming of course enough other schools don't downgrade or make cuts before ETSU does that it opens up some opportunities to recruit a few odd players or staff that we might otherwise have missed or not considered.
