Success is 90% identifying talent (Willy) and 90% getting them to campus (NIL).
As a Big 10 program, Indiana was already a Top 15-20% NIL program this past season. What Indiana has shown us is a great coaching staff with a competitive NIL budget can work wonders.
So now that Indiana is able to be “financially” competitive with other top Big 10 programs like Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State & Oregon, I think they will remain a strong contender. I also think that some SEC programs like UT and ATM will remain right up there as well due to their NIL budgets…as will Texas Tech.
[While it’s true that any program can participate in the transfer portal and recruiting markets, without a large NIL budget they will have very little, if any, chance of large scale success.]
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Did you hear Kingston Fleming say he would take less money to be at Houston?
I love IU winning and the SEC being shut out again! Proves what everyone always suspected:
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SEC schools/fandom are broke.
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those schools depended on under the table deals in the hundreds of dollars.
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Those schools can’t compete in situations where payments are out in the open and in the hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions of dollars.
The SEC is going to be UT, UGA, Vanderbilt, OU, and Tennessee, with an occasional appearance by LSU and/or UF.
The other schools will be shutout.
So expect a hard push by the SEC with the assistance of ESPN, to get federal regulation to cap NIL and the transfer portal, almost exclusively to help the SEC.
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ATM will be right up there as well…likely ahead of most SEC programs except for UT.
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Alabama says hello.
Good point, totally forgot about TAMU. Yeah that is another one, although one wonders.
Very hard to believe Texas isn’t on that list or am I missing something?
No one is kidding anyone. There’s a mythology about NIL. We don’t have a big NIL infusion in football. Yet we’re ranked near the top 20.
Winning is first and foremost about coaching.
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You’re missing something. UT wasn’t in the playoffs.
So I’m just curious, can you name any team ranked in the Top 10 that has an equally low or lesser NIL/player compensation program than does UH?
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Yep I missed that…thanks…
One big issue that has not had enough years to really test yet - How does NIL (pay for play version) affect the school donations. Is this pay for play pool of money just additional money that people had lying around or are they reducing donations for scholarships and facilities (or academics)? I am guessing most is simply moved into a different bucket and the schools are having to find more money to cover scholarships and other expenses thus hurting those with lower income from media and season tickets.
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Anybody that points out that Cignetti is not the main reason why Indiana won the cfp knows NOTHING about football and coaching.
Nil alone even with a decent HC does not and will not win you a cfp.
How many programs have a “richer” nil? Tons.
The uta’s, atm’s, bama’s, teetech and others better do some introspection. Getting a a mega donor will never be enough.
Who won the cfp since it started?
SUPERIOR TO EXCEPTIONAL HC’S.
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I think Cignetti has proven he is a great coach, winning at JMU and Indiana. What will put him in the upper stratosphere of coaching is winning consistently with different assistant coaches. The success Cignetti teams will have will result in assistant coaches leaving for better positions. Cignetti needs a big budget to attract the best assistants. Big budget for coaches; big budget for players. Money always comes into play.
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He won the national championship…I am sure Indiana will give him whatever he thinks he needs.
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I imagine Cignetti has become an instant legend in Indiana and could probably run for governor and win. He has all the cred to garner support for whatever he wants for the football team.
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I’m pretty sure that Mark Cuban indicated he is going to up his contributions to NIL this off-season. Cignetti will have all the money he needs for roster and staff going forward.
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No doubt Indiana is on a high right now and the donations are flowing in. What about in five years? Can the success be sustained? Its anyone’s guess.
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As long as Cignetti stays, I think so. in 2024, prior to Mark Cuban getting involved in NIL, IU made the CFP. So Cignetti proved he can win at this level with a lower NIL amount. With increased NIL and players signing up for the culture there, people need to get used to seeing IU in the CFP.
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