2022 Transfer Portal

[mbenecke]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

[Globetrotter]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

I would assume the NIL deals are a major part of how they choose and they are a part of the decision. Like NFL Free Agent contracts.

[mbenecke]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

I would assume the NIL deals are a major part of how they choose and they are a part of the decision. Like NFL Free Agent contracts.

I’m certain that’s the case. So what the hell are we gonna do about it?

You either play the game or accept becoming irrelevant.

[Globetrotter]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

I would assume the NIL deals are a major part of how they choose and they are a part of the decision. Like NFL Free Agent contracts.

I’m certain that’s the case. So what the hell are we gonna do about it?

You either play the game or accept becoming irrelevant.

We are incapable of playing this game. But we can compete with Akron, Kent, Toledo etc.

[mbenecke]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

I would assume the NIL deals are a major part of how they choose and they are a part of the decision. Like NFL Free Agent contracts.

I’m certain that’s the case. So what the hell are we gonna do about it?

You either play the game or accept becoming irrelevant.

We are incapable of playing this game. But we can compete with Akron, Kent, Toledo etc.

Can we compete with Tulane and SMU? Memphis? San Diego State and Fresno State? Marshall, App State, and James Madison?

We have to if we want to be one of the best G5 programs. But can we?

[guest44]

Acutally, when it comes to NIL, BGSU can't currently compete with Toledo. Two schools going different directions. The results on the field are beginning to show it. Toledo has embraced it, worked with it, encouraged it. BGSU (under the Con Man & Moose) tried to control it. Actually, Con Man specifically tried to kill deals. Now, it's a useless platform designed so that everyone can get a cut. Another cut for Learfield. It's a platform for a department to say we have NIL without actually doing anything. Like most things at BGSU, it's the easy road. Do little to nothing most concerned about control.

[roguewarrior]

You want teams to have to pry a player from you, not run to them. I am convinced based on conversations with some of these very parents, that if we were winning….Really competing, not every third game… they would not be on the stage, looking for a suitor. SOME maybe, but not an exodus. These folks got really angry at games when we were doing pathetic things on the field. Really angry when we got the email on where to park for the bowl game 45 minutes before KO…. It wears on people.

[hammb]

Jordan Anderson committed to UCLA.

See, how do we keep a guy with options like that? Like seriously, we have basically zero NIL program and nothing to really sell him on.

If he goes to UCLA and balls out, he’s a sure fire draft pick. And he’ll certainly have an NIL opportunity or two in Los Angeles, I’d imagine. Plus if they run the table, they can be in the playoff. We’re sitting here hoping for 8 wins and a trip to the Bahamas or something. It’s not close. We can’t compete with that.

I would assume the NIL deals are a major part of how they choose and they are a part of the decision. Like NFL Free Agent contracts.

I’m certain that’s the case. So what the hell are we gonna do about it?

You either play the game or accept becoming irrelevant.

We are incapable of playing this game. But we can compete with Akron, Kent, Toledo etc.

Can we compete with Tulane and SMU? Memphis? San Diego State and Fresno State? Marshall, App State, and James Madison?

We have to if we want to be one of the best G5 programs. But can we?

No. Of course we cannot compete with any of those programs either. We spend just over $7m on football. And even that amount of expense seems absurd for the product we put on the field, the attendance we see, etc.

Tulane spends nearly $12m on football.

SMU spends over $21m, SDSU over $16m, Marshall over $10m, AppSt just under $10m, JMU is tougher to figure out since they're transitioning but they do keep an overall Athletics budget of well over $50m


So no. Based on financials alone we have absolutely zero shot of being one of the best G5 programs. No fan should even expect anything like that, it's futile. The MAC is largely filled with many of the lowest budgets in all of FBS football, and we're still at or very near the bottom of THAT list. Our only hope is to find the right coaches that can make 5* meals from roadkill. Let them do their thing and move on, and then make the right hire again. It's the ONLY hope for BG football to be anything more than a bottom 25 program annually because we will always have the budget of a bottom 10 program.

[TommyG]

BG has the resources to compete in the MAC…what would Scot Loeffler do with an extra 4 million dollars a year? Give the himself and the staff a raise? Spend frivolously on recruiting and visits like MBB?

Yeah having a NIL bucket of money would be nice but it isn’t like BG has a bunch of guys that deserve extra money anyway. If at some point they get some legit players they should have an Avenue for them to get some deals. At BG the deals aren’t going to be 10k plus, but that is okay.

I think Rogue is right on…kids want to be coached and put in positions to be successful. If you can’t do that as a coach then kids are going to look at their options.

[BillyLP]

Also, at the end of the day, the other G5 programs that have had the bigger budgets and more success also have multiple big-time donors at their beck and call. BG has had a few, but frankly, they are dying out and there haven't been any that have stepped up and filled their shoes. I think part of it is that we don't have as many ultra-wealthy in our alumni base (some of the wealth at Marshall is shocking), but an equal part is that the athletics department has never really proven that they know what to do with it. It's a bit of a chicken or the egg conundrum for BG right now. Will success lead to money or money lead to success? I personally think it's the latter, but I work in higher education/athletics fundraising, so I'm biased. I hope DVDM will be as good as I think he will be, and that he will expand the fundraising/stewardship operations so that there are better experiences and more positive feelings from the families of alumni and athletes. BG is a good enough school with a large enough alumni base to compete at a much higher G5 level than they have in my lifetime.

[BillyLP]

At BG the deals aren’t going to be 10k plus, but that is okay.

This is totally dependent on the wealthy alumni who decide to support the NIL. An athlete at a school I worked with was able to get a house, nutritionist and personal chef provided through his transfer portal negotiations, entirely paid for by one business owner. Guy was a total bust and everyone hated him, but it was disposable income for the supporter. ANY school could have that if they had the right alumni.

[hammb]

For sure, I didn't mean to imply that we couldn't compete in the MAC with our budget. We're towards the bottom of the conference with regards to football, but it's close enough to shouting distance that we can compete if we spend wisely. But I think anybody that expects us to be near the top of the G5 is living in a fantasy land unless/until new donors come forward with far more money. I'm also not saying for a second that we should just up our spending either...we should up our spending when people come forward to fund it, I want nothing with taking more and more money from students to throw away at crap coaches.

I'm with you Billy, in that I don't think there is any hope for true sustained success (even perennially being near the top of the MAC level success) without money. The MAC has always been a conference of peaks and valleys largely because nobody can afford to pay for sustained success.

I have no idea how much money is sitting in our alumni base waiting to be donated. We aren't a major graduate school destination and we're most well known for producing great teachers. We all know teachers aren't sitting on piles of cash. I'm sure, however, that there are still people out there that could donate if given a reason to. Which leads me to basketball. We've been funded at near the top of our conference with zilch to show for it. History there shows that simply writing a check to BGSU athletics and expecting it to be spent wisely is foolish. Anybody with money to spend has to see that and has to be thinking, "Why the hell would I just hand them more money, it's not going to help them win."

The basketball team (and perhaps hockey) are the canaries in the coal mine for the state of the Athletic Department. They have the funding necessary to be near the top of their conference every year and aren't. If I had money I wouldn't even think of handing any of it to the football program until I started seeing the department leadership commit to excellence in the sports they can afford to win at. It also wouldn't hurt if they started cleaning up some of the crap that goes on around here that don't really cost much money.

[Flipper]

You want teams to have to pry a player from you, not run to them. I am convinced based on conversations with some of these very parents, that if we were winning….Really competing, not every third game… they would not be on the stage, looking for a suitor. SOME maybe, but not an exodus. These folks got really angry at games when we were doing pathetic things on the field. Really angry when we got the email on where to park for the bowl game 45 minutes before KO…. It wears on people.

Exactly...when you push a guy with Broden's ability to the door..don't be shocked when he leaves. The inability to create an atmosphere that makes it hard to leave is one of Loeffler's bigger failures.

Not letting the parents of the players know where they can park until 45 minutes before kick off sounds par for the course from the department

[roguewarrior]

Guys are bolting MSU, one I know personally. It’s not like MSU Isn’t at or near the pinnacle of CFB, right? With Plenty of NIL $ floating around. Why? Because Tucker is a jackass and spiraling the program downward. Guys will stay with a coach/system/program they believe in, wherever that may be. Some may even be ashamed to leave to screw things up for their teammates, if it’s running on all cylinders….

[jpfalcon09]

QBs dropping like flies from the portal.

Brennan Armstrong to Virginia
Jay Butterfield to San Jose State
Daniel Richardson to FAU

Would be malpractice going into the season with only three QBs on the roster.