Just a heads up, I'm gonna be in the comments for this one, so if you have questions or things you want me to respond to, let me know. I'll also try to clarify things when necessary.
Wow Dimitri, thank you for tackling this incredibly difficult subject and laying out the facts for everyone to digest. I have always appreciated your honest and thorough articles. Worth every penny of my subscription. While I understand the need for an NIL program, I like your bagman analogy. I just can't help seeing Nick Nolte in Blue Chips and hearing the term "friends of the program". Times are changing in college sports. Buckle up. I think it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Readers may have already noticed this, and not that it means too much, but the creative agency who built the Men of Westwood site is the same team who built the Wooden Athletic Fund and 42 Society sites. One thing we can reasonably assume is that there are ties between all of these by the fact that they are using the same source to handle the marketing. Centralizing vendors is a standard business practice for any large organization.
Dimitri. Thank you so much for this information. Incredible research and unique ability to communicate your findings. I have thought since this came up that the value of the scholarship needs to be included in this conversation.
Good writeup DD. I'm wondering what happened to the Bruin Fan Alliance which I believe was being led by former Bruin football player Dietrich Riley. I think they were a non-profit and fairly well organized and transparent from what I remember. They even had a LA Times article written by Ben Bolch from what I recall. I see he's very successful now as a RE agent and active on Twitter but not tweeting about anything NIL related these days.
I appreciate your story and I am a donor of MoW. I am also a BRO subscriber and I am commenting here on my own accord. No one asked me to do that.
Here are my thoughts to your post:
I do think MoW is legit despite the lack of transparency you’re bringing up. Also, what BRO has said is that the school is trying to reach a goal of paying players $100,000 a year (not per month). I get the points you’re trying to make here but the Jaden Rashada money amount is WAY higher than that of what MoW is trying to strive for. That’s a big difference that you fail to mention or comment on. I also think you’re only looking for negatives as opposed to possibly giving this collective the benefit of doubt. Should there be more transparency though? Yes, I agree with you, 100%. But you did say Martin Jarmond, the Athletic Director for UCLA attached his name to it along with Ucla’s radio station. So maybe there is nothing wrong with it. You may think this is naive, but I also don’t see why with so many important names attached why they would be trying to scam or use the money for purposes other than what they stated. I’m also not donating a crazy amount that I’m not willing to lose if by the off chance it’s not legitimate. One other thing to note vs Tennessee’s site. They only give 90% of the money donated to the players. Where as 100% for MoW is supposedly going to the players. Maybe that’s why they don’t have benefits included with donation. I’d rather just give money and it be 100% to the players. Also another thing I forgot to mention is Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell have a video endorsing this NIL fund too. You did not mention that as well. URL: https://youtu.be/eh8FCuIO9nI
I guess what I am getting at is, other than the transparency issue, are there any other reasons brought to you that caused you to be concerned about MoW? It seems like you’re reaching a bit. Just my opinion, just like you’re entitled to yours.
You’ve only given one example of where NIL turned out to not pay the athlete. I am not necessarily saying to have blind faith but at the same time I don’t think BRO would put its reputation on the line as well as our own AD for something that is not legitimate.
I want UCLA basketball (specifically) to be successful, and the stark reality is that college athletes will need to be paid (at least some of the better ones) otherwise why stay in school versus going to the NBA? Last thought, most of what Tracy pointed at was retaining some of our players, not necessarily for new recruitments. The only one I saw mentioned was an international prospect from France.
Did you reach out to the email listed for MoW? Did you reach out to Tracy or David for any comments? What’s the “recent activity that forced your hand”. You don’t mention that either. I’m playing devil’s advocate here and want all sides/angles covered.
A very well written article, and hits on all of the qualms and concerns I have about the NIL arrangement. I do believe that athletes becoming employees is inevitable (at least in a state like CA), but the power-brokers will go down swinging on this one
I read DD's article, and I still am clueless. Do my NIL donated dollars go further with a non-transparent organization or with a bureaucratically laden administration?
Interesting article I just read about how the transfer portal and NIL has turned the tourney into an opportunity for great players at smaller university to get poached/recruited by larger universities. Interesting take by Dusty May, head coach of Cinderella Florida Atlantic.
This was an incredible piece, and I especially appreciate the insight and perspective on BRO.
though I have liked BRO/Tracy around coaching shuffle periods, nobody covers the Bruins better than The Mighty Bruins / BruinsNation . Big time lurker but I read weekly - thank you for your hard work!
Well written Dimitri and lays out some of the ugliness with NILs, and athletic departments/universities wanting to keep the bag.
I guess the problem I have though is where the system is headed. You kind of alluded to this but the eventual endgame is unsustainable for any conference outside of the Big Ten or the SEC, and I’m afraid that will have huge ramifications for the rest of Division I (including the other A-5 schools, G5, FCS and non football schools). Possibly DII and DIII as well.
It feels like we’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. I just don’t see a world where paying athletes as employees won’t result in the majority of athletic departments shutting down their programs, and that will be a sad day for schools and prospective athletes everywhere.
I think all of us can agree that athletes should be compensated for their fair value, but I’m with Notre Dame’s AD when he said on a podcast recently that college sports is better off having scholarships factored into any type of employee compensation—because let’s be honest: anybody who had access to some of the resources these athletes have would be paying through the nose in real life. As a former FCS athlete I know that even the difference in what we had access to was way better than what typical students or employees had available to them, and that shouldn’t be discounted either.
Also we need a true minor league for the NFL where four and five stars can go to ply their trade, and let the kids who want to come to school and get a degree but still compete do so. NBA, NHL and MLB have that. NBA needs to get rid of the one and done rule as well.
I think that’s way better than the end game where all but 32-64 athletic departments have to fold because they can’t pay athletes as employees, and hundreds of thousands of kids who had the opportunity to get their degree would lose that chance.
Just a heads up, I'm gonna be in the comments for this one, so if you have questions or things you want me to respond to, let me know. I'll also try to clarify things when necessary.
Wow Dimitri, thank you for tackling this incredibly difficult subject and laying out the facts for everyone to digest. I have always appreciated your honest and thorough articles. Worth every penny of my subscription. While I understand the need for an NIL program, I like your bagman analogy. I just can't help seeing Nick Nolte in Blue Chips and hearing the term "friends of the program". Times are changing in college sports. Buckle up. I think it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Readers may have already noticed this, and not that it means too much, but the creative agency who built the Men of Westwood site is the same team who built the Wooden Athletic Fund and 42 Society sites. One thing we can reasonably assume is that there are ties between all of these by the fact that they are using the same source to handle the marketing. Centralizing vendors is a standard business practice for any large organization.
Dimitri. Thank you so much for this information. Incredible research and unique ability to communicate your findings. I have thought since this came up that the value of the scholarship needs to be included in this conversation.
Good writeup DD. I'm wondering what happened to the Bruin Fan Alliance which I believe was being led by former Bruin football player Dietrich Riley. I think they were a non-profit and fairly well organized and transparent from what I remember. They even had a LA Times article written by Ben Bolch from what I recall. I see he's very successful now as a RE agent and active on Twitter but not tweeting about anything NIL related these days.
I appreciate your story and I am a donor of MoW. I am also a BRO subscriber and I am commenting here on my own accord. No one asked me to do that.
Here are my thoughts to your post:
I do think MoW is legit despite the lack of transparency you’re bringing up. Also, what BRO has said is that the school is trying to reach a goal of paying players $100,000 a year (not per month). I get the points you’re trying to make here but the Jaden Rashada money amount is WAY higher than that of what MoW is trying to strive for. That’s a big difference that you fail to mention or comment on. I also think you’re only looking for negatives as opposed to possibly giving this collective the benefit of doubt. Should there be more transparency though? Yes, I agree with you, 100%. But you did say Martin Jarmond, the Athletic Director for UCLA attached his name to it along with Ucla’s radio station. So maybe there is nothing wrong with it. You may think this is naive, but I also don’t see why with so many important names attached why they would be trying to scam or use the money for purposes other than what they stated. I’m also not donating a crazy amount that I’m not willing to lose if by the off chance it’s not legitimate. One other thing to note vs Tennessee’s site. They only give 90% of the money donated to the players. Where as 100% for MoW is supposedly going to the players. Maybe that’s why they don’t have benefits included with donation. I’d rather just give money and it be 100% to the players. Also another thing I forgot to mention is Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell have a video endorsing this NIL fund too. You did not mention that as well. URL: https://youtu.be/eh8FCuIO9nI
I guess what I am getting at is, other than the transparency issue, are there any other reasons brought to you that caused you to be concerned about MoW? It seems like you’re reaching a bit. Just my opinion, just like you’re entitled to yours.
You’ve only given one example of where NIL turned out to not pay the athlete. I am not necessarily saying to have blind faith but at the same time I don’t think BRO would put its reputation on the line as well as our own AD for something that is not legitimate.
I want UCLA basketball (specifically) to be successful, and the stark reality is that college athletes will need to be paid (at least some of the better ones) otherwise why stay in school versus going to the NBA? Last thought, most of what Tracy pointed at was retaining some of our players, not necessarily for new recruitments. The only one I saw mentioned was an international prospect from France.
Did you reach out to the email listed for MoW? Did you reach out to Tracy or David for any comments? What’s the “recent activity that forced your hand”. You don’t mention that either. I’m playing devil’s advocate here and want all sides/angles covered.
Wonder how much NIL money it would take to bring Jaime and Tyger back for their final season.
A very well written article, and hits on all of the qualms and concerns I have about the NIL arrangement. I do believe that athletes becoming employees is inevitable (at least in a state like CA), but the power-brokers will go down swinging on this one
I read DD's article, and I still am clueless. Do my NIL donated dollars go further with a non-transparent organization or with a bureaucratically laden administration?
Interesting article I just read about how the transfer portal and NIL has turned the tourney into an opportunity for great players at smaller university to get poached/recruited by larger universities. Interesting take by Dusty May, head coach of Cinderella Florida Atlantic.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/college/basketball/2023/03/29/fau-coach-dusty-may-says-players-being-poached-during-run-to-the-final-four/70058958007/
This was an incredible piece, and I especially appreciate the insight and perspective on BRO.
though I have liked BRO/Tracy around coaching shuffle periods, nobody covers the Bruins better than The Mighty Bruins / BruinsNation . Big time lurker but I read weekly - thank you for your hard work!
Well written Dimitri and lays out some of the ugliness with NILs, and athletic departments/universities wanting to keep the bag.
I guess the problem I have though is where the system is headed. You kind of alluded to this but the eventual endgame is unsustainable for any conference outside of the Big Ten or the SEC, and I’m afraid that will have huge ramifications for the rest of Division I (including the other A-5 schools, G5, FCS and non football schools). Possibly DII and DIII as well.
It feels like we’re throwing the baby out with the bathwater here. I just don’t see a world where paying athletes as employees won’t result in the majority of athletic departments shutting down their programs, and that will be a sad day for schools and prospective athletes everywhere.
I think all of us can agree that athletes should be compensated for their fair value, but I’m with Notre Dame’s AD when he said on a podcast recently that college sports is better off having scholarships factored into any type of employee compensation—because let’s be honest: anybody who had access to some of the resources these athletes have would be paying through the nose in real life. As a former FCS athlete I know that even the difference in what we had access to was way better than what typical students or employees had available to them, and that shouldn’t be discounted either.
Also we need a true minor league for the NFL where four and five stars can go to ply their trade, and let the kids who want to come to school and get a degree but still compete do so. NBA, NHL and MLB have that. NBA needs to get rid of the one and done rule as well.
I think that’s way better than the end game where all but 32-64 athletic departments have to fold because they can’t pay athletes as employees, and hundreds of thousands of kids who had the opportunity to get their degree would lose that chance.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. named Lute Olsen National Player of the Year. Well deserved. Surely going to miss him and wish him only the best.
So who is Mr. Graiwer anyways? What is his connection to UCLA? What is his background?