As we all should know by now, something called a "Collective" is spreading across College Sports as one of the primary means of funneling $$ to student athletes for recruiting purposes. Texas has a couple, one called the Clark Field Collective. On Wednesday, a group of prominent Texas Longhorns donors, former athletes, and sports marketer Nick Shuley announced the formation of Clark Field Collective after securing an initial commitment of $10 million for Texas NIL activities. The ultimate goal? Creating the nation’s biggest dedicated fund for college athletes. Now the Irish have one called the FUND, an acronym for Friends of the University of Notre Dame. I don't know how much $ they have. The Texas one started with a group of deep pocket boosters, I don't know if this is that or not http://www.fundfoundation.org/
So this is the stated goal. Sadly though right now with most (probably not all for example Arch Manning) of the highly ranked /recruited players they are currently factoring in the NIL potential. But FUND doesn’t expect to get into a financial arms race with SEC programs or enter into an agreement like the one The Athletic reported could pay a high school quarterback upwards of $8 million during his college career, steering a recruitment toward a particular school because of the associated collective. I'm sure for some of the kids it will life changing $$ for them and their families. Some of them come from truly poor families and that is a good thing. Some of them no doubt are just greedy.. cough cough Cam Newtons dad.
It is incredible to sit back and watch how quickly college sports are self-destructing. You could not script the decay with any more precision or swiftness. This wont take long. And as for the new NIL and Portal shenanigans being good for poor kids; that is only temporary too. Money in the hands of the uneducated and unsophisticated is like holding water in your hands; its gone quickly.
What CFB needs is a salary cap. Perhaps the player’s union might want a say. And the doomsday clock nears midnight.
I'm sure these developments are right around the corner. I wonder how many athletes never see the inside of a classroom at present?
This also creates a caste system of sorts among a team. Quinn is targeting around a half dozen chosen few for his project. No way this is good for morale. Brady Quinn Leading Notre Dame Collective: Fans React (thespun.com)
Got a good one from From TEXAS… One of the nation’s premier pass-catchers announced for the Fighting Irish on Tuesday. Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point high school four-star receiver Braylon James
Tyler Bucher out of the Spring game, non football injury. He missed a step going down some stairs and rolled his ankle. So we will see a lot of Drew Pyne and Steve Angeli maybe even Ron Powlus. Weather is supposed to be good!
I wish. This kid is mature beyond his years. Very nice get for the Irish. In years passes he may have landed at Stanford.
Sorry Buchner hurt himself but I'm 50-50 on he or Pyne starting so I'm glad the latter will get more reps.
Speaking of QB's I'm reading that Daryle Lamonica has passed away. Was he the QB during your years at ND Sid? Daryle Lamonica, a legendary Raiders quarterback who led the franchise to its first Super Bowl berth, has died at the age of 80. The Fresno County Sherriff's said Lamonica died at his Fresno, California, home on Thursday morning. The death is considered to be from natural causes. One of the greatest players in AFL history, Lamonica was nicknamed "The Mad Bomber" for his affinity for throwing deep passes. He was named league MVP in 1967, the year he led the Raiders to a league title. Legendary Raiders quarterback Daryle Lamonica, 'The Mad Bomber', dies at age 80
He was 3 years ahead of me. Was the QB my freshman year on a mediocre team, the last one coached by Joe Kuharich. I don't remember anything that stands out. I believe he hit his stride with the Raiders. I think he originally was drafted by another team. The Bills? Don't know how he got to the Raiders. I didn't pay much attention to the NFL during my college years, but I was aware of his success in Oakland.
The Shirt 2022. I used to eagerly wait for the unveiling, would always buy one. Haven't bought one in a while now.
West Bloomfield (Mich.) high school four-star defensive lineman Brandon Davis-Swain is the first prospect in the class of 2024 to commit to Notre Dame.