Williams & Blum Pod: Reflecting on a long realignment journey for the Big 12

[ChrisMWilliams]

Enjoy.

Williams & Blum: Reflecting on a long realignment journey for the Big 12

Williams & Blum reflect on the past 12 years of realignment madness for Iowa State and the Big 12 Conference. There's a feeling of relief in tonight's podcast, while the guys look at the future of the league near and far. Presented as always by our friends at Mechdyne.

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[Sigmapolis]

CW and @brentblum said they "might have trouble holding the basketball roster together next offseason." I don't think this is an unreasonable concern in a post-NIL post-Hunter world.

That being said, I kind of wonder *who* they could lose.

King, R, Jones, and Ward will be out of eligibility.

Gilbert, C. Jones, and Paveletzke would need waivers to transfer again.

Biliew is probably going to the NBA come hell or high water.

Rock is probably going to be on a redshirt. Hamilton and Fish aren't projected to play too much.

That leaves Watson, Lipsey, and Momcilovic.

You'd think Lipsey was a Cyclone for life at this point, but $$$ is $$$.

Losing any of the remaining two (or three) would hurt but... you know, TJ rebuilds the roster basically every spring. It is what he does. I'm not saying something like that would be easy.

There's at least some insulation given the construction of the roster, however.

 

[CapnCy]

CW and @brentblum said they "might have trouble holding the basketball roster together next offseason." I don't think this is an unreasonable concern in a post-NIL post-Hunter world.

That being said, I kind of wonder *who* they could lose.

King, R, Jones, and Ward will be out of eligibility.

Gilbert, C. Jones, and Paveletzke would need waivers to transfer again.

Biliew is probably going to the NBA come hell or high water.

Rock is probably going to be on a redshirt. Hamilton and Fish aren't projected to play too much.

That leaves Watson, Lipsey, and Momcilovic.

You'd think Lipsey was a Cyclone for life at this point, but $$$ is $$$.

Losing any of the remaining two (or three) would hurt but... you know, TJ rebuilds the roster basically every spring. It is what he does. I'm not saying something like that would be easy.

There's at least some insulation given the construction of the roster, however.

Yeah, i heard that and had similar thoughts as you shared.

I do think what kind of stinks especially for basketball is maybe that "yearly free agency" idea if someone has a good year.

I also think, maybe, that with each year there may be some "data" that starts showing or telling the story of "long term money" vs "short term." Hunter as an example....sure, he got a lot of money I'm sure....but could have he been more consistent and actually be an NBA shot if he stuck around and ran the show? Who knows.

I also would imagine some of these chats are probably happening with WeWill/Coaches on how to manage exactly this.

 

[brentblum]

CW and @brentblum said they "might have trouble holding the basketball roster together next offseason." I don't think this is an unreasonable concern in a post-NIL post-Hunter world.

That being said, I kind of wonder *who* they could lose.

King, R, Jones, and Ward will be out of eligibility.

Gilbert, C. Jones, and Paveletzke would need waivers to transfer again.

Biliew is probably going to the NBA come hell or high water.

Rock is probably going to be on a redshirt. Hamilton and Fish aren't projected to play too much.

That leaves Watson, Lipsey, and Momcilovic.

You'd think Lipsey was a Cyclone for life at this point, but $$$ is $$$.

Losing any of the remaining two (or three) would hurt but... you know, TJ rebuilds the roster basically every spring. It is what he does. I'm not saying something like that would be easy.

There's at least some insulation given the construction of the roster, however.

The concern is right now we are in the bottom 10 percent of power 5 collectives in fundraising.

So while yes losing a player or two in a one year window may not seem like the worst possible rebuild, the reputation of losing one of those key guys after losing one of your best players in Hunter recently would spread the word in basketball circles quickly that Iowa State doesn’t have the resources, whether fair or not.

We are really just trying to get to the middle of the Big 12 in NIL funding and TJ can do wonders from there. Every ounce of support adds up!

 

[Jer]

I think people have brushed us off all along as we’ve tried to demonstrate the reality, but NIL is a real issue that has real consequences. People say prices are overstated, but the fact of the matter is good players – especially ones that have demonstrated it for a year or two at the college level – go for a LOT of money. Money that we cannot right now compete with.

Now, we’ve demonstrated we can overcome SOME of that with a great culture and just enough money to wet the appetite. A guy like Omaha had high 6 digit offers and we were able to keep him with a 5 digit offer because it was enough to appease those around him. Similar with a guy like Tampa this year – he could have gone anywhere for serious money but got enough to keep him with his brothers.

That’s not going to work every time (i.e. Hunter) and there is a slippery slope to starting to lose players.

 

[brentblum]

I think people have brushed us off all along as we’ve tried to demonstrate the reality, but NIL is a real issue that has real consequences. People say prices are overstated, but the fact of the matter is good players – especially ones that have demonstrated it for a year or two at the college level – go for a LOT of money. Money that we cannot right now compete with.

Now, we’ve demonstrated we can overcome SOME of that with a great culture and just enough money to wet the appetite. A guy like Omaha had high 6 digit offers and we were able to keep him with a 5 digit offer because it was enough to appease those around him. Similar with a guy like Tampa this year – he could have gone anywhere for serious money but got enough to keep him with his brothers.

That’s not going to work every time (i.e. Hunter) and there is a slippery slope to starting to lose players.

Well said Jeremy. We've actually been spoiled a little bit because things have gone fairly smooth in the NIL world/portal since Hunter left, which hasn't raised the alarm bells for the general fanbase. Unfortunately, once the train leaves the station, it's hard to get it back in. I really don't mean to cry wolf, but if someone like Momcilovich is as good as I think he is going to be, we need some serious increase in our budgeting to keep the big dogs away. Tamin is also one that is going to have a monster year and we're taking for granted he is from Ames. On the football side, there are some dudes coming along (like Orange) that will have their pick of destinations. Just trying to get out in front before it's too late.

 

[madguy30]

I hate to kick the dust up about it but didn't Hunter also just not like ISU/Ames?

That's not to say that someone couldn't love the place but still walk for better money but I got the impression he wanted out either way.

 

[brentblum]

I hate to kick the dust up about it but didn't Hunter also just not like ISU/Ames?

That's not to say that someone couldn't love the place but still walk for better money but I got the impression he wanted out either way.

He had 800,000 reasons (supposedly) to not like Ames

 

[JP4CY]

He had 800,000 reasons (supposedly) to not like Ames

Imagine NIL during the Wes Johnson offseason...

 

[JM4CY]

He had 800,000 reasons (supposedly) to not like Ames

Are we even tickling that number of “reasons” for ANY of our NIL agreements?

 

[brentblum]

Are we even tickling that number of “reasons” for ANY of our NIL agreements?

Not even close which is why we're trying to get awareness out there without causing panic

 

[JM4CY]

Not even close which is why we're trying to get awareness out there without causing panic

10-4

Print those shirts with your face on it and that gap will start to close.

 

[Statefan10]

WTF I was told Denny Albaugh bankrolled our bball program and that's how we were getting all of these players!

 

[wxman1]

We have a lot of beer to drink...

 

[Statefan10]

Our family tailgate brings a quite large crowd and I've already sent an update to everyone saying they must come to our spot with We Will beer every Saturday or they're not invited.

 

[Cfinnerty16]

The concern is right now we are in the bottom 10 percent of power 5 collectives in fundraising.

So while yes losing a player or two in a one year window may not seem like the worst possible rebuild, the reputation of losing one of those key guys after losing one of your best players in Hunter recently would spread the word in basketball circles quickly that Iowa State doesn’t have the resources, whether fair or not.

We are really just trying to get to the middle of the Big 12 in NIL funding and TJ can do wonders from there. Every ounce of support adds up!

Jesus. I've already done 200 so far, apparently need to do more

 

[cyclones500]

I hate to kick the dust up about it but didn't Hunter also just not like ISU/Ames?

That's not to say that someone couldn't love the place but still walk for better money but I got the impression he wanted out either way.

I got a similiar impression, although never any concrete example/story to confirm it. Like it was "suggested" he didn't like it - the $ simply made it a simpler or more immediate decision.

Hunch that he didn't necessarily dislike the program itself or the coach, but overall wanted to be somewhere other than Ames.

Again, I'm speculating.

 

[CycloneErik]

He had 800,000 reasons (supposedly) to not like Ames

I'll hate Ames for half that.

 

[Nor'MidWester]

What crazy times we have right now in college athletics. No other sport requires the fan to directly pay the players salary, that said American college sports is one of a kind in the sports world.

Anyways there is little we can change about that now so we might as well embrace it as much as we can for the time being.... we've come this far it's pathetic that smaller schools with fewer fans are beating us on NIL.

 

[NorthCyd]

What crazy times we have right now in college athletics. No other sport requires the fan to directly pay the players salary, that said American college sports is one of a kind in the sports world.

Anyways there is little we can change about that now so we might as well embrace it as much as we can for the time being.... we've come this far it's pathetic that smaller schools with fewer fans are beating us on NIL.

It's dumb. This is the result of the NCAA burying its head in the sand and pretending they would never have to pay players. If they had been proactive they could have set up a more equitable system that didn't require the fans to essentially directly foot the bill. NCAA did nothing and now its the wild west.