Getty Image
The world of NIL has completely changed the landscape of college athletics. Now, donors and supporters are able to throw their hard-earned cash down to help sway recruits to attend their schools.
Some programs are willing to pay a little more than others (cough… Texas A&M.. cough), and the more money you’ve got, the more you’re able to influence the impact on recruiting.
The Maryland Terrapins appear to be playing the NIL game to the best of their ability, using possibly their most notable donor to court highly ranked prospects.
The Terps haven’t been relevant in the college football scene for two decades. Since joining the Big Ten, they’ve suffered through six losing seasons in nine years. Since 2003, they’ve tallied more than seven wins in a season just once.
Maryland donors are looking to change that by rolling out the red carpet for potential signees.
On Wednesday, the founder of Under Armour was spotted chatting it up with a pair of local prospects that could help change the trajectory of the program. Those players were five-star edge rusher Nyckoles Harbor and four-star offensive lineman Oluwatosin Babalade. Both are considered top 250 recruits, with Harbor ranking as one of the top 20 players in his class.
Kevin Plank is an alum of the university, and he appears eager to get the program back to relevance. The former Under Armour CEO is doing his part to bring talent to College Park.
That’s ruffled some feathers with other programs (most notably, South Carolina) who also use Under Armour as they’re contracted apparel company. Both of these players have been top targets for the Gamecocks, with Babalade being committed to the university up until this week. Some other top UA schools include Texas Tech and Auburn.
Nyckoles Harbor & Oluwatosin Babalade at the Maryland basketball game earlier this evening with Under Armour founder Kevin Plank. It’s past time to get out of the Under Armour contract. pic.twitter.com/DK825XYmon
— Myles Ayer (@myles_ayer) December 15, 2022
But with Plank no longer involved with the management of the company, there’s not much reason to be upset. He’s using his personal money to donate to the program, and if the roles were reversed, I’m sure those upset fans would gladly take the support.
It’s something that comes with the territory, like we see with Nike founder Phil Knight at Oregon. It’s the name of the game in college recruiting. We’ll see if Plank’s involvement on the NIL scene is able to boost the status of Maryland football.