It is not a secret that NIL changed the entire landscape of collegiate athletics. Money — now more than ever — has a direct impact on the ability to recruit top talent, which has a direct impact on success.
However, the model is not sustainable.
Minnesota’s official NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes, presented an unfortunate reality of the challenges that stem from the contrast between athlete compensation and things like facility upgrades. Donors are far more likely to contribute more money to the latter. But the former is perhaps more important today.
Take Robert and Sandra Klas for example!
They gave more than $1 million to the Golden Gopher Fund for a new football stadium. Their generosity has also helped to fund other similar projects over the last few decades. It was very easy to give to something tangible.
NIL created a new decision.
The Klases could either continue to give to the athletic department through the university or start giving to the athletes through the collective. They told the Star Tribune that there is room for both, on something of a trial basis.
The world is full of people who are partially in with the one toe in the water and let’s see how things play out. I’m not going to be a guy who talks about it — and I’m not saying I’ll be the biggest donor — but I’ll do what I can. Other people can make up their own decisions.
— Robert Klas, via the Star Tribune
Dinkytown Athletes hopes to raise $5 million this year. Klas and a few other similar donors are the driving force behind that number. Trying to assemble a larger roster of prominent financial contributors has been tough. There is a frustrating correlation between money, age, and NIL.
Minnesota’s collective co-founder, Rob Gag, explained the difficulty in its most simple terms.
I am used to failure … with sales my whole life. I have never had nos like I did with NIL. People are warming up to it but the people you need to sell, the demographic, is over 65.
They have the most money. They are just slow to warm on it.
— Rob Gag, via the Star Tribune
It is difficult to show the older generation how NIL money has an equal or greater impact on success when compared to things like facilities in the modern era. Dinkytown Athletes (and collectives all over the country) is working hard to show the Golden Gophers’ most prominent donors that their entity goes hand-in-hand with the university. Even if it doesn’t look that way from the outside.
The number of boosters did not increase by a huge margin. Those boosters didn’t contribute a lot more money. Their donations are mostly level year over year.
Minnesota, and Dinkytown, have to figure out how to disperse it.