More Money, More Success?

Major college athletic programs are learning a lesson that the NFL and the NBA understood a long time ago: You can’t buy a championship. Except for MLB and the LA Dodgers, that fact has held true. Billionaires or corporations own most pro sports franchises with almost unlimited financial resources, yet that rarely translates to a championship.

College programs everywhere are trying to figure out the formula for NIL success. In the past three years, power conference programs have brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to fund their football and basketball programs. Early on, stories like Deion Sanders at Jackson State and Colorado were used to show the change NIL was creating. In 2024, the Indiana football team came out of nowhere and made the playoffs for the first time. The truth is, NIL money is not the driving factor in these success stories.

NIL is only a small factor in both of these cases. Deion Sanders’ ability to recruit top talent at Jackson State and later at Colorado wasn’t just about NIL deals—it was about branding, culture, and a coaching philosophy that resonated with young players. Indiana’s unexpected success in 2024 had more to do with strategic coaching hires, player development, and team cohesion rather than any blockbuster NIL deals.

If NIL money alone dictated success, then programs like Texas A&M football, Miami basketball, and Florida football would be dominating their respective sports. Instead, we’ve seen the opposite. Texas A&M had a top-ranked recruiting class in 2022, fueled by one of the most well-funded NIL collectives in the country, yet the program struggled and went through a coaching change. Florida had the infamous Jaden Rashada NIL debacle, and Miami basketball’s heavily funded roster failed to make a deep postseason run.

The reality is that NIL is just one piece of the puzzle. Coaching stability, player development, team chemistry, and program culture still play a larger role in winning championships. Programs that rely solely on NIL money to attract talent are finding that it doesn’t necessarily lead to success on the field or court.

Ultimately, the programs that will thrive in the NIL era are those that strike a balance—leveraging NIL opportunities to enhance their recruiting efforts while maintaining strong coaching, development, and culture. Schools that throw money at recruits without a clear vision for their program will continue to learn the hard way: you can’t buy a championship.

Big Money, Bad Results

Big money NIL deals may generate headlines, but its not guaranteed to generate wins. Here are a few of the biggest NIL fails over the past three years:

• 2022 Texas A&M Football - $80 million in NIL funding and the top recruiting class still led to a 5-7 record and a $77 million buyout for Jimbo Fisher

• 2023 Florida Gators - After promising $13 million to Jaden Rashada, the program imploded and finished 5-7

• 2023 Colorado Buffaloes - Even Deion’s high-powered NIL deals and transfers couldn’t create an instant winner. After a fast start, they finished 4-8

• 2023-24 Miami Hurricanes Men’s BB - $800k to Nijel Pack could help the Canes from finishing the season at 15-17

• 2024 LSU Tigers: Despite a budget of over $20 million, the Tigers finished the season 7th in the SEC at 9-4

NCAA forms “Settlement Implementation Committee” for House Settlement

This week, the Power Five Conferences along with the NCAA announced the formation of a committee to manage the implementation of the House Settlement if the judge approves the deal on April 7th. The committee is made up of two athletics directors from each conference:

• Trev Alberts, Texas A&M

• Scott Barnes, Oregon State

• Mitch Barnhart, Kentucky

• J Batt, Georgia Tech

• Ross Bjork, Ohio State

• Pat chun, Washington

• John Cunningham, Cincinnati

• Anne McCoy, Washington State

• Graham Neff, Clemson

• Desiree Reed-Francois, Arizona

The committee will be divided into four working groups covering drafting and clarifying rules to facilitate consistent compliance with all aspects of the settlement, developing a digital platform for reporting and mearement of payments make to athletes, crating a system to ensure that third-party NIL deals are legitimate, and forming a new entity to enforce these rules, empahsizing investigative procedures, penalties, accountability and timely decision-making.

You can read the entire press release HERE