The Massachusetts Collective - NIL initiative

[umasscollective]

I'm puzzled by the upsetness in a coach trying to do what's best for a player. Telling Cross to go was the right thing for Frank to do!

Long ago, when Al McGuire was coaching at Marquette, he sometimes had to advise a kid whether to turn pro. His answer was: "Go to the kid's mama's house and look and see what's in the refrigerator." That made the decision easy.

Al won the NCAA in 1977.

[Floyd]

I'm puzzled by the upsetness in a coach trying to do what's best for a player. Telling Cross to go was the right thing for Frank to do!

Long ago, when Al McGuire was coaching at Marquette, he sometimes had to advise a kid whether to turn pro. His answer was: "Go to the kid's mama's house and look and see what's in the refrigerator." That made the decision easy.

Al won the NCAA in 1977.

OC, just seems odd to complain about inability to keep players because of the portal and NIL while telling your top players they should leave.

[Floyd]

That statement blows my mind.

Same. Absolutely wild. I get that the Collective’s awkward position and need to be a good soldier and run interference on this one, but wow. Fan negativity the problem? Maybe not.

This has been common knowledge for 11 months now. And 100% the correct move for all involved. For two guys with a combined 13,035 posts on UMass Hoops, I gotta ask, how much time did you spend at McMurphy’s, Stackers, BarCis, Rafters, Mike’s West View, The Spoke, Charlie’s, or Hangar to still be shocked by this?

None. Don't live local and gave up my season tix after decades of following & supporting the team. Might have been the right move for Matt to leave, just surprising to hear him say he encouraged him to go, but complains about can't get talent. In the end, he gets paid very well to win basketball games

Yup, I post a fair amount because I follow the teams at UMass. Fan base & interest is dwindling, you should be happy there's people interested enough to engage on a fan message board. Even that is shrinking tho

[NilesGold]

Look forward to having you.

On second thought, I’m good. I’ve decided to go to McMurphy’s instead.

Post 2852

It doesn’t feel like you’re acting in good faith here. You clearly don’t like the portal or NIL and I doubt you can be convinced to support UMass’ NIL, so let’s stop pretending that if someone answers your questions anything will change.

My concern is that any efforts by the collective really need to be made in coordination with the coaching staff… but what if the staff is adamant about sticking with a failed strategy? Frank’s desire for a low-post centric offense with an emphasis on offensive rebounding and high tempo is imo highly likely to disappoint.

Despite that concern, I myself support the collective, and that will not change, albeit with what feels like a totally insubstantial amount of $. It seems to me that this whole enterprise across the NCAA depends on the backing of an ultra wealthy donor in order to actually make a difference.

[eldonabe]

Look forward to having you.

On second thought, I’m good. I’ve decided to go to McMurphy’s instead.

Post 2852

It doesn’t feel like you’re acting in good faith here. You clearly don’t like the portal or NIL and I doubt you can be convinced to support UMass’ NIL, so let’s stop pretending that if someone answers your questions anything will change.

My concern is that any efforts by the collective really need to be made in coordination with the coaching staff… but what if the staff is adamant about sticking with a failed strategy? Frank’s desire for a low-post centric offense with an emphasis on offensive rebounding and high tempo is imo highly likely to disappoint.

Despite that concern, I myself support the collective, and that will not change, albeit with what feels like a totally insubstantial amount of $. It seems to me that this whole enterprise across the NCAA depends on the backing of an ultra wealthy donor in order to actually make a difference.

And this (Niles) is just another example of why this is a flawed and broken system. Everything - EV-ER-Y-TH-ING starts and stops with money.

[JoleonLescottsHair]

Look forward to having you.

On second thought, I’m good. I’ve decided to go to McMurphy’s instead.

Post 2852

It doesn’t feel like you’re acting in good faith here. You clearly don’t like the portal or NIL and I doubt you can be convinced to support UMass’ NIL, so let’s stop pretending that if someone answers your questions anything will change.

No, I don’t like the portal or NIL. But if an adjacent interest of the program I support is asking for money and the coach of the same program is encouraging players to leave, it is reasonable to ask for an accounting and strategy. Nobody has to answer. And, the Collective has regularly extended invites (which I have respected), so it seems equally reasonable to ask questions if the ultimate ask is membership and donations. Finally, it is conceivable that a well thought out fundraising and transparent distribution plan could, in fact, overcome doubts about NIL. So, you call that “not acting in good faith.” I call that caring about the direction of a program I love and not tossing money away because “the landscape has changed.”

[umasscollective]

On second thought, I’m good. I’ve decided to go to McMurphy’s instead.

Post 2852

It doesn’t feel like you’re acting in good faith here. You clearly don’t like the portal or NIL and I doubt you can be convinced to support UMass’ NIL, so let’s stop pretending that if someone answers your questions anything will change.

No, I don’t like the portal or NIL. But if an adjacent interest of the program I support is asking for money and the coach of the same program is encouraging players to leave, it is reasonable to ask for an accounting and strategy. Nobody has to answer. And, the Collective has regularly extended invites (which I have respected), so it seems equally reasonable to ask questions if the ultimate ask is membership and donations. Finally, it is conceivable that a well thought out fundraising and transparent distribution plan could, in fact, overcome doubts about NIL. So, you call that “not acting in good faith.” I call that caring about the direction of a program I love and not tossing money away because “the landscape has changed.”

Hope to see you tonight! If not, 3/25.

[NilesGold]

And this (Niles) is just another example of why this is a flawed and broken system. Everything - EV-ER-Y-TH-ING starts and stops with money.

Welcome to capitalism. We had a quaint system in place for a while I guess. Then for a while the money was there but a lot of it was happening out of view of the fans and the athletes were not getting that much of it. Now it’s a lot more out in the open and the athletes are starting to get a higher share of it.

[Old Cage]

Steph Curry and an "eight figure fund" for Davidson:

https://www.davidson.edu/news/2025/03/1 ... basketball

Curry will be an assistant general manager for Davidson basketball.

One of the first good reasons I have seen for us slinking off to the MAC.

[NilesGold]

^ Like I said, this is a game that now seems funded and ultimately decided, by the ultra wealthy.

[Plano Minuteman]

^ Like I said, this is a game that now seems funded and ultimately decided, by the ultra wealthy.

When you get a Calipari at UMass or Few at Gonzaga, you can make some exceptions to that. Consistent winning begets donations/winning.

[umasscollective]

Well attended member meeting tonight with over 40 folks.

New season starts tomorrow!

Looking forward to our next meeting 3/25 with Ryan Bamford as well.

[MikeUMA]

^
Another thank you for doing what you do, especially at a time when the record is not where any of us want it to be. It makes your job harder at a time where we need to turn things around.

[doubledribble]

Cal on NIL

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/15StQr ... tid=wwXIfr

[Uminuteman]

Let all the money in. Just reinstate that you sit out a year if you transfer and you get 5 years to play 4. It's that simple, but it won't happen.