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John Calipari and Mark Stoops Validated, College Leaders Calling For Retroactive NIL Punishments

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3 years ago

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UK Athletics/Britney Howard

Due to the lack of guidelines, name, image, and likeness has seemingly transformed college athletics into “pay for play”, and in certain ways, can be compared to free agency in professional sports.

Just recently, there have been situations such as Miami basketball star Isaiah Wong providing an ultimatum of a transfer after demanding more NIL compensation, a multi-million dollar bidding war for Pittsburgh star wide receiver Jordan Addison, and a Tennessee football quarterback commit who has an $8 million dollar NIL deal awaiting.

These athletes aren’t to blame, they are just playing by and trying to capitalize on NIL, using the rules that have been given.

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In the past week, both John Calipari and Mark Stoops have reiterated their support for NIL. However, they have cited that they will choose to do it the right and legal way, while criticizing the NIL collectives that have been formed to practically create the best teams that their money can buy.

These comments were responded with many fans calling for Calipari and Stoops to recruit in the same fashion as schools with large collectives, but it looks like they will be on the right side of college athletic history.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger, college leaders are pushing the NCAA to investigate recruiting violations dating back to the start of NIL and create guidelines going forward.

As the current rules are written, the NCAA rules state that boosters are not allowed to pay players directly or be part of a university’s recruiting process. However, the majority of these collectives are spearheaded by intelligent people that are skirting vague NCAA guidelines, with many protected by state laws, and in some areas with legislation being created to empower such behavior.

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While it may take months or even years to investigate recruiting violations, as indicated by past and current investigations, the NCAA is reportedly in the process of finalizing NIL guidelines which are expected to be published next week.

Passing the guidelines is one step, but the NCAA must enforce them, which could be proven to be a challenge. In the past, NCAA enforcement has been less than willing to enforce existing rules, and the organization may not be equipped to do so after laying off 15-20 employees due to COVID.

Despite the guidelines being confirmed to be written, there is still a lot of uncertainty on what the results will be. On a positive note, it looks the NCAA and the college leaders are on the same page, which is promising when it comes to the regulation of NIL.

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Kentucky Athletic Collectives Rank 11th of 16 Teams in SEC, Bring in over $11 Million

Published

2 weeks ago

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December 10, 2024

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Kentucky ranks 11th of 16 SEC teams in collective fundraising.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

For better or for worse of college sports, NIL is here to stay and it certainly gives an advantage to schools with more money. Just looking at the SEC alone, collectives raised more than $200 million in the 2023-24 fiscal year. Unfortunately, Kentucky is ranked in the lower half of that.

According to documents from the House v. NCAA proposed settlement, Kentucky raised $11,254,204 from athletics collectives for the 2023-24 fiscal year. That ranks 11th of the 15 public universities in the SEC and is just more than half of the top collective, Texas who raised over $22 million.

Full Rankings

Rank
School NameCollective Funding
1Texas22,272,474
2LSU20,137,141
3Georgia18,326,566
4Texas A&M17,228,714
5Alabama15,995,406
6Florida15,802,237
7Oklahoma14,817,595
8Tennessee11,602,164
9Auburn11,588,953
10Arkansas11,544,039
11Kentucky11,254,204
12S. Carolina9,554,700
13Ole Miss8,872,378
14Missouri7,146,859
15Mississippi St.6,467,166
NRVanderbiltNot Available (Private School)

While collective funding is low, Kentucky has been a top 20 athletic program in total revenue, partly thanks to being a school that profits from its basketball program. Looking ahead to 2025, Kentucky is expected to stay in the top 20 nationally in athletic revenue, fifth in the SEC by bringing in an estimated 131,139,792. Ahead of programs like Georgia, LSU, Florida, and Tennessee.

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With revenue sharing coming in the near future, even more money is going to be involved in roster and program building. Schools in the Big Ten and SEC have an even bigger advantage due to their new TV deals, giving them up to an extra $70 million or more.

A new era of college sports is here. It’s time to prepare and embrace it.

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Kentucky Wide Receiver Calls for “A Lot” More Leadership and Accountability from Staff

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Stoops walks onto the field before the game against the Louisville Cardinals.
Jordan Prather | Imagn

A poor offensive line. Inconsistent quarterback play. A lot of things led to Kentucky football’s abysmal 2024 season. However, they had the talent to finish better than 4-8, only defeating one power opponent this season. So what could have helped?

Kentucky wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin was asked that question after the Wildcats’ loss to Louisville on Saturday. To his credit, he answered honestly and professionally.

“A lot more leadership,” Maclin said. “Holding guys accountable for things. A lot more discipline for all the guys… All around, players and coaches. We’re still a team, I don’t want to point at any one person or specific group. All around we need better leadership.”

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Maclin is a junior and could return for another season. Despite talking about Kentucky taking the next step, he has not made his decision and will be returning home to talk to his family to do so. If Maclin does return, it sounds like Kentucky will have a leader in the receiving room.

Despite being a 1,000-yard receiver at North Texas, Maclin was not targeted often. However, on his 13 receptions, he caught four for touchdowns, the most of any receiver on the team.

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Kentucky Player Seen At Concession Stand During Kentucky’s 41-14 Loss to Louisville

Published

3 weeks ago

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December 2, 2024

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A Kentucky football player was seen at buying food from the concession stand in Kentucky's 41-14 loss to Louisville.

Kentucky’s on-field product against Louisville was poor to say the least, sending 99% of Wildcat fans home early. It even sent an injured player from the sideline to get a snack…

Yes, offensive lineman Gerald Mincey, one of Kentucky’s most expensive transfer portal additions, was seen at one of the concession stands at Kroger Field during Kentucky’s 41-14 defeat.

Watching a 4-8 team is bad, but even worse to do on an empty stomach.

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Mincey is a senior and will not be returning next season, but it is nice to see him reinvesting some money back into the program.

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