Inside Syracuse’s rough off-season: How portal misses and a lack of NIL money led to a lost year

[Jake]

And the problem is Red brought nothing and is refusing to do what is required to attract, interact with, and secure funds from those who might otherwise give.

“Refusing” is way too strong a word…

It’s certainly not his strength.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I would argue that to have instant success you need someone who brings NIL $ money with him like Fran.

I know people want to think that Fran motivated all these SU donors who were sitting by just waiting for the right coach to shower with millions, but that’s not how it works. Fran brought his own money tree that had enough IOUs on it to get his program kick started. I’m not sure how many are left on the tree. You aren’t the top recruiter in all of college football because you’re a loveable guy. It’s because you’re a dog with backers.

You accrue chits along the way for your shot. He got his shot and cashed in a lot. Now that the embers are lit, he’s got to build off that momentum.

I don’t want to bank on the next guy motivating donors. I want him to walk in with a bag full of sure things that in turn will motivate donors after success. The “belief without evidence” path is nearly impossible.

If Red doesn’t make it, I want a guy who’s a recruiting dog,who can put together a staff.

And sometimes Jupiter aligns with Mars. Mike Repole is a Johnnies alum who is very passionate about his school. He also happens to be extremely long term friends with Rick Pitino. I doubt St Johns would be 24-4 without the two of them working together. And I'm not sure Repole would fork over that money to another school if Rick was coaching elsewhere.

But, if you tell me that football and basketball NIL's can work the same, I'll believe you, but I think most of that money has to come from the deep pockets of alumni.

 

[IthacaMatt]

The Big East teams funnel all their $ to hoops. They are really well situated for success.

It makes their money go a lot farther when they have a smaller athletic dept. to support.

 

[Jake]

And sometimes Jupiter aligns with Mars. Mike Repole is a Johnnies alum who is very passionate about his school. He also happens to be extremely long term friends with Rick Pitino. I doubt St Johns would be 24-4 without the two of them working together. And I'm not sure Repole would fork over that money to another school if Rick was coaching elsewhere.

But, if you tell me that football and basketball NIL's can work the same, I'll believe you, but I think most of that money has to come from the deep pockets of alumni.

Long term absolutely.

 

[phil77]

I would argue that to have instant success you need someone who brings NIL $ money with him like Fran.

I know people want to think that Fran motivated all these SU donors who were sitting by just waiting for the right coach to shower with millions, but that’s not how it works. Fran brought his own money tree that had enough IOUs on it to get his program kick started. I’m not sure how many are left on the tree. You aren’t the top recruiter in all of college football because you’re a loveable guy. It’s because you’re a dog with backers.

You accrue chits along the way for your shot. He got his shot and cashed in a lot. Now that the embers are lit, he’s got to build off that momentum.

I don’t want to bank on the next guy motivating donors. I want him to walk in with a bag full of sure things that in turn will motivate donors after success. The “belief without evidence” path is nearly impossible.

If Red doesn’t make it, I want a guy who’s a recruiting dog,who can put together a staff.

Everyone has told me why Red had to happen and whatever I guess I understand from Syracuse's perspective easy choice etc but this approach is what needed to happen 2 years ago when the job was open. The problem is we are always so far behind. The program was already on the decline and we were in desperate need of a new vision, new ideas, and a new direction to breathe fresh life and new energy into the fan base and donors etc. The time was two years ago the longer we wait the more we fall behind. It always seems like we are just waiting for other programs to do something and then we react and catch up. Then by we time we catch up everyone has moved passed us again in another way. We are always chasing and never forward-thinking.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I would argue that to have instant success you need someone who brings NIL $ money with him like Fran.

I know people want to think that Fran motivated all these SU donors who were sitting by just waiting for the right coach to shower with millions, but that’s not how it works. Fran brought his own money tree that had enough IOUs on it to get his program kick started. I’m not sure how many are left on the tree. You aren’t the top recruiter in all of college football because you’re a loveable guy. It’s because you’re a dog with backers.

You accrue chits along the way for your shot. He got his shot and cashed in a lot. Now that the embers are lit, he’s got to build off that momentum.

I don’t want to bank on the next guy motivating donors. I want him to walk in with a bag full of sure things that in turn will motivate donors after success. The “belief without evidence” path is nearly impossible.

If Red doesn’t make it, I want a guy who’s a recruiting dog,who can put together a staff.

Great post. Thanks for the insights.

 

[IthacaMatt]

Everyone has told me why Red had to happen and whatever I guess I understand from Syracuse's perspective easy choice etc but this approach is what needed to happen 2 years ago when the job was open. The problem is we are always so far behind. The program was already on the decline and we were in desperate need of a new vision, new ideas, and a new direction to breathe fresh life and new energy into the fan base and donors etc. The time was two years ago the longer we wait the more we fall behind. It always seems like we are just waiting for other programs to do something and then we react and catch up. Then by we time we catch up everyone has moved passed us again in another way. We are always chasing and never forward-thinking.

I think if next year is a dumpster fire, Wildhack's job is in jeopardy. Or at least it should be.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Everyone has told me why Red had to happen and whatever I guess I understand from Syracuse's perspective easy choice etc but this approach is what needed to happen 2 years ago when the job was open. The problem is we are always so far behind. The program was already on the decline and we were in desperate need of a new vision, new ideas, and a new direction to breathe fresh life and new energy into the fan base and donors etc. The time was two years ago the longer we wait the more we fall behind. It always seems like we are just waiting for other programs to do something and then we react and catch up. Then by we time we catch up everyone has moved passed us again in another way. We are always chasing and never forward-thinking.

And the sad part is that some people were in denial about the program and the pitfalls surrounding it. That said, I do feel somewhat better with Alex Kline and a supposed gateway to a $50 million fund. At least, the admin isn't riding blind anymore.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

I think if next year is a dumpster fire, Wildhack's job is in jeopardy. Or at least it should be.

I agree but I don't agree. The football schedule is brutal, but if they have another good season, and the Lacrosse programs and WBB has a turnaround season, I would think Wildhack keeps his job. With Red, it's simple. Comes down to W/L. With Wildhack, I think it's more than just MBB. He had a lot of fund raising to do. If he's not successful and the above programs struggle, then it's a different story.

 

[kcsu]

I think if next year is a dumpster fire, Wildhack's job is in jeopardy. Or at least it should be.

At this point JW job is as safe as any employee at SU.

 

[richmondcuse03]

I would argue that to have instant success you need someone who brings NIL $ money with him like Fran.

I know people want to think that Fran motivated all these SU donors who were sitting by just waiting for the right coach to shower with millions, but that’s not how it works. Fran brought his own money tree that had enough IOUs on it to get his program kick started. I’m not sure how many are left on the tree. You aren’t the top recruiter in all of college football because you’re a loveable guy. It’s because you’re a dog with backers.

You accrue chits along the way for your shot. He got his shot and cashed in a lot. Now that the embers are lit, he’s got to build off that momentum.

I don’t want to bank on the next guy motivating donors. I want him to walk in with a bag full of sure things that in turn will motivate donors after success. The “belief without evidence” path is nearly impossible.

If Red doesn’t make it, I want a guy who’s a recruiting dog,who can put together a staff.

The notion of “Fran backers” is a bit overblown on this board. Fran’s biggest supporters are folks who weren’t supporting the program before for a lot of reasons but are Cuse folks. I’m sure he had some of his own network but based on the actual NIL numbers, he wasn’t pulling in some crazy figures on his own and going on a massive spending spree. He got guys for less. Meeks is a prime example of someone who could have stayed at Georgia for more but opted to take a pay cut to play. And betting on himself and Fran appears to have worked for both guys.

What Fran does bring is a massive network at the HS level and a way to facilitate connections for potential recruits. When you can hook guys up at the HS level, you earn those favors and returns down the road. But that’s not money backing. That’s just how he networks and builds relationships. The game is entirely different now and some coaches are better suited for it. Red needs to adapt.

 

[richmondcuse03]

“Refusing” is way too strong a word…

It’s certainly not his strength.

When you have to be convinced of the merits of meeting with donors during the season, you are basically refusing. Fran would bend over backwards to do that whenever for money. Red has never had to do it before and didn’t know what it took. He better adapt.

 

[kingtidge]

I agree but I don't agree. The football schedule is brutal, but if they have another good season, and the Lacrosse programs and WBB has a turnaround season, I would think Wildhack keeps his job. With Red, it's simple. Comes down to W/L. With Wildhack, I think it's more than just MBB. He had a lot of fund raising to do. If he's not successful and the above programs struggle, then it's a different story.

Not for nothing, but there has certainly been chatter that we have an Xs and Os problem on the LAX side with Gait as well...

 

[SUFan44]

Long term absolutely.

I actually disagree - I think long term, there needs to be more of an infrastructure that's sustainable through agreements with local corporations and business deals.

Donor fatigue is real - and unless we have whales who don't care and have funny money, none of this for 90% of NCAA sports is sustainable.

 

[Scooch]

Go read Bees email on how much he supported SU athletes. It was significant.

I did. Under $1 million across 8 or 9 athletes. That’s nice. I’m happy for those folks. But it’s not a ton of money in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Newhouser]

Not for nothing, but there has certainly been chatter that we have an Xs and Os problem on the LAX side with Gait as well...

Does Gait lacrosse fund the program? Not a lax guy but friends who are think we aren't well coached...at all

 

[Newhouser]

At this point JW job is as safe as any employee at SU.

I think it is too but when does someone ask about some hires that have been mixed successes on the field and off? If the guy was a Colgate grad his seat would be warmer.

 

[Red2003]

It isn’t. But there are many schools across the mid major landscape with worse NIL situations than us that are 10x better. That has nothing to do with donors.

This is not accurate. They are doing more with less but they ain’t making the tourney either unless they’re winning their conference.

 

[Red2003]

When the time comes to replace Red, that coach is going to want a functioning NIL network. You need both.

Finally some voices of reason here.

 

[kcsu]

I did. Under $1 million across 8 or 9 athletes. That’s nice. I’m happy for those folks. But it’s not a ton of money in the grand scheme of things.

It was at the time it was given.

 

[IthacaMatt]

I think there is significant hangover from the JB era. Insofar as the hoops fan base has never had to raise a nickel to be competitive.

JB was cheap and good….forever. Melo and other whales built the Melo center.

The drumbeat from the AD has always been about needing $ for football.

Now here we are and the dynamics have changed and we’ve been slow to react and somewhat disorganized. JB didn’t embrace NIL and left behind no structure whatsoever. It has to be built from scratch with a new staff and first time head coach.

SU hoops might have a huge fan base, but they’ve never been universally solicited for donations. I don’t think turning on the spigot is that easy.

Dino's whole recruiting pitch used to be focused on all the business connections SU athletes would make after graduation. He used to have a list of big success stories he would trot out to recruits.

Somebody should find Dino's list and give it to Autry.

 

[kingtidge]

Dino's whole recruiting pitch used to be focused on all the business connections SU athletes would make after graduation. He used to have a list of big success stories he would trot out to recruits.

Somebody should find Dino's list and give it to Autry.

All the alumni players he would not allow into the building??

 

[Scooch]

It was at the time it was given.

Meh, not really. Why did he never donate to SU athletics facilities? That was an urgent need for years.

 

[kcsu]

Meh, not really. Why did he never donate to SU athletics facilities? That was an urgent need for years.

I have no idea. Isn't relevant. What is relevant is that he donated more than most. Not sure why anyone wouldn't want any booster who supported Syracuse as long as it was done within the rules. Adam didn't do anything to hurt SU. You're judging him is your prerogative and you're entitled to your opinion. Just as he's entitled to spend his money as he wants.

 

[rrlbees]

Meh, not really. Why did he never donate to SU athletics facilities? That was an urgent need for years.

I still don’t follow you. Except for maybe one person, he gave a lot more to nil than anyone here. That was a good chunk of change yet people act like he should have given more. Why? Who are we to dictate how much someone should donate? And prior to nil, I have no idea where his donations were going. Could have been facilities could have been to the general AD fund. But it was athletics.