Is Triumph just another layer of bureaucracy that is taking money from
the athletes? I am not familiar with them and wonder just what their cut is, and who is overseeing them and auditing them and making sure they are not just pocketing a bunch of money that is intended for the athletes. Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but I hate to think NIL has just turned into another way for adults to make money off these athletes.
32 Replies
1y
Its in existing for 4 years at least. Its current business. Its not a money pool, but monetarizing players asset value on the market. YEs, players are valued assets, not just a bunch of kids playing ball. Its an enterprise and many have been in this since 8th grade.
Brand management is a profession and it requires expertise, not some secretary and budget office. you have to staff it with professionals, who also develop system for valuing players, and negotiations and also transitioning those rights with marketeers and agents. Actually Triumph is very streamlined in overhead, many in the SEC is like a huge advertising firms.
For many of average folks, they dont see the world in the sense of property ad rights management.
(In response to this post by 39hokies)
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TDVick
1y
No, we do not. Should we? Is that too high a bar to reach (middle of the pack)? No it should not.
If we are short on money, then by how much? The ass-scratching and the dodging of hard questions needs to end - NOW!
If any team in the ACC had upside from the new NIL framework it should be VT. We have typically had less talented rosters. We should be able to grab a couple guys that are #6-10 at FSU or some other school that has ballers and that would be a talent upgrade. I just want us to get to a middle tier roster, but we probably have the least talented roster in the conference.
(In response to this post by 39hokies)
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sbarron
1y
AMEN!
We should not be this bad at basketball.
(In response to this post by TDVick)
1y
in your stellar coaching career, you've experienced losing your SENIOR, EXPERIENCED, pg before the season begins, and you got your 2 inexperienced pgs. ready by the start of the season? And of course you lost your top 7 players with the most experiene to graduation and the portal, and you had 7 new players ready to play as a unit the 1st game?
Just want to make sure you've accomplished this as a head coach, and you didn't dodge hard questions from anyone?
Just making sure you didn't sit around "ass scratching".
Maybe think a bit before posting about wanting answers now. It's a lot more complicated than you believe solving this team's problems should be.
Yes, I'm frustrated too, but overnight fixes don't happen in most college sports, and NIL and the portal make it even harder to keep a team's continuity year to year.
(In response to this post by sbarron)
1y
Posters like you demand black and white answers when there are none. Losing Miller is the primary reason this team is 3-6 and not 6-3, or 7-2. In addition, CMY lost their top 7 players from last year's squad. Lots of new faces and very little experience with the exception of Poteat and the transfers. The NIL money managers don't have to disclose the amount they collect. The only way anyone outside of the programs knows how much is when loose lips or the player discloses the amount they are getting.
VT has the smallest NIL for basketball in the ACC. Miami's NIL is 2-3 times that of VT and their record so far is gasp!! 3-6. Look back at some of GC34's answers to questions and you will learn some of what is actually happening within the VT men's basketball program. The man knows hoops and esp. VT hoops. I've learned a great deal from his posts!!
(In response to this post by TDVick)
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TDVick
1y
be done to shrink the gap. But he doesn't do that.
And this last part isn't a rant.
Is it because Blacksburg is such a small market relative to Boston and Pittsburgh?
Is it because the fans donate less?
There are problems that are hard to fix, but twiddling your thumbs, watching Field of Dreams reruns because you played baseball once or focusing on low payback women's sports isn't the smart course of action. If there is a problem to fix, he needs to articulate it.
People are left to blindly speculate and use conjecture.
If he owned up to the situation, people would have more respect for him.
** Edited by TDVick at 12/9/2024, 12:18:53 AM
(In response to this post by ancient alien 2018)
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DCL
1y
ACC team. We also have no guess especially PG who has far more turnovers than Assists this year. Miller not playing killed us because we have a marginal DI point guard leading us through 9 games and the inability to handle the ball is killing us
(In response to this post by TDVick)
1y
ACC teams. You forget VT has a former 4* signed by Duke playing. You act like this team should be playing in mid february form, when the top 7 players from last season left.
(In response to this post by DCL)
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TDVick
1y
year's team get pirated away and we asked ourselves, "Is this part of a coherent plan? or did Whit get caught watching the paint dry once again. Maybe Ryan Jones getting healthy would help, but this roster situation looked really bad to most of us once the portal opened last year and it seems to have turned out worse than we expected.
Can you see how this sort of looks bad to a lot us and this looks like par for the course with VT for the last decade - and we are sick of it. If it is not a Whit problem, then it is a broader VT problem.
** Edited by TDVick at 12/9/2024, 7:39:37 AM
(In response to this post by ancient alien 2018)
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TDVick
1y
strides compared to previous games. I just want us to get off the bottom in NIL. I'm not worried about Mike Young, and I will read GC34's post. I just want to see things fixed and us to have a good product.
I just see us being behind the curve in so many areas. We should have a bunch of computer science kids paper trade fantasy sports and they would get better results.
Lawal is a badass but he is still pretty raw. But yes, a guy like him is a really good addition.
Your words...
VT has the smallest NIL for basketball in the ACC. Miami's NIL is 2-3 times that of VT and their record so far is gasp!! 3-6. Look back at some of GC34's answers to questions and you will learn some of what is actually happening within the VT men's basketball program. The man knows hoops and esp. VT hoops. I've learned a great deal from his posts!!
** Edited by TDVick at 12/9/2024, 12:20:03 AM
(In response to this post by ancient alien 2018)
1y
In the beginning they took nothing. But since then, they have hired Mitch, and at the very least, Mitch has a salary. But the vast majority of what Triumph brings in goes to the athletes.
(In response to this post by 39hokies)
1y
out of nowhere the instant NIL became legal. And if there is one thing I know, companies don't form overnight unless a bunch of people are figuring to make some money. I think people should be allowed to see the data, just like charities have to report their data.
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)
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saret
1y
but, we really don't know. We don't know his salary, don't know the overhead costs, don't know who is making the decisions re: who gets how much, etc. The opaqueness itself is anathema to building trust. Kind of like the AthDept. I'm not trying to be confrontational, just detailing the reality of the situation.
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)
1y
Is it the paid person Mitch? Is it a non paid high roller? Is it Whit? Who is in control?
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)
1y
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
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TDVick
1y
decision maker?
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
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saret
1y
But overall, I think your assumption is correct.
(In response to this post by TDVick)
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VTCALS72
1y
So far Whit, Brent nor anyone else officially with VT are supposed to have anything to do with whom Triumph offers or how much. Now we know that is incorrect but that is the "official" position as it stands today isn't it"
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
1y
"So far Whit, Brent nor anyone else officially with VT are supposed to have anything to do with whom Triumph offers or how much.",
So Mike Young decides he wants a point guard, and he goes and recruits Johnny Fourstar. But he isn't allowed to tell the NIL folks that Johnny Fourstar is his top priority and that they should spend more on him than someone else he is recruiting. Or trying to get to transfer? And it's possible that the NIL people might make a bigger offer to a forward, Billy Threestar, because they don't know any better?
There has to be some sort of communication and direction from the coach in terms of how this money is being spent, doesn't there?
(In response to this post by VTCALS72)
1y
...and what are their qualifications to do that?
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
And there lies the problem with NIL. Zero transparency. Damned if I’m going
to give my hard earned money to [enter any athlete’s name] so he can drive his Hummer/Mustang/Porsche around South Beach, Oxford, Nashville, etc. Have said it before, but you’d never hire a financial advisor, give him your money, without the understanding of who/what/where, but that’s exactly what were asked to do within the current NIL framework. I guess I should be glad that some of you have F.U. money to throw into NIL, b/c I don’t.
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
1y
There are other choices in Group of 5 of FCS
While the Power 4 schools will move on, and some who dont want to ride the train, just moves away and new supporters or businesses take up the space., Just like the NFL
This is not charity, or club
(In response to this post by BackInTheBurg)
It’s also not, “just like the NFL.” Those players are under contract and
terms are disclosed.
(In response to this post by 1947Sunbowl)
1y
The NFL has contracts, CBA, tampering rules, etc.
(In response to this post by BackInTheBurg)
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TDVick
1y
ok and aren't bricking it like VT. So maybe to your point it is a broad problem, but it is being handled much better elsewhere that Whit isn't the AD.
(In response to this post by BackInTheBurg)
1y
I assume all 9 are getting paid. That would be quite a bit of money, not to mention all their overhead.
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)
1y
KJ and Brenden aren't officially with Triumph anymore if I recall correctly. Brenden has been gone a while...KJ left last year maybe.
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)
Correct. Hill has been gone for like two years.
(In response to this post by vthokieq)
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saret
1y
to some posters, you've got to bring receipts.
(In response to this post by Will Stewart)