Xavier Townsend decommits

Clonefan32

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Nov 19, 2008
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I'll say this and then I'm bowing out.

There's no actual indication of NIL playing any role here. Kids changed commitments pre-NIL and will continue to with NIL. Now I'm not saying there isn't money involved sometimes. But that's no different than what the system was pre-NIL. But these are 18 year old kids that change their minds, just like they have for decades prior.

But the only reason people are claiming this kid was paid is because you want to support your narrative that NIL will be destructive to college football, and that theory is based on an idea that these kids don't deserve to be compensated for their services at a college level. And that I will always fundamentally disagree with.
 

jbhtexas

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It isn't that we didn't think it would go this route, everyone expected it to. That's why the anti-NIL were there in the first place. But there will be a necessary regulatory response in the interest of competitiveness or college football just goes away in its current form.
The states are now making their own NIL laws (generally to give maximum advantage to the schools in their states), so any kind of meaningful NIL regulations from the NCAA that could meet the legal requirements of each state law seem unlikely.

Is the US Congress going to take this on? As NIL is a matter of law now in many places, wouldn't federal laws be required to have unified NIL regulation to assure competitiveness?

I suppose the NCAA could try to regulate NIL and then fight it out with the states in the courts. Perhaps the courts would see the quagmire and rule in the favor of the NCAA.
 
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IsUaClone2

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I know that some schools have a heritage or "brand" of championship-level competitiveness in football, basketball, or whatever sport and that Iowa State is not recognized as an equal competitor to those schools. These schools tend to attract bandwagon or subway fans (tavern-hoks?) and players, whose loyalty is sports-specific and fluctuates with the standings.

Iowa State's brand, however, has long been very competitive regarding school spirit with both the fans and players. Jay Jordan wrote an article about the time he tried explain to his son what it meant to be a Cyclone as they walked into a game against an overwhelming foe and I related, perfectly.

I want to win but I do not want to do it with mercenaries that use me and lose me if a fatter cat offers more money. I understand that the NIL will make it more difficult to win a league or national championship and we should do the best we can to compete but not at the cost of losing Cyclone Spirit. Even if it isn't about the money, if a player just wants to play for someone else, I can't challenge that especially when I think of players like Allen Lazard.

We have the best fans in collegiate sports because we have had players give us everything they had - - literally and figuratively - - for Iowa State and we should appreciate it.
 
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danvillecyclone

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Iowa State needs to create its own Crypto and run it to 1000x. We all cash out and buy players.

it’s the future. Screw tradition and integrity.:rolleyes:

fyi, even the NFL has a cap…..
 

BWRhasnoAC

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They've somehow come up with money to do tens of millions worth of renovations and upgrades to the Jack and the Athletic Performance Center. We've managed to come up with enough money to keep Campbell around. But all the sudden you don't think we can drum up enough money to compete with UCF? Please. I just don't understand this concept that you think other similarly situated schools are flushed with big donors that we don't have, especially as we've committed millions and millions of dollars to football upgrades over the last 10 years.

Again, kid from Florida had a change of heart and decided to stay in Florida. Leave it at that.
UCF has more than double our enrollment.
 

AuH2O

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I'll say this and then I'm bowing out.

There's no actual indication of NIL playing any role here. Kids changed commitments pre-NIL and will continue to with NIL. Now I'm not saying there isn't money involved sometimes. But that's no different than what the system was pre-NIL. But these are 18 year old kids that change their minds, just like they have for decades prior.

But the only reason people are claiming this kid was paid is because you want to support your narrative that NIL will be destructive to college football, and that theory is based on an idea that these kids don't deserve to be compensated for their services at a college level. And that I will always fundamentally disagree with.
I think most of the NIL discussion on here is not necessarily that everybody thinks this decommit is due to NIL, it just triggered the discussion. So "can't ISU compete with UCF in an NIL world?" isn't really that important of a question. The question is, can ISU compete with any of the Big 10 and SEC in terms of NIL due to the easy ability to shift funds between donors and AD revenue? The answer is no. Can ISU compete with other Big 12, PAC and ACC schools in terms of NIL dollars? The answer is with some, but not all. So realistically we are talking about ISU probably being in the bottom 25% easily in terms of ability for players to make money. And this factor blows other financial disadvantages that have been overcome completely out of the water. We aren't talking about having bottom 25% facilities. We might be talking about a kid choosing between ISU and Iowa, and getting the same scholarship but $10,000 in cash at the latter. Just a couple grand in a similar way has shifted power in FCS with the full cost of attendance differences.
 

clonedude

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Doesn’t JP get a million per year from Mid-American Energy? Let’s use that for NIL. I’m sure that probably isn’t legal huh?

And Townsend wasn’t recruited as a WR, was he? I thought that was Adams?
 

Cyforce

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Doesn’t JP get a million per year from Mid-American Energy? Let’s use that for NIL. I’m sure that probably isn’t legal huh?

And Townsend wasn’t recruited as a WR, was he? I thought that was Adams?
I believe as a slot. My thought was receiver recruiting has shifted from big 50/50 ball guys to elite athletes that can tear up an opponent in space with a big QB that can stand in the pocket and throw darts. With multiple of these type guys you open up jets and other ways to utilize speed all over the field. Gains and Essex both have size but they also have that athleticism .
 

AlaCyclone

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It’s so annoying that so much of our fan base sees ourselves as losers who can’t possibly compete. There’s a whole lot of other schools out there besides the Bama’s, Ohio St’s and Texases of the world. No reason we can’t compete with the next tier of schools for recruits and actually try to make the NIL rules work for us.
I actually see ISU (and other similar programs) as winners who do not wish to get involved with this process of flat out bidding for players to come to their University to play football or other sports.
 

Cyclones1969

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I actually see ISU (and other similar programs) as winners who do not wish to get involved with this process of flat out bidding for players to come to their University to play football or other sports.


You really think other similar programs aren’t going to bid for players? That’s every single regional school, and every Texas school, and all the new schools.

Remember this when you think about having expectations for success in the next 3 years, and remember that when we lose because we aren’t recruiting enough good players to compete with those schools
 
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MugNight

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Since we’ve railroaded this from XT to NIL, it’s a valid concern about the future of college sports given the lack of standardization and oversight.

It’s one thing to talk about letting kids get paid to sign autographs or star in a local commercial. When it dips into compensation, that’s a whole new ballgame. I’m not saying compensation is wrong, but it opens a whole can of worms with taxes, regulations, and employee rights. None of that has been standardized from place to place.

Is there collective bargaining? What if they choose to unionize? If a player loses their scholarship, can they apply for unemployment? Does the university pay out for workers comp if someone is injured on the field? Do kids pick schools in Florida and Tennessee over Iowa or Georgia because there’s no state income tax there?

The lack of a governing body (NCAA) without any semblance of a backbone is pushing this towards a dangerous, precarious place.

Should a kid get $5,000 for a furniture store commercial? Sure. Should a kid get $1MM in vague, pseudo-endorsement money before he even steps on campus? I don’t think that’s sustainable.
 

isuno1fan

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I'll say this and then I'm bowing out.

There's no actual indication of NIL playing any role here. Kids changed commitments pre-NIL and will continue to with NIL. Now I'm not saying there isn't money involved sometimes. But that's no different than what the system was pre-NIL. But these are 18 year old kids that change their minds, just like they have for decades prior.

But the only reason people are claiming this kid was paid is because you want to support your narrative that NIL will be destructive to college football, and that theory is based on an idea that these kids don't deserve to be compensated for their services at a college level. And that I will always fundamentally disagree with.
They are compensated. It's called a scholarship. Some of you will never figure that out.
 

Cyclones1969

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Since we’ve railroaded this from XT to NIL, it’s a valid concern about the future of college sports given the lack of standardization and oversight.

It’s one we are talking about letting kids get paid to sign autographs or star in a local commercial. When it dips into compensation, that’s a whole new ballgame. I’m not saying compensation is wrong, but it opens a whole can of worms with taxes, regulations, and employee rights. None of that has been standardized from place to place.

Is there collective bargaining? What if they choose to unionize? If a player loses their scholarship, can they apply for unemployment? Does the university pay out for workers comp if someone is injured on the field? Do kids pick schools in Florida and Tennessee over Iowa or Georgia because there’s no state income tax there?

The lack of a governing body (NCAA) without any semblance of a backbone is pushing this towards a dangerous, precarious place.

Should a kid get $5,000 for a furniture store commercial? Sure. Should a kid get $1MM in vague, pseudo-endorsement money before he even steps on campus? I don’t think that’s sustainable.

It’s not sustainable for all but 10-15 programs, currently. But as the tv money gets divided into smaller and smaller pies, more teams can get into the conversation, because it will offset costs elsewhere.

jesus, Michigan State just had private donors guarantee almost $100M to a coach that has had one good season. Look at what usc gave Riley, lsu gave Kelly, Miami gave Mario, etc, all kinds of private money involved.

This stuff is going to make the old SWC look tame in comparison
 

cayin

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meanwhile Iowa just picked up another 4 star(QB). They had a big year and now it is paying off. The momentum we had in the off season against them, is gone. Got to beat them for once.
 

StPaulCyclone

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Duh!

 

MisterO

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Maybe the average fan needs to start donating their fair share and quit putting everything on our top 1% of boosters.
100% right. If we can average over 60k fans a game, we can find the people to pony up the money.
I’ve harped on this in several previous posts…but please, if you’re a fan, join the Cyclone Club, even if it’s only $100. Give and then give some more. It’s the only way folks.

*Edit
The self-defeatism on these threads is sad. We are not the same program we were 25 years ago. Our players step on the field against OU and Texas and expect to win now…our fans base should expect the same of themselves. We aren’t a bunch of poor hicks who have to take a back seat to the team out east or Nebraska. We’re bigger and stronger now and we need to act like it.
 
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Trice

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This thread is a real microcosm of the ugliness that's coming as NIL forces the college athletics arms race to accelerate even faster. Fans blaming ADs, fans blaming other fans, ADs jacking up prices to keep pace, college kids coming and going like customers at a fast food drive-thru.

The old world wasn't great but this new world really, really sucks. I fear it's going to push more people away than it will entice people to step up their support.