UT’s NIL program - The Vol Club

[ThanksMurphy]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

 

[Rememberthelate90s]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

Not my place. Others will do it. Folks that make more than I can pay for kids to play a sport. I believe a 250k ed is good payment for players. How do I know you all aren't taking too much imo that should go to players. I'm not here for you to get rich.

Maybe that's a start.

 

[ThanksMurphy]

Not my place. Others will do it. Folks that make more than I can pay for kids to play a sport. I believe a 250k ed is good payment for players. How do I know you all aren't taking too much imo that should go to players. I'm not here for you to get rich.

Maybe that's a start.

Fair enough. 90% of the Individual memberships fees go directly to the players. However, I understand that NIL is not a concept everyone will want to participate in.

 

[ropin4gold]

I joined up this year and will renew. Went to a couple of tailgates and had a good time with plenty of good food and drinks. Got to mingle with former football players and current bball and baseball players it was a good time. FWIW $25/mo isn’t a very heavy lift to support something I care about and I’m proud to be able to contribute to the success of our program.

 

[Brave Volunteer]

Tell them it has to go to a CB coach.

Fyp.

 

[OldandStillaVol]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

I joined this past year. I’m not happy about current state of college football but I recognize there is no going back to “the old days” whenever those happened to be. NIL is an influential factor in how strong a football program a school has. I decided I had two choices, join the collective at a level I was comfortable with, or don’t join and accept that Tennessee would never compete at the highest level of college football. I certainly understand some fans can’t afford to join or are fundamentally opposed to NIL. One of the reasons I like volnation is that everyone gets to express their opinions and I like to read both sides.

 

[utvolpj]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

I've been a member for a while and have bought several items (shirts, signed pics, etc). I understand the purpose and why UT needs to have this in place. Some of the hesitancy around giving more would be due to transparency and accountability of the funds. When I give money to UT or UTAD I have a decent idea where it's going and can see what's happening. With VC money I assume the best but there's no real way to know.

We're out of town so we don't benefit much from tailgates and such. We do make bowls and some away games so events there might be nice. We usually purchase tickets for the UT alumni ones when we're in hostile territory.

 

[tbh]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

I don't have any doubts that y'all are on the up and up, in terms of managing the money. You and several other posters who seem to be heavily involved in the Vol Club seem like good folks.

That said, I'm fundamentally opposed to the combination NIL/transfer portal system in its current state, and refuse to support that two-headed monster. I attend every home game (plus an away game or two on occasion), spend at the stadium (Petro's for the win), etc. Plainly, I don't see any good reason to throw money toward individual mercenaries looking for a payday (who happen to wear orange and white for a season or two) and who have shown they are only part of the team as long as the NIL money keeps flowing.

I noted that another poster said something along the lines of things moving towards just cheering for the uniform, and I'd take it a step further and suggest that perhaps names no longer need to be on the backs of jerseys. If a student athlete is on the Hill because he wants to be there, awesome. If he's there only for a payday for playing a game, no thanks...I don't care how many stars he has by his name. The system has fundamentally changed college sports in a negative way, in my opinion, and I'm not going to support that system.

 

[kcvols1]

I joined up this year and will renew. Went to a couple of tailgates and had a good time with plenty of good food and drinks. Got to mingle with former football players and current bball and baseball players it was a good time. FWIW $25/mo isn’t a very heavy lift to support something I care about and I’m proud to be able to contribute to the success of our program.

This is where I’m at. Glad I have company!

I do have questions though about the VC’s work on obtaining sponsorship agreements for blocks of players and how it determines which players receive which opportunities.

It feels like VC is in the shoes of representing its business marketing partners on one end, and representing the players’ business interests on the other. How do y’all avoid the natural conflicts of interest that come with that repetitive transactional position in the Knoxville market?

What % of NIL deals are independently negotiated without collectives by contrast?

Also, I’m curious whether there is any attempt at compliance with NCAA rules regarding NIL contract portability and avoiding pay for play? My sense is that it’s on the back burner with the identity of a relevant regulatory authority in some doubt. My hesitation is that if someone is watching that moves into that authority vacuum effectively in the medium term, will UT get hung out to dry or held up as a positive example?

I pray y’all are doing the work to ensure it will be the latter.

 

[ThanksMurphy]

It is a rather complex dance and Hunter, James, Brandon, Crocket and others, do it well. Hunter takes it a step further in that he helped form the TCA (The Collative Association) which is a group of collectives that work together to protect the interests of the student athletes while establishing guidelines that collectives should follow to avoid making a mess of the new realities. A team of legal experts help them avoid breaking any NCAA rules.
We do work with many corporations and businesses to help leverage the athlete's NIL. This is something most athlete's don't have time to do for themselves. Spyre (TVC) do a great job of removing this burden from the athlete's busy schedule.

 

[northknoxvol]

I suffered thru the Club Gitmo years and that is enough clubbing for me.

 

[ThanksMurphy]

I suffered thru the Club Gitmo years and that is enough clubbing for me.

It was those years that motivated me the most to get involved directly with the NIL collective. I was fed-up with hoping someone else would help to solve the problem. Hunter, James, Brandon have all told me the same thing motivate them. They are the real hero's and visionaries here and I 1000% trust that they are doing everything they can to make UT a top tier program again!

 

[J C Higgins]

Out of curiosity, what are factors that motivate you to join The Volunteer Club. Also, what factors make you hesitant to join the volunteer club? I am really looking for good feedback here. Thanks.

I'm an alumnus and have given generously to The UT Foundation for many years. However, I haven't supported the athletic department financially so
this is my way of doing that.

And not insignificantly, I like to feel good. And one thing that makes me feel good is to see our athletic teams win. Hopefully my contribution will help make that happen.

 

[Orange.]

NIL helps us win.

Everyone who wants to state their opinion that NIL is bad, along with all your reasons not to donate, please post your opinions freely on all our rivals boards. Post them as often as you can. Talk back at their NIL reps. Dig your heels in!

You still get to state your opinion freely -- and you help us win at the same time!

This is the logical way to help our team and say your piece.

 

[tbh]

NIL helps us win.

Everyone who wants to state their opinion that NIL is bad, along with all your reasons not to donate, please post your opinions freely on all our rivals boards. Post them as often as you can. Talk back at their NIL reps. Dig your heels in!

You still get to state your opinion freely -- and you help us win at the same time!

This is the logical way to help our team and say your piece.

I'll state my opinion freely and say my piece here, thanks. I'm not trying to change anyone's mind one way or the other. @ThanksMurphy genuinely asked for feedback and opinions (likely knowing they'd get a range of responses), and that is admirable. Providing them with an honest response in good faith seems reasonable, right?

 

[ThanksMurphy]

I have been helping to increase membership now for a little over a year. What I have found is that each and every person is unique in their reasons to support or not support. I love this feedback. It helps me refine my approach and messaging.

 

[AllVol77]

For me it was a few things:

1. For good or for bad, NIL is a factor going forward in the success of college football teams. As our team was in the wilderness for a long time, The Vol Club seems to be an opportunity to help us get back to a prominent level.

2. It will be tough for any team that doesn't have a well-funded collective. Smaller-donation tiers allow more people to participate. Essentially, we can't all be 10K bag-men, but we can crowd-source NIL funding at $25/month, or whatever level folks are comfortable with. I'm glad that's an option.

3. The tailgates and special events are a nice perk and very much appreciated.

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

I look at NIL like I look at coaching salaries and training facilities.

I'm not a believer that paying guys millions to coach "student-athletes" is good for college football. It's pretty ridiculous, but I'm supportive because that's where the game has evolved at the level UT plays.

I'm not a believer that having incredibly high tech training, rehab facilities and multi-thousand dollar locker rooms and lounges and all that excess is good for college football either, but I'm supportive because keeping up with the schools who recruit the level of athletes UT does requires those showy, cushy facilities. Again, it's how the game has evolved at the big-time level UT plays.

NIL is a similar evolution of the game that I don't think is good for college football but UT either develops a strong coaching staff, top notch facilities and locker rooms, AND a high efficiency NIL program or we will lose consistently on Saturday.

As fans and supporters, we expect the players to endure a lot of training, practice, and pain to achieve success. I should take my share of unpleasantness also.

 

[Rebel VOL]

I joined the VIP membership exclusively for the tailgates, and I have enjoyed all of them even went to the citrus full tailgate, which was fun. I would highly recommend anybody that wants an easy fun tailgate to join the vol club. The other perks of memorabilia is nice also.

 

[ThanksMurphy]

I joined the VIP membership exclusively for the tailgates, and I have enjoyed all of them even went to the citrus full tailgate, which was fun. I would highly recommend anybody that wants an easy fun tailgate to join the vol club. The other perks of memorabilia is nice also.

Glad you enjoyed the tailgate in Orlando. It was a lot of work getting the RV's and tailgate trailer down there and setting up, cooking the food and breaking down everything.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Any dollar spent should be viewed as an investment. I agree with many posters here and elsewhere in their concerns about: (1) the increasing nature of demands from players and their families. The Slippery Slope, as some call it; (2) the apparent fallacy of the valuation metrics being publicly broadcast (i.e. On3); although not sure how much of that the Volunteer Club relies on as I hear, it's not too much of a factor as TVC apparently does its own valuations. I could be wrong; and (3) there are lots of struggling fans that this might upset, when they're already spending so much more on tickets, $14 Miller Lites, and all than ever before, in an economy with an increasing individual debt load.

However, and again, every dollar spent should be viewed as an investment. I was hesitant for a long time and, occasionally, downright salty about the direction college football is headed. Nonetheless, I recently pulled the trigger and joined TVC within the past couple of weeks for the following reasons:

(1) I choose to invest in what I love. Outside of people both living and no longer, UT Football is something I love more than most. While I may not be a high-level current donor, I do plan to increase my contribution over time.
(2) I want to see UT succeed;
(3) This, whether I like it or not (mainly not), is the way College Football is both operated and won now. Either I get with the times or the times get me.
(4) Other schools are expanding their war chest at the same time and, while, many of the dollars percentage-wise are likely currently from big donors; there's no greater power than that of the Orange-clad masses collectively putting together their two cents to eventually take over UGA and Bama.
(5) While it may currently be the most free market of any market in America right now, that is opportunity. It's the Gold Rush in California. We are at a precipice in football where the economic concept of Economies of Scale is kicking in like never before. Those with money and increasing pools of it, will continue to win and continue to separate from those without and with decreasing pools, who will decline in competitiveness. Any organization willing to pay its talent at a better rate than its competitors will, over time, acquire greater in quality and quantity of talent.

Thanks for all you do, including weathering the storm and wading through the unchartered waters of the NIL world.

Go Big Orange!

Very well said!

 

[OldandStillaVol]

Glad you enjoyed the tailgate in Orlando. It was a lot of work getting the RV's and tailgate trailer down there and setting up, cooking the food and breaking down everything.

Thanks for all the organizing and hard work. Three in our family were there and we had a good time. My teenage daughter who isn’t a football fan said afterwards, “maybe we need to get up to Tennessee to see the Vols”.

 

[volfan102455]

Not my place. Others will do it. Folks that make more than I can pay for kids to play a sport. I believe a 250k ed is good payment for players. How do I know you all aren't taking too much imo that should go to players. I'm not here for you to get rich.

Maybe that's a start.

My feelings as well. I am all about donating to a fund that is used to support the education of students, whether they be athletes or not. I also am open for dollars going to upgrade facilities on campus, be those educational or athletic. But I feel the education, athletic training, exposure, these players get is a fair payment in return for their time.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Why isn't TV revenue paying for the talent?

I'm not opposed to contributing but with all of the realignment and billion dollar TV deals it seems odd to have Joe six-pack paying for kids to get national exposure and an education.

Because other fanbases will. It really is that simple.

So, either the fans of a team (any team) make small contributions in large numbers, or watch the talent playinf for teams wearing other colors.

 

[Mccage]

Maybe one day the networks will start liking us again. They have the deep pockets!