Most of what I share here on The Impactful Coaching Project is focused on leadership, coaching, development, and the deeper work of shaping student-athletes. But this post is a little different. It is still about athletics but also higher Education and our overall perspective about it.
This week, Wichita State University Athletic Director Kevin Saal released a public appeal for another $1 million in NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) funds to support the men’s basketball program in its pursuit of becoming a top-25 team. Wichita is my hometown so I have a particular interest in this.
I like Kevin. This post isn’t about taking shots — he’s doing what the job demands at the Division I level. But when I read that letter, my first reaction was: What are we doing?
We’re talking about raising a million EXTRA dollars to pay players on a mid-major college basketball team. This is on top of what they said was an over 500% increase in NIL fundraising this year. After which, their best players entered the transfer portal to go try to make more Money elsewhere.
And I couldn’t help but wonder: what could that same money do for students across this country who are trying to earn a degree while navigating real financial need? Or, those students that can’t afford an education?
This isn’t a theoretical debate. That same million dollars could fund scholarships, provide access, and open doors for students who will go on to become teachers, civic leaders, entrepreneurs — people who will stay in their communities and contribute for the long haul.
I’m not anti-NIL. I am actually for it. If an athlete drives revenue, builds a brand, or puts people in seats, they should absolutely share in the value they help create. But let’s not pretend the current model is about name, image, or likeness at this point. With virtually zero rules on transferring or NIL, any semblance of educational value or amateur athletics is gone. What we’re seeing is recruiting inducements. It’s a roster-building tool and transactional arms race that has little to do with education. In fact, for quite awhile now, these student-athletes have been secluded from the on-campus experience with the opportunity to take predominantly online classes.
As historian J.R. Thelin once put it, college athletics is “American higher education’s ‘peculiar institution.’ Their presence is pervasive, yet their proper balance with academics remains puzzling.” He was right and probably more right than he was when he wrote that thirty years ago. Sports are embedded in campus culture — for better or worse — but somewhere along the way, the balance broke. When multi-million dollar collectives, facility arms raises, and now internal funding of student-athlete NIL payments become a university’s top fundraising priority, the mission of higher education is no longer about development, education, or even competition. It’s about short-term ROI and transactional value.
The cost of college continues to climb. And instead of pouring resources into access and opportunity, we’re funneling them into nine-month leases on athletic performance.
That’s not just unsustainable — it’s bordering on unethical.
Some argue that high-level college sports generate economic impact and community pride. Maybe. But I don’t see how paying a random collection of athletes six or seven figures to spend a season in a city (and if they play well, leave shortly thereafter) does more for that community than educating dozens of students who will live, work, and lead there for decades.
And it’s only going to escalate. Soon, the House Settlement will be final and will allow major programs to allocate over $20 million per year toward NIL.
But imagine a different approach. What if that $20 million was invested in education itself — not in some idealistic sense, but as a strategic investment in people? What if we put those dollars into access to education and teaching students to read, write, reason, and lead — building up the human infrastructure in our communities?
Public discussions about higher education often focus on political divisions and controversies at elite universities. However, that is, in reality, such a small number of our college students. There are huge numbers of regional and underfunded colleges are quietly working to promote social mobility and develop responsible citizens (and have values driven athletics).
I hope we soon see a shift where we choose to invest in students who are committed to our communities and cities—those who contribute meaningfully and plan to remain engaged long after graduation. As we see the NIL and transfer stuff unfold, I hope these are funded internally by athletic departments through revenue and they reallocate position and resources to make it happen….not through extra donations.
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