IU had a phenomenal season BUT

[MichaelRR]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

 

[Tammany Hall]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

The revenue share is capped, so larger schools won't have more funds for buying players. The capped rev share will actually help smaller schools.

As for the rest, okay yea becoming a consistent top-10 team is very difficult. More realistic is continuing to tick up our NIL and hopefully become a consistent top-25 program that is sort of like an Iowa in scale, and every few years making a run to maybe get in the playoff.

 

[MichaelRR]

The revenue share is capped, so larger schools won't have more funds for buying players. The capped rev share will actually help smaller schools.

As for the rest, okay yea becoming a consistent top-10 team is very difficult. More realistic is continuing to tick up our NIL and hopefully become a consistent top-25 program that is sort of like an Iowa in scale, and every few years making a run to maybe get in the playoff.

And schools like Alabama (hell the whole SEC), OSU, and Michigan that were paying players under the table before NIL will play fair by the new rules? I very much doubt that.

But you do get the gist of what I was talking about. Certainly IU is headed up,but the climb is much more arduous than many here seem to realize, and there are more than a few glass ceilings that will have to be broken for IU to be a consistent winner.

 

[YOTHN]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

You do realize there is a cap on what Universities can pay players, right? I believe 22 million is the most a school can allocate towards its players. Most all B1G schools will max out.

 

[YOTHN]

But you do get the gist of what I was talking about.

No...we don't. You're blabbering about make believe nonsense.

The climb is indeed tough but not as much for the reasons you stated. It takes years of winning to establish tradition and that's really hard to do. The road blocks are more tied to historical past and not the factors you outlined.

 

[Bowlmania]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

Indiana has $13.6 million in NIL collective funding, and growing. By way of comparison, Penn State has $13.7 million and Tennessee $11.6 million.

 

[RegionHoosiers]

Maybe just enjoy the season and the hope of some fun and excitement for the next several years until college sports collapse?

 

[nugget_release_lever]

Good list. Oregon's stadium capacity is only slightly larger than IU's at 54K but then again they have Phil Knight.

 

[Tammany Hall]

And schools like Alabama (hell the whole SEC), OSU, and Michigan that were playing players under the table before NIL will play fair by the new rules? I very much doubt that.

But you do get the gist of what I was talking about. Certainly IU is headed up,but the climb is much more arduous than many here seem to realize, and there are more than a few glass ceilings that will have to be broken for IU to be a consistent winner.

Rev share comes from athletic departments which are independently audited. Large universities aren't going to cheat on rev share and risk serious issues around oversight, accounting controls, fraud, and taxes.

NIL will continue to exist and be the way schools juice their player payroll with money from boosters and businesses.

Our roster payroll now is probably enough to be a top-25 program if our staff does a good to very good job. It's not enough to be a top-10 program.

As for the rest, I don't know what "many here" expect regarding "the climb." Personally I just hope for the best.

 

[MichaelRR]

Rev share comes from athletic departments which are independently audited. Large universities aren't going to cheat on rev share and risk serious issues around oversight, accounting controls, fraud, and taxes.

NIL will continue to exist and be the way schools juice their player payroll with money from boosters and businesses.

Our roster payroll now is probably enough to be a top-25 program if our staff does a good to very good job. It's not enough to be a top-10 program.

As for the rest, I don't know what "many here" expect regarding "the climb." Personally I just hope for the best.

IU athletic department had 5.3 million in excess revenues in 2023, so where are they going to come up with 20.5 million for revenue sharing? OSU and the big boys won't even notice that amount, but for IU, Purdue and others it will be a number they will very much struggle to match.

 

[82hoosier]

Good list. Oregon's stadium capacity is only slightly larger than IU's at 54K but then again they have Phil Knight.

And they had Michael Penix! And they new how to coach him.

 

[Tammany Hall]

IU athletic department had 5.3 million in excess revenues in 2023, so where are they going to come up with 20.5 million for revenue sharing? OSU and the big boys won't even notice that amount, but for IU, Purdue and others it will be a number they will very much struggle to match.

Not really. Each school is different, but IU (and I would guess PU I don't follow it there) will be able to fund the full rev share. The CFP moving from four to 12 teams is a $16M media rights increase per B1G team. The B1G Network rights will keep going up the next five years too, about $25M increase in total over that period.

Of course it's a bit more complex than that, but those are two primary ways it will be covered.

 

[MichaelRR]

Not really. Each school is different, but IU (and I would guess PU I don't follow it there) will be able to fund the full rev share. The CFP moving from four to 12 teams is a $16M media rights increase per B1G team. The B1G Network rights will keep going up the next five years too, about $25M increase in total over that period.

Of course it's a bit more complex than that, but those are two primary ways it will be covered.

And IU just committed to about an additional 8 million in football coaches salaries, have a 1 million a year buyout for Woodson for 8 years coming. I very much doubt that there is 20+ million laying around the ADs office looking for a place to spend it. An the amount that is capped goes up each year by 4% for the next two years then gets re-negotiated. Not saying its impossible, but its not going to be as easy as just writing the checks, a lot of that money will have to be raised from boosters to compete at the top level.

 

[trailrunner]

And they had Michael Penix! And they new how to coach him.

He was a Husky.

 

[IUCrazy2]

And schools like Alabama (hell the whole SEC), OSU, and Michigan that were playing players under the table before NIL will play fair by the new rules? I very much doubt that.

But you do get the gist of what I was talking about. Certainly IU is headed up,but the climb is much more arduous than many here seem to realize, and there are more than a few glass ceilings that will have to be broken for IU to be a consistent winner.

Shut up. Yeah, Indiana fans who have cheered for this program for decades don't understand how hard it has been to win here. Take this passive aggressive, back handed compliment bull shit back to 1 and 11 land.

 

[Courtsensetwo]

Shut up. Yeah, Indiana fans who have cheered for this program for decades don't understand how hard it has been to win here. Take this passive aggressive, back handed compliment bull shit back to 1 and 11 land.

The guy is nauseating. He should just go back to his board and flex on IU’s loss like the rest of them are

 

[Bowlmania]

Shut up. Yeah, Indiana fans who have cheered for this program for decades don't understand how hard it has been to win here. Take this passive aggressive, back handed compliment bull shit back to 1 and 11 land.

I conveyed the same message, but in a bit stronger language, and a mod deleted it.

Guy needs a life.

 

[Tammany Hall]

And IU just committed to about an additional 8 million in football coaches salaries, have a 1 million a year buyout for Woodson for 8 years coming. I very much doubt that there is 20+ million laying around the ADs office looking for a place to spend it. An the amount that is capped goes up each year by 4% for the next two years then gets re-negotiated. Not saying its impossible, but its not going to be as easy as just writing the checks, a lot of that money will have to be raised from boosters to compete at the top level.

I just explained how media rights are going up: $16M this year and a $40M+ total increase by 2030. This clearly goes a long way to cover the $22M rev share (going to $27M in five years).

Other sources are things like upside in revenue from the only sport with a good ROI, FB ($10M+), sponsorships, and donations (up 20% this year)... typical stuff all schools do.

I get you want to be doom and gloom about funding the rev share, but you asked and these are the facts on how it will happen. IU is funding is the whole thing next year. PU I'm sure will too. New conference entrants not getting full media rights yet and schools outside the B1G and SEC will have a harder time funding it, but almost all will find a way too.

 

[Liberty_Hoosier]

You put this much thought into IU but you havent watched since Purdue won 8 games w/ Drew Brees? Lol... ok. You should share this post with your therapist so you can give her a full scope of your troubles. I hope you at least give your pet cats a nice Christmas present. Wow.

 

[MichaelRR]

You put this much thought into IU but you havent watched since Purdue won 8 games w/ Drew Brees? Lol... ok. You should share this post with your therapist so you can give her a full scope of your troubles. I hope you at least give your pet cats a nice Christmas present. Wow.

The cats will like them I am sure. Also bought nice matching presents for my wife and girlfriend. We will see how much they like them when they open them Wednesday. I will let you know since you are so interested.

The corruption rampant in college football turned me away. IU"s success this year showed there is a glimmer of hope now for programs that are not rampantly corrupt, but I still think there is a ceiling to how high most schools can rise in this system.

 

[Liberty_Hoosier]

I am not saying you are wrong but holy hell you put a lot of thought into this. Good thing your wife and girlfriend are at the same family get together. What does your aunt think about her nephew dating her daughters?

 

[IndyResident16]

Not an IU alum, so my women are not my relatives, I know that is an uncomfortable thought for you and your kin.

You’re right, they’re farm animals.

 

[MichaelRR]

You’re right, they’re farm animals.

LOL, I do hear that is a common practice in southern Indiana, but again, I do not share your predispositions. You really need to work on your tendency to think everyone acts like you do. Its not healthy nor accurate.

 

[Mas-sa-suta]

You do realize there is a cap on what Universities can pay players, right? I believe 22 million is the most a school can allocate towards its players. Most all B1G schools will max out.

The O$U will never change ;the free cars, clothing , tats, women, cash to Mama and Uncle etc. never went away.

 

[Mas-sa-suta]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

Very well thought out post

 

[MichaelRR]

Very well thought out post

thank you.

 

[Bucket Getter]

And they had Michael Penix! And they new how to coach him.

Dude.

 

[HoosierJimbo89]

The main obstacle is to avoid Ryan Walters: do not hire this man as head coach!
The second main obstable is: do not hire Ryan Walters as head coach!

 

[IUgradman]

IU has an administration committed to winning in football. They will do everything in their power to provide the necessary resources to win.

 

[Hoosier Clarion]

There are a lot of obstacles to building from this to be a top 10 team:

Challenges:
49th largest home stadium 14th in the conference
65th most expensive season tickets
IU income from football season tickets selling out all seats as season tickets would be: 16 million
OSU income from same: 66 million
In the next year or two schools can pay the players directly from their athletic department. Schools with bigger stadiums and more expensive tickets will definitely have more funds for buying players. 5 stars are going to be going for 10-15 million+ per year EACH
IU is at best the second most followed college football program in Indiana, and Purdue is either just above or below them depending on the fates of the schools football teams from year to year. Because of this not many 4 and 5 star recruits grow up with dreams of playing for IU (or Purdue)
Ohio is twice the size of Indiana and OSU shares the state with no other Power 5 school.
IU has a desire to compete nationally in both football and men's basketball, but only the budget to really be competitive in NIL for one of them at best.
Indiana state schools are prescribed by law from using tuition funds or university endowment funds on athletics, most of the big time football schools have no such restriction.
The big football schools have been paying players under the table for years, its in their culture to pay for play and they have hundreds of former pro football players they can tap into for funds. Schools trying to break into that rarified air do not have that advantage.

Positives:
Being part of the Big Ten IU gets the largest payout from conference affiliation, along with the other 17 Big Ten schools BUT the 16 SEC schools are only slightly behind. Those two conferences in the age of pay for play will slowly out bid and out play every other school from all the other conferences.

Question marks:
Can coach Cig recruit as well as he coaches or better?
Will IU football fans be willing to pay 1k per year season ticket prices to make up some of the gap between IU income and the top 25 schools?
IF CCC backs up results for 2 or 3 years, would he be loyal to IU if Alabama backs up the brinks truck and offers him 25 million a year to try and win a national title?

And please, don't throw Purdue's shitty year up as a counter to this, its juvenile and I really don't care. I have not watched a Purdue football game since Drew Brees graduated. I am just trying to shed some light on how thick the glass ceiling is between one exceptional year and replicating that into a year in year out top 10 or even top 25 program.

Must be a wonderful life being a genius.