Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (UT's NIL Needs)

Momma never said the NIL world would be easy.

As we approach the second anniversary of this brand new world that college athletics resides in, a number of realities have become clear over time. Perhaps none are clearer than the reality that the need for more money is a 365-days-per-year mantra.

"I used to think before NIL existed that if it ever did, Texas would dominate," one source told me over the phone this week. "It's not like that."

Before we go any further down the NIL rabbit hole as it relates to what still stands in front of UT in terms of challenges, it needs to be stressed that from an organization standpoint, the folks in charge from a UT perspective have done an incredibly strong job. The set-up and creation of the Texas One Fund was such a wildly successful creation that it has served as an inspiration to pretty much every university in the country as the model they should copy. Once upon a time, the infrastructure was a problem and it isn't today, which is no small victory.

"There has never been a better time for a Texas fan to have a direct impact on making Texas the most historically elite athletic program in the country," Texas One president Patrick "Wheels" Smith told OB this weekend.

If Texas starts competing for national titles in football under Steve Sarkisian, there should probably be a statue of Texas alum Scott Freeman put somewhere around the stadium because so much of the successes that have occurred in the last year have been through his hard, tireless, never-ending work. Behind the scenes, people know that he has been instrumental in Texas accomplishing what it has accomplished.

Yet, the reality of the NIL world is that it resembles putting fingers into a dyke that has hundreds of holes with water coming out of them.

There are always more recruiting classes. There will always be more transfers that are looking for NIL pots of gold. There's almost no time to celebrate the wins because there's always another situation that needs addressing by the time you finish celebrating.

"There is no other fan base or alumni group in the country that can match Texas," Smith said. "This does take action and a groundswell of this incredible fan base to take action and to give."

One source with knowledge of the situation went a little further with regards to the urgency of taking action within the fanbase,"

We've got a lot of people that aren't giving that just think a bunch of rich guys will take care of it," the source said. "Meanwhile, the rich guys all seem to think that some rich guys other than them will take care of it."

From an NIL perspective, Texas needs the following.

a. More enthusiasm from smaller donors. Whether it's $20 or $200 per month, the Longhorns need thousands of monthly donors. It's not there yet.

b. It needs some of its wealthiest fans and alums to get more seriously involved.

For its part, the leadership at the Texas One Fund is doing everything it can do to educate Texas fans on all of the good that it has created with Texas athletes, who get out and do charitable work in the community as part of the fund's key initiative.

"With the Texas One Fund, our student athletes are making a direct contribution off the field and in the community with charitable work," Smith said.

"Do you realize what it means to a foster child to have Texas football and volleyball players show up at their birthday parties? It’s life-changing and it’s making our student athletes better as well."

Ultimately, Texas needs more enthusiasm on the NIL front and it's not outlandish to suggest that it's going to become difficult to compete on a national level in any sport without it. Take what's happening in women's basketball right now with Kim Mulkey's LSU basketball program. There's been a monsoon of financial enthusiasm in NIL donations towards her program and you better believe it has had an impact in the recent transfer market success the program has enjoyed.

That's just one example. There are schools throughout UT's new home in the SEC that have an enthusiasm edge on the Longhorns when it comes to NIL donations.

To the school's credit, every single head coach in every sport is making incredible efforts to generate that enthusiasm. Part of what Steve Sarkisian has been doing this month while barnstorming the state is talking to Texas alums about the need for more contributions on the NIL front. He's out there hustling in the streets to elevate the fund-raising.

Same with Rodney Terry. Same with Vic Schaefer. Same with all of the coaches. When I asked a source this weekend if there was any dead weight in the athletic department among head coaches, who simply don't want to put in the work, I was told that everyone is doing their part without hesitation.

I'm not telling you that you need to give more money. Frankly, that's not my job. I'm merely telling you what's what.

There's remains a lot of work to do."We're not dealing with the Tooth Fairy," another source in the UT athletic department told me.

"We don't get to put a wish list under our pillows and then find the money the next morning when we wake up. It's time for people to stop talking about getting involved and actually get involved."

No. 2 - Micah Hudson talk ...

So, I made this Tweet over the weekend and my mentions went to hell in a handbasket.

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