[DC 86]

I'm reading about virtually every Power 5 program in the country creating one, but have not seen or heard anything about Stanford doing so.  Have I missed it? Are Stanford boosters content to let the college sports world pass it by? Or might Stanford have some other way of competing for the level of athlete needed to win championships? I get Stanford degree being uniquely valuable and all that, but it's hard for me to believe it will be possible to stay competitive unless recruits who sign with Stanford are promised some kind of NIL money in exchange for their signature.

To be clear, helping scholarship athletes with NIL deals only after they sign is not on par with the inducement an NIL collective provides recruits to sign with a school. Stanford may offer resources and help for athletes to get NIL deals once at Stanford, but that is not the same as having deals in place prior to signing with Stanford. This is what NIL collectives do, and what my question is based on.

This thread seems to have gotten sidetracked without addressing your question.

Stanford doesn't have an NIL collective. Most, but not all FBS schools have collectives. For example, I don't believe USC supporters have one that's been announced at this point, but they are working on one that is going to be very big. So the issue is whether Stanford supporters are also working on one. Obviously Stanford has extremely wealthy alums, the wealthiest in FBS football in fact. Unlike most universities a collective of just a few alums could have an enormous impact. Haven't heard anything along these lines, but perhaps others are better informed. Whether it happens - and whether Stanford (the university, alumnae, fans) really desires to compete in this manner is yet another question.

[DC 86]

I'm reading about virtually every Power 5 program in the country creating one, but have not seen or heard anything about Stanford doing so.  Have I missed it? Are Stanford boosters content to let the college sports world pass it by? Or might Stanford have some other way of competing for the level of athlete needed to win championships? I get Stanford degree being uniquely valuable and all that, but it's hard for me to believe it will be possible to stay competitive unless recruits who sign with Stanford are promised some kind of NIL money in exchange for their signature.

To be clear, helping scholarship athletes with NIL deals only after they sign is not on par with the inducement an NIL collective provides recruits to sign with a school. Stanford may offer resources and help for athletes to get NIL deals once at Stanford, but that is not the same as having deals in place prior to signing with Stanford. This is what NIL collectives do, and what my question is based on.

This thread seems to have gotten sidetracked without addressing your question.

Stanford doesn't have an NIL collective. Most, but not all FBS schools have collectives. For example, I don't believe USC supporters have one that's been announced at this point, but they are working on one that is going to be very big. So the issue is whether Stanford supporters are also working on one. Obviously Stanford has extremely wealthy alums, the wealthiest in FBS football in fact. Unlike most universities a collective of just a few alums could have an enormous impact. Haven't heard anything along these lines, but perhaps others are better informed. Whether it happens - and whether Stanford (the university, alumnae, fans) really desires to compete in this manner is yet another question.