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The NIL needs our help - right now

BWahlberg

BWahlberg

Well-known member
DONOR
Good morning Griz Nation - with the off-season here it's that annual time for Montana to assess NIL needs for on-roster guys and presumably incoming transfers as well. Last year though a lot of effort NIL funds were raised to really help with retention and the call is out again for that.

I'd encourage you all to consider giving to the Good Ol Grizzlies NIL. The link here has options for a monthly or annual (1 time) donation. I'm going to donate today myself.

Purchase Membership

www.goodolgrizzlies.com www.goodolgrizzlies.com
 
I have questions about the NIL I’d be happy to hear some opinions on (yes I’ve donated despite these concerns). Last year the NIL posts a photo of JR ahead of a deadline with a cryptic message about needing to raise money. While not stated, the clear suggestion is that if we don’t raise the unspecified dollar figure, JR will transfer. Panic among the fan base ensues. Now I don’t begrudge JR or any others players for capitalizing on their hard work, but I have to ask, if I donate in an effort to keep a certain player on roster and then that player leaves, do I get a refund? Secondly is just an overall concern about a lack of transparency. We have no idea how much money is being raised, how close we are to fundraising goals, how much these contracts are for, or what the responsibilities are that come with the contracts. Is there a way to do these things more in the open? I’m not saying I won’t donate again in the future, but I think addressing these issues would help me feel better about it.
 

Good Ol' Grizzlies

www.goodolgrizzlies.com www.goodolgrizzlies.com

It says if you have questions, you can email them at: [email protected]

Also, Marcus Welnel is the General Manager and is a former Griz Linebacker with a B.S. in Finance and Minors in Mathematics & Economics (2020), an MBA (2022), and a Master’s in Business Analytics (2023), all from the University of Montana. He now combines his passion for Montana Athletics and Business as the General Manager of the Good ol' Grizzlies fan club. Connect with Marcus to help shape the future of Montana athletics and you can reach out to him at [email protected]
 
Grizzinator said:
I have questions about the NIL I’d be happy to hear some opinions on (yes I’ve donated despite these concerns). Last year the NIL posts a photo of JR ahead of a deadline with a cryptic message about needing to raise money. While not stated, the clear suggestion is that if we don’t raise the unspecified dollar figure, JR will transfer. Panic among the fan base ensues. Now I don’t begrudge JR or any others players for capitalizing on their hard work, but I have to ask, if I donate in an effort to keep a certain player on roster and then that player leaves, do I get a refund? Secondly is just an overall concern about a lack of transparency. We have no idea how much money is being raised, how close we are to fundraising goals, how much these contracts are for, or what the responsibilities are that come with the contracts. Is there a way to do these things more in the open? I’m not saying I won’t donate again in the future, but I think addressing these issues would help me feel better about it.
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This. What are the fundraising goals and where do we stand as far as meeting them? In my opinion, sharing this information would help promote and gain traction in raising funds. Are there rules against this? I understand we can reach out to Marcus directly via email, however this seems to be a question for most considering donating.

Also, just signed up for an annual donation. Hoping to see this be successful.
 
griz fanatic said:
What’s the overhead of the NIL? I don’t need to be paying someone’s wage.
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Currently, we pay a third party to manage all of our legal, compliance, contracts, IT, payments, etc. Their fee is only 15%. They have tried raising it because they are losing money at Montana with their expenses vs what they have gotten in return. 15% may seem high to some but it's the cost of doing business, plus 15% of not a large sum is really not a lot of money for all they do to have a functioning collective.
Our (my) goal will be for 100%, or very close, of funds to go to athletes once/if the House Settlement gets approved, because it will then be much easier for us to pay our athletes.
 
Grizzinator said:
I have questions about the NIL I’d be happy to hear some opinions on (yes I’ve donated despite these concerns). Last year the NIL posts a photo of JR ahead of a deadline with a cryptic message about needing to raise money. While not stated, the clear suggestion is that if we don’t raise the unspecified dollar figure, JR will transfer. Panic among the fan base ensues. Now I don’t begrudge JR or any others players for capitalizing on their hard work, but I have to ask, if I donate in an effort to keep a certain player on roster and then that player leaves, do I get a refund? Secondly is just an overall concern about a lack of transparency. We have no idea how much money is being raised, how close we are to fundraising goals, how much these contracts are for, or what the responsibilities are that come with the contracts. Is there a way to do these things more in the open? I’m not saying I won’t donate again in the future, but I think addressing these issues would help me feel better about it.
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A contribution to Good Ol' Grizzlies helps ensure we retain and attract the best talent. I'm happy to answer your first question if you call or email me directly but for legal reasons what I can say is that we are not paying any player that is not staying at Montana.
I personally would love to share fundraising amounts, but other schools would also love to know our budget. For this reason, all schools at our level keep this close to the chest to avoid losing a competitive advantage. With that being said, we are far below our fundraising goal. If we want to be in the top 4 of the FCS and on par with the Mountain West (all where I believe we should be) we would need another $500,000 to $1MM.
We are short of our fundraising goal for this transfer portal about $100,000.
As far as the contracts, in order for the athletes to receive any money they must perform a service. Whether that is for a local company, charity, or the collective. We would love to partner with as many local businesses and charities as possible to further the impact these athletes are making on the community.
Again, please email me at [email protected] and I would be happy to answer any questions with more detail than on a public forum page.
 
buckey said:
This. What are the fundraising goals and where do we stand as far as meeting them? In my opinion, sharing this information would help promote and gain traction in raising funds. Are there rules against this? I understand we can reach out to Marcus directly via email, however this seems to be a question for most considering donating.

Also, just signed up for an annual donation. Hoping to see this be successful.
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Thank you for contributing! Please see my reply above. As far as rules, it's not as much rules but more legal things not put into writing on public pages and also not letting everyone else know what we are doing while still educating the fanbase as much as we can. I can tell you we need a lot more $$ to stay relevant though!
 
Grizzinator said:
I have questions about the NIL I’d be happy to hear some opinions on (yes I’ve donated despite these concerns). Last year the NIL posts a photo of JR ahead of a deadline with a cryptic message about needing to raise money. While not stated, the clear suggestion is that if we don’t raise the unspecified dollar figure, JR will transfer. Panic among the fan base ensues. Now I don’t begrudge JR or any others players for capitalizing on their hard work, but I have to ask, if I donate in an effort to keep a certain player on roster and then that player leaves, do I get a refund? Secondly is just an overall concern about a lack of transparency. We have no idea how much money is being raised, how close we are to fundraising goals, how much these contracts are for, or what the responsibilities are that come with the contracts. Is there a way to do these things more in the open? I’m not saying I won’t donate again in the future, but I think addressing these issues would help me feel better about it.
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Yeah, you're never going to actually get to see players NIL contracts. I think the prevailing assumption is that you are donating money toward the greater NIL cause and are trusting the collective to be a good steward of it, but you are definitely not getting a refund if the presumed player you thought your donation was helping retain leaves. This is the game. Some schools are excellent at it, some aren't. Lets just hope our people know what they are doing.
 
I tried to help Gillman's Nil deal by purchasing a bunch of his items. The NIL store handling his gear never sent the items and I had to fight for a refund. How does Ol Grizzlies work?
 
The NIL collective is very important to the overall success of Grizzly Athletics. Give whatever you can afford and more importantly on a re-occurring monthly basis. You can designate specific sports which is beneficial. This money helps Grizzly Athletics retain existing athletes and recruit new athletes. I know some might be fundamentally opposed to the idea but with all the changes this is one way to keep Grizzly athletics competitive and playing on the same level as other Universities in this new/ever-evolving environment.
 
mthoopsfan said:
How much money does the MSU NIL have? I assume not nearly as much as the Griz.
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Cat O linemen get a decent amount of NIL money, especially considering this is the FCS. I'm assuming considerably more than the griz players. If not, there is seriously something wrong with whatever the griz are doing with their OL.
 
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