Yeah. When you consider this isn't one time investment, I'm not sure most D1 schools can keep up with this pace of spending long term. I don't think Montana can. I don't know how I can expect Montana to get 1 million plus per year for basketball alone (which is where it seems to be headed) to be competitive for HS and College players they otherwise might have had a shot at in years past.I have no clue what Weber has for NIL/Revenue Share money. I also don't know all of the rules for distributing those funds. I have just heard rumors that may or may not have any truth to them. I do know that Weber has been building a war fund over the last several years and that it doesn't hurt to have a dozen or so former players out in the professional markets, with some means to support the program. Some local businesses have also stepped up in a significant way, as have individuals in the community. All of that is probably why we had the coaching changes at this point in time. One thing I am certain of is that we are still not in the same market as BYU or Utah. The fairly established rumor I heard was that BYU has over $9 million to spend on players for NIL and revenue sharing that is in a similar ball park. Utah, not having Church money to back them up, is not likely to have quite as much to spend. I have no idea what USU has to spend, but I'm sure that it is not anywhere close to those two, while considerably more than Weber. All of that has actually made it easier to get local talent, because those schools feel the need to go bigger.
I don't know where it will all end, but there is a need to establish rules and boundaries.
Montana had a 250Kish amount to revenue share last year among MBB, WBB and FB (which is not nothing) and NIL department wide might have pushed 750K or so (maybe higher). You'd almost need corporate sponsorship because grass roots funding in this environment is only going to get harder.
Weber, UM are a bit better off in terms of the ability to 'buy' players than others at the mid-major level, but it is going to put a premium on talent identification to find value in high school kids and recruiting lower divisions to bridge that gap. The environment is just not sustainable for schools outside power 4 conferences. Just isn't. The NCAA needs to get its poop in a group, but I just don't see it unless its member driven and self-imposed changes with a ton of 'gentlemens agreements' to regulate the market.