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NCAA identifies private NIL “collectives” as part of the problem while programs can’t wait to run toward them for recruiting help.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 17, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy USA Today)

Three messages were sent out through the NCAA office last week. Two were subtle and the final one was not. 

Let’s take a moment to break down each of them through the past, present and future of what the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors stated in what they’re called “guidance”. 

NCAA Message No. 2 (A subtle one): All NIL collective organizations might be committing minor recruiting violations but they’re more interested in if the spirit of the law is being violated. 

Let there be no mistake. This “guidance” was sent out because the NCAA is concerned about NIL “collective” groups. At Illinois, that private NIL group is called Illini Guardians. That’s correct. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors are telling the public that Chicago-based attorney Adam Fleischer - the founder of the Illini Guardians - and the other people who have formed similar groups across the country in order to keep their athletics programs competitive in a billion-dollar entertainment industry are part of the problem across the country.  

“The guidance defines as a booster any third-party entity that promotes an athletics program, assists with recruiting or assists with providing benefits to recruits, enrolled student-athletes or their family members,” the statement written by the NCAA reads. “The definition could include ‘collectives’ set up to funnel name, image and likeness deals to prospective student-athletes or enrolled student-athletes who might be considering transferring. NCAA recruiting rules preclude boosters from recruiting and/or providing benefits to prospective student-athletes.”

This “guidance” is essentially asking the University of Illinois to distance themselves from Illini Guardians, which they won’t do and would be foolish to do. Why are they “guiding” them to do this? Because, as we addressed in part one of this series, the NCAA officials would prefer these groups had never been born.

In pretty clear English, the NCAA Board of Directors is attempting to tell the public that instead of its own outdated rules attempting to protect the guise of amateurism over several decades, it’s these NIL “collectives” that are making fans uncomfortable with the new world of college athletics. 

“The new guidance establishes a common set of expectations for the Division I institutions moving forward, and the board expects all Division I institutions to follow our recruiting rules and operate within these reasonable expectations," board chair Jere Morehead, president, University of Georgia, said in this NCAA release. 

In a statement sent to IlliniGuys.com, Fleischer simply disagrees with any assessment that his organization wasn’t operating within the current NCAA rulebook.

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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 15, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy ESPN)

Illinois fans, if the name Malachi Smith rings a bell to you, it should. He is a 6-foot-4, 205-pound shooting guard from Belleville (West), Illinois and he was a thorn in the Illini's side in the opening round of this year's NCAA Tournament.

Playing for Chattanooga, Smith - who averaged 20 points and seven rebounds per game for the Mocs - was the leading scorer for the underdog and a big reason they led most of the game before the heavily-favored Illini pulled ahead late. Illinois did hold him to 12 points on 4-of-20 shooting, but credit the defense of Trent Frazier, who made his final season in the orange and blue memorable by making most high-scoring guards work extra to get their points.

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By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys.com Director of Recruiting

May 13, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Dayton Daily News)

Illinois' Chester Frazier and his fellow assistant coaches are hitting the recruiting trail hard and getting the attention of top prospects across the country.

Just this week, Jonathan Powell, a 6-foot-5, 175-pound combo guard from Dayton, Ohio, was on campus.  IlliniGuys.com caught up with the class of 2o24 star to give us his thoughts on the visit.

Kedric: This was your first time on the Illinois campus. Can you share with the readers at IlliniGuys what your thoughts were on your visit?

Jonathan: I really liked my Illinois visit, I felt the love right when I got out of the car. They made me feel loved when I walked through the door.

We now know the NCAA is going to start investigating NIL “collectives”. IlliniGuys.com reporter Matthew Stevens looks into what this means for college sports and Illini Guardians in a three-part series.

May 12, 2022

Three messages were sent out through the NCAA office on Monday evening. Two were subtle and the final one was not. 

Let’s take a moment to break down each of them through the past, present and future of what the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors stated in what they’re called “guidance”. 

NCAA Message No. 1 (A subtle one): We didn’t want to be here in the first place but since we are now, a rulebook definition for “pay-for-play” and “improper inducements” is needed. 

By Monday evening, every school’s athletic department was sent what the Indianapolis office of the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors is calling “guidance to schools regarding the intersection between recruiting activities and the name, image and likeness environment”. 

In translation, the correspondence is/was to serve as a reminder that boosters and the money that comes with them are still strictly prohibited from being involved in any way toward recruiting or retaining a player to your roster.

In June 2021, The NCAA Division I Council voted to recommend the NCAA's interim name, image and likeness (NIL) policy to the same Division I Board of Directors to be used as a collective stopgap measure to eliminate the possibility of some athletes at Division I schools in certain states with more loose/liberal NIL laws having a competitive financial earning advantage over athletes at schools in certain states with more strict/conservative NIL laws on the books. 

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By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 11, 2022

(Cover photo courtesy Furman Athletics)

Illinois made an important but low-key addition to its offensive line depth chart last week when Furman transfer Dylan Davis pledged to the Illini.  The prior staff recruited Davis to Champaign as a defensive lineman but he chose Furman as his initial college choice.   Davis started two games last fall as a redshirt freshman and played well enough to earn a spot on the Southern Conference All-Freshman team.  However, Furman has two starting tackles returning so Davis entered the portal and Illinois decided to add him to the mix.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

Illinois move up to seventh place in its 12-team […]

IlliniGuys Staff

May 9, 2022

After Skyy Clark and then ZZ Clark and then Terrence Shannon Jr. in the span of a couple of weeks, it has been super quiet on the Illini men's basketball recruiting front.

But that's about to change.

The recruiting dead period has ended and, with the NBA and G-League trials about to start, we will start to hear more buzz on future Illini.

This afternoon, IlliniGuys' Brad Sturdy gave us an update on the top targets and where the Illini stand with each.  You're probably out of popcorn by now, so go get a refill and then check out the latest.

Combined, Sturdy and IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting Kedric Prince have been doing this stuff for more than a quarter of a century and it shows.  Coaches here and over there, recruits and their families...it seems everyone knows and TRUSTS Brad and/or Ked.  And that makes IlliniGuys.com one cool place to be!

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