In this Hearings newsletter:

1. KU’s NIL situation 😬

2. NIL Survey for Subscribers 🤔

3. KU’s Big 12 football schedule 😯

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EVERYTHING IN THIS NEWSLETTER IS BASED UPON WHAT I AM HEARING FROM PEOPLE I TRUST. PLEASE DO NOT MISTAKE THIS FOR FACT OR FOR ACTUAL JOURNALISM, WHICH HAS VERIFICATION STANDARDS THAT I HAVE NOT ADHERED TO. I DO NOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT.

Hearings: KU’s NIL Situation 💰

Following the Lance Leipold job scare, I went digging to try and learn more about what’s going on with NIL at KU. What I found was surprising. I think this is important context when it comes to Leipold and the state of KU Athletics, in general. Here’s what I found:

• People I trust say that increasing NIL Revenue is the most impactful thing a fan can do for KU right now. It’s the top priority. Hit the link here to get involved (I’ll include a link at the end, too).

• While basketball is in great shape, I’ve Heard KU football is ‘significantly behind’ annual NIL football fundraising vs. the following Big 12 schools: Houston, Baylor, Arizona, Texas Tech, TCU, Utah, Oklahoma, and Texas.

  • I think the above schools are beating KU by more than $1M per year.

    • It’s important to note these are annual figures. I think Jalon Daniels makes top dollar in the Big 12. This is more about recurring and annual donations.

  • Other schools beating KU include: South Carolina, Louisville, and Vanderbilt. We can’t have Vanderbilt raising more than us!

    • I think Washington is raising ~3 times more than KU for football.

    • I’ve Heard KU is nowhere close to competing with Tennessee’s NIL Collective, which crossed the 3,000-member mark in August, which surprised me. I’d think KU could get 3,000 fans contributing.

    • I think a school like Texas is raising more than 4x KU’s mark.

  • This explains some of what Leipold is fighting for with the coaching cycle.

    • KU retained a lot of its talent this year, but it was limited in its ability to recruit via the portal.

    • I wouldn’t expect player and staff retainment to go as well in the future if KU’s NIL doesn’t improve.

• KU’s NIL situation isn’t bad. I’d assume KU outspends just about everyone in basketball. But I don’t think the average fan has been engaged to the level KU would hope.

  • This isn’t a new problem. For too long, Kansas has relied on its top donors to support the program. I’ve always been told KU is on the lower end of total donor volume.

  • One source said, “The grassroots and lower level donors don’t come out in droves like they do at other schools.”

  • I’m hoping we can help change that as a KUHearings community together. I’ve learned the small pieces add up here.

    • Again, if you donate after reading this email, please forward me the receipt or amount you contributed. I’m curious to see how much the community raises!

• I tried to figure out what really moves the needle with NIL. My understanding is that donating, say, $1,000, to NIL goes a much longer way than contributing to the stadium effort.

  • 10 fans donating $1,000 each legitimately moves the needle with NIL. While $10,000 won’t really make a difference with the football stadium, it will for NIL.

  • One source who understands the industry and has no ties to KU’s NIL Collective told me 100 donors at that $1,000 mark ($100,000) will seriously be felt at a school like KU.

  • Even the $100 donations can make a difference.

  • Again, the smaller pieces add up in ways most KU fans aren’t used to.

• Behind supporting NIL, I’ve Heard the No. 2 priority for fans is continuing to show up for football games. Arrowhead is a great opportunity for KU fans to prove the appetite exists for a bigger football stadium.

• Those around KU don’t think Leipold will leave Lawrence as long as he feels he has the resources to compete at the highest levels. That’s the only real pain point right now.

• Again, I understand these are big asks, but I wanted to find out where KU stands — and how much this really matters.

KU NIL Survey

I want to hear from you about this. What are your thoughts on NIL? What do you want to see more or less of? What could be done differently?

I’ll share the results next week!

2024 KU Football Schedule

The Big 12 schedule was released on Tuesday morning. The Jayhawks will play their two home non-conference games at Children’s Mercy Park (Sporting KC’s Stadium) and all four Big 12 games at Arrowhead Stadium.

I’ve Heard not playing in Lawrence makes a huge difference in relaxing construction timelines. (For example, the scoreboard is being torn down now).

Phase One should be ready and finished by the start of next year. You can see the schedule below.

Underdog Fantasy Squad Ride 🚗

Here’s what I’m eyeing for tonight’s game. It pays out 6x with KUHearings’ sponsor Underdog Fantasy.

Reminder: You’ll receive a 100% deposit match up to $100 if you use Promo Code “SCOOP” to sign up!

Scoops Text of the Day 👏

Remember, VIP subscribers can exclusively chat 1:1 with me via text and get breaking news updates straight to their phone. You can upgrade here.

Here’s a text I got this morning as KU announced its new schedule.

Two great and fair questions/comments from Kim!

KU is working on transportation for students to both venues. And I’d assume all season-ticket holders will be in good shape for both stadiums. KU is working hard to increase its season-ticket sales, so it won’t do anything to jeopardize that through construction.