NIL 2026

[HUSID74]

Most of the NIL money will come from donors, that's where most of it comes from throughout the sport. Some corporate support would be nice but its not going to fill the coffers.

[Wags]

Speedy, on Sports Final with Bruce Beck late Sunday night on Preston: "We had a conversation, and he said he's coming back (next year)."

It doesn't mean Edmead couldn't change his mind later (especially if he and Hofstra make NCAAT noise), but it's encouraging for now that Speedy said he had that conversation with him. Speedy also confirmed in speaking with ESPN on Sunday night that Cruz could have made "significant money in the portal" but chose to stay at Hofstra.

[JoeyBagODonuts1]

Great to hear, but we can have all the "next season" talk after this season is over. We still have unfinished business!

[Wags]

Great to hear, but we can have all the "next season" talk after this season is over. We still have unfinished business!

Of course, but Speedy just said that last night, so it's nice to hear that Edmead's return is at least a real possibility based on the conversation they had.

[stuball888]

Cruize wants to go to law school
So if he stays at Hofstra, he can just enroll in the law school afterwards
He probably knows some of his professors already
As far as Preston is concerned, you can see he has a real good relationship with speedy
Also, when I mentioned that Jason Hernandez, his father, Richard went to Dowling like his father
He said that was another connection of things going full circle
Preston seems to be very humble and is appreciative of the opportunity. He had to play as a freshman.

[triplec2195]

I'd be a little nervous about the "BLOOD" reference Lol!!

[Polito]

FD, definitely with you and I too do not knock any of these kids for getting paid wherever they can - I don't like the free for all that's been created, but it's not the kids fault, and they should take advantage while they can.

My point was more around that particular situation - there may be something behind the scenes and I would respect that, but for what I know on the surface, GW didn't throw out life changing money - it was probably only marginally better than what HU would do, and to me, in that situation, just not really worth it IMO. It's very different from going up to a P2 for real $. That makes all the sense in the world to me - others seem a bit short-sighted - although again that's barring certain situations we may not know about that make the move more sensible, regardless of the payout. I'm just going off the money factor, which at GW, isn't tremendous and well within HU's ability to compete. But no matter, hopefully worked out best for all anyway.

HUSID, not so sure on that for us, might be right, but my thinking is that we aren't Texas and there's no oil tycoon writing checks here - we need corporate, and I think that is very possible, especially for a kid like Edmead. Get him paid from that angle, and that's one less HU has to worry about. Retaining Preston is a must IMO. He's the future of this program for at least next year.

Both he and Cruz, and most everyone else too, seem to be solid kids and families with good heads on their shoulders - I'm all about focusing on this season as there's more to do, but if HU can figure some things out next years team could be super.

[triplec2195]

I listened to the Monmouth post presser with King Rice and he talked about his kids with such passion and love just a really good human. He was very emphatic that if any of his players gets offered big like hundreds of thousands to play at another school he all but shoves them out the door. He says that it may be that in their lifetime they will never have the chance to make that kind of money so they need to grab it. Sounds a bit like Speedy and Estrada.

[dutchPride86]

Great to hear, but we can have all the "next season" talk after this season is over. We still have unfinished business!

Of course, but Speedy just said that last night, so it's nice to hear that Edmead's return is at least a real possibility based on the conversation they had.

Again who knows what kind of money gets thrown at Edmead after this weekend, but the NY Post is reporting that his father confirmed to them that Edmead is coming back...


"Now one of the feel-good stories in college basketball, Edmead is staying parked on Hempstead Turnpike and will return to Hofstra for next season, his dad confirmed to The Post."


https://nypost.com/2026/03/16/sports/pr ... ball-lore/

[HU87]

Love seeing this and truly believe he's a high-character, loyal kid who wants to keep building at Hofstra next year. He seems to have a very special relationship with Speedy and staff and I do think our current recruit Xavier Swann would be an awesome back court mate for him to keep building around for a repeat next year.

On the other hand, a lot will happen and change between now and when we tip off next season. It'll be hard to fully believe it until he's in uniform and playing for us next year

[triplec2195]

Xavier Blake is our current recruit who verbally committed Jadha Swan is the one we lost.

[Polito]

Retaining Edmead, if we can in fact pull it off as it seems a real possibility, would be one of THE most impactful things for this program in the modern era, maybe ever depending on just how great he becomes. He is the kind of player we not only build the program around, but build the BRAND around. Even if we keep him just 1 more year, it will be a tremendous boost to the overall success and recognition of the program.

I am curious to Cruz as well. It would be completely understandable if he moved on and up as it's his last year. Wouldn't blame him at all to go the Estrada route, that's kind of the point in many respects for strong mid major programs and talent - develop your game, make your name, and then go make your $.

Buuuuuut... IF we can keep Edmead, and find enough cash to keep Cruz appreciated, the idea of putting together one of the best teams in HU history to go on a repeat crusade and perhaps even be the next ranked mid major could be a big motivating factor to stick around. A longer shot IMO since it's his Sr yr coming up, but ya never know - Speedy's relationships are strong.

I really really dig the fundraising mantras HU utilized at the selection show celebration - the "Recruit, Retain, Repeat" pitch is super and what we should be promoting like crazy.

Much still to be excited about for this season, and also very exciting times ahead for next year as well - could be a milestone point for this program.

[triplec2195]

I have a feeling and everything I'm reading is that Cruz is staying also and maybe Preston's early commitment to come back next year is the compelling factor. Hofstra is going to have to pay Cruz but now it looks more and more realistic financially. This will be awesome.

[stuball888]

On another subject
we just lost our freshman sensation setter Nina Jioshvili-Ravva to South Florida
They gave her ridiculous NIL money

[Jojogunne]

The numbers in this article are crazy -- but probably not uncommon for P5 schools. How can mid-majors compete against this?

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/717923 ... l-share-ta

[triplec2195]

Like most mid majors and other schools we have to and will do more with less. We have proven we can work with that model but losing players that we have developed is very discouraging and demoralizing.

[Polito]

Thanks for posting that Jojo - and yes, sadly, this is fairly accurate from what I know - and this is why I was adamant 2+ years ago on this board that we as fans and HU as a business needs to take this very seriously - we need(ed) to up our funds, our funding, our marketing, our efforts, etc.

Unfortunately HU did not do a very good job back then, and STILL haven't, of educating people as to what's going on (because they've been largely uneducated themselves) so we had folks here very skeptical of the collectives, the NIL orgs, donating, and incorrectly believing these were scams and/or believing that it wasn't helpful to give. All of that is fully incorrect. This is HUGELY important and it absolutely makes an impact. And the fanbase ABSOLUTELY needs to be engaged and involved.

This is all estimation as much of NIL isn't truly public or fully validated yet, but overall from insiders this is how it currently looks:

- Power blue bloods are around $10-15M+ (i.e. Michigan)
- Other power programs are between $5-10M (i.e. SJU)
- High major to upper mid majors $2-5M (i.e. VCU)
- Lower mids majors are $500k-$2M (i.e. HU)
- Under $500k should fold up shop or downgrade to D3 lol

The word from insiders is that if you aren't at $12M+ as a power you're in trouble. And ALL of those numbers are projected to go UP next season. Many schools boards are already meeting to up the budgeting in order to prepare and compete at the highest level.

Now, that is from a national championship perspective. That's actually not what we need to be doing. We can compete for our goal, which is simply to make the NCAAT. We aren't vying for national titles. We are vying for conference ones. And that is absolutely within our ability - it HAS to be. Mid majors won't win the money game, and NIL cannot be the primary focus of the pitch. They have to lead with other qualities. However, make no mistake that NIL is still a factor and HU has to be relatively competitive.

Now, my main point of late is that not only is it vital to have a growing giving fanbase, but it is imperative that HU firms up it's corp and PE initiatives in order to truly fund things at the right level. We cannot ignore or de-emphasize this like we currently are, we need to be ramping UP efforts on that front.

HU as usual, and much to my ongoing frustration, has been behind and is still behind on this - they're doing better of late, some good people are working hard, but generally we are always late to the game. We need more vision from the university, a more proactive approach, a much more progressive strategy, tangible goals and KPI's that matter, and some real accountability to actually achieve them.

[Jojogunne]

Props to you, Polito. You were a voice in the wilderness on NIL and other payments.

On a related subject, a few weeks ago I stumbled upon Mason Madsen's Instagram account (@masmadsen). Mason is a former G League player (six games) who is now playing in Sweden. His post was titled, "How much money did I make playing D1 college basketball?" Here's what he had to say:

How much money did I make playing D1 college basketball?

Let’s break it down:

Freshman Year (2020-2021)
NIL wasn’t a thing yet. I got a $900/month cost of attendance stipend from Cincinnati (COA), which felt like a lot at the time. Saved most of it and bought my 2007 Prius for $3750. Still drive it.
Total: ~$7,000

Sophomore Year (2021-2022)
First year of NIL. Things got interesting. We had a 3-point/dunk contest that paid everyone $7,500. Picked up a few promo deals too. Still early days in NIL, but fun.
Total: ~$12,500

Junior Year (2022-2023)
Transferred to Boston College, thinking they’d be on top of NIL since it’s the ACC. Nope. Barely got anything—$1250 per semester COA.
Total: ~$2,500

Senior Year (2023-2024)
BC was still behind on NIL. Most of the money went to my teammate (who’s now in the NBA—valid ). I had a good year, though, and knew I could earn more as a 5th-year.
Total: ~$12,500

5th Year (2024-2025)
Transferred to Utah to play with my twin brother. BC coaches tell me my portal value will be anywhere from 200k-300k. Didn’t ask for money and didn’t sign with an agent. HUGE MISTAKE. Told the coach: “I’m not coming for money, I trust you’ll take care of me. This is about being with my brother.” I made more money this year than I ever had but didn’t get my market value.
Total: ~$100,000 NIL + $30,000 in rent stipend

The crazy thing is if I came into college now, I would leave with well over $1 million in my account. Crazy times.

[triplec2195]

So I'll ask AGAIN HOW MUCH $$$$$$ DID WE OFFER PRESTON TO STAY AT HOFSTRA? DOES ANYONE CARE TO VENTURE A FIGURE?

[Mark19th]

Half a million.


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