- Hans Discussion about the $100M Fund - This is the Hans discussion where he said he's hearing a $100M+ NIL and coach retention fund for BYU football alone. He says he was shocked, that Pres Reese and TH have mobilized donors in a way they've never been mobilized before. Go to the 18:50 mark to start listening (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hans-scotty-g/id1464953641?i=1000681178875) - Really really insightful discussion.

- The Town - I texted someone really close to the program over the weekend and asked him about the $100M number. He hadn't heard the audio clip above, and said he doesn't know on the amount. However, he confirmed that it's a 'massive' number and that it is being used to keep players, coaches, and pull guys out of the portal from other schools. He then referenced a clip from The Town (which is one of my favorite movies ever). Jon Hamm plays an FBI agent trying to find a crew of bank robbers. Because this group of bank robbers is so professional, planned, powerful, and comes in with such firepower, Hamm refers to them as 'the not [screwing] around crew.' This guy said that one of the big boosters told him recently in context of NIL and the future of BYU sports 'this is the not [screwing] around crew'. We're talking about groups of highly wealthy, motivated, big-time BYU fans who are done playing second fiddle to Utah, done with the hand-wringing about keeping coaches, paying coaches, 'ceilings' on recruiting etc. etc.

Can they keep up this level of donation/support forever?

Absolutely yes, IF we keep winning and having success.

Brigham Young himself was a 'not messing around' kind of guy. We're finally done being passive and we're taking on Brigham's hyper-aggressive personality.

- Ryan Smith's Role - People I know associated with the program--very closely (and I've posted this before), say that Ryan Smith's biggest impact isn't in directly giving money, but it is in mobilizing super wealthy families and people associated with the program. There were effectively dormant alumni that have major money. Some of these families would be well-known to Cougar Nation (think Marriotts and Romneys) and others wouldn't be. Regardless, Ryan (and other major players) have woken the sleeping giant of BYU's donor base.

- Fran Fraschilla and the old 'bag man' - Fraschilla was on SportsNation and basically said that the only schools mad about BYU and NIL are those schools that used to cheat. How did they cheat? It's well known that big schools had the 'bag man'. Basically big time recruits or players would get the phone number of the 'bag man'. This was a big booster--or a guy coordinating big boosters who would secure money, cars, jewelry, women, and who knows what else for players. You can Google and find articles about bag men at specific schools, watch the Manziel documentary which talks about it. Heck, in Russillo's recruiting episodes where he asks NFL and NBA guys about their recruiting stories...you hear about 'the bag man' a lot. This was STANDARD stuff at major schools. You'd be sitting in the football building and a guy you've never seen will walk up and hand you a sticky note with a phone number on it. Or a random low level equipment guy would drive you to the airport after the recruiting visit and give you a cell number to put in your phone. The coaches needed to maintain plausible deniability so a staffer would just give recruits or big time guys a phone number and tell them to call it.

Point is, paying players has happened for 50 years. It's just that now it's legal and now we're doing it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

- Shoe Companies - In college basketball recruiting, shoe companies have played a major role. Nike told Zion to go to Duke. Why? Because they were signing him and wanted him to have the biggest stage possible. This is how the blue bloods have remained so blue. Duke, UNC, Kansas, Kentucky all have shoe companies pushing future NBA guys to them. This happens ALL THE TIME. But apparently in the day of NIL and the guys being able to sign shoe deals BEFORE college, the shoe companies have less of a role in this now. This is also serving to level the playing field. Additionally, flexible TV contracts with massive dollars mean that BYU can play Nova, and Duke and others next year and still get a ton of publicity.

- BYU and Duke - From what I was told THIS MORNING. An early season game with Duke next year is a near certainty. It's just getting the details worked out.