I talked to Harris on the phone today about the $3.5 million to the athletic department by Don and Lora Peters and the coming changes in Tulane's approach to NIL and revenue sharing, with the school taking it in house rather than having the Fear The Wave collective continue to run it. We also addressed the scholarship numbers for football and baseball and what Tulane plans to do about it. I did not have mhy recorder on for the first minute, which was about the donation, but I got the rest.
On how payment has become the dominant issue in attracting players:
"We know that NIL is becoming increasingly a difference-making piece of the puzzle for them, and so to have the ability to be able to address that area is significant. If you talk with our coaches now, they will say that so many of their conversations that were once centered on the big picture of what it means to come to the university and all the benefits have now in many cases become singular conversations about the financial piece of it, so we're still going to build our culture around the idea that when you make the investment to come to Tulane it's a 40-year decision, but at the same time we understand that the world of college athletics means the financial component is significant and we have to be competitive in that area in order to keep our sports teams competitive, and so that's what we're looking to do."
On the sea change and having to adjust on the fly:
"We're all learning and we're all trying to figure out what is the best strategy possible based on who we are as a department and a university and the things that each of us feel like we have strengths in. We want to play to our strengths. We want to make sure we can keep our teams competitive. We want to make sure that we have the appropriate resources to be able to have success, and we want to be aggressive and we want to make sure that people continue to understand the tremendous momentum that we feel we have as a program based on things that have happened in the past few years and things that are happening this year, so the more days we have like we had yesterday, the more momentum we continue to garner and the more that our student-athletes have success, the more championships that they win like we've done this year with cross country and indoor track and field and sailing and we have some sports programs that have yet to finish this year, but all of that continues to paint the picture very positively about what we are looking to accomplish at Tulane."
On bringing athlete compensation in house and not using the Fear The Wave collective in the same way as the past:
"For us it was about being in a position to bring all the resources of the department and the university to bear on making sure that we can do a great job in this area. With Fear The Wave, Michael (Arata) and Jimmy Ordeneaux) have done just a phenomenal job if you look at the success we've been able to have, especially in the sports like football, you can trace a significant amount of that to the hard work they've put in to just volunteer to raise money to be able to help us with our NIL efforts, so we are going to be forever indebted to Michael and JImmy and people like Kelly Comarda, who just did a phenomenal job of help giving us an opportunity to compete during that time period, so now where we're in the position where it doesn't have to be done outside the department and doesn't have to be done the way that it has been, and we can bring the full resources of the university and the department to this effort, it just felt like this was the right time to be able to make this transition and to build on what Fear the Wave set the foundation for with us to try to make it bigger and better and more significant and bring in more money and be able to win more championships."
On changes from how Fear The Wave operated in the structure of soliciting revenue for payments:
"We haven't discussed that. Our conversations have really been about why we felt the transition was appropriate, and which we got on the same page. Michael and Jimmy were fantastic and obviously have been keeping up with this as much as anybody, so they understood exactly what we were trying to do and why. Most of our conversations have been about how do we make sure that for everyone who has been supporting Tulane athletics through Fear the Wave, they understand that this is the new way to do it and they start July 1. Up until then, the collective is still active in fund-raising to be able to meet our commitments, but as we get to July 1 going forward, and we want and need quite frankly everyone who was giving to Fear the Wave to give to the Green Wave Talent Fund. That's the way that we continue to have success, and I know that Michael put something out yesterday on social media about the importance of that happening, and so those guys got it from the very beginning. They were great to work with from the very beginning, and they understand exactly what we're trying to accomplish."
On the manpower that will be involved in Green Wave Talent Fund after Arata and Ordeneaux ran Fear The Wave by themselves after Kelly Comarda's departure:
"It will be an operation for myself and our development team, so I think all of us will have some piece of that puzzle and while there will be some of us that will be doing more than others because we have other initiatives that we're obviously trying to raise money for, I think in some form or fashion over time if you're working within in Tulane athletics in the development area, this will impact you, and then quite honestly there will be those who work within advancement in the entire university who have already been involved or will certainly be involved in the future, so this is certainly an all-hands-on-deck type of initiative for us."
On new Fear the Wave role:
"They will continue in their role as a media company providing behind-the-scenes access to those who subscribe to Fear the Wave, and I know they are interested in doing some special projects with us that will continue to help our student-athletes, so we will be having further discussions with them about what those things will look like, but they want to continue to be in the position for the people that follow them and subscribe, providing behind-the-scenes content on our sports programs and we know they've done a great job with that. They expect and we expect that they will continue to do so moving forward, but in this day and age when everything is constantly evolving, there's nothing to say that six months from now or heck, even six weeks from. now, that things won't change to where we're having further discussions, so it's one thing you learn when you're working in college athletics right now is nothing is standing still. It's a very dynamic environment, so we are certainly going to maintain our partnership with them and make sure that whatever they are doing for us, it lines up nicely with what's in the best interest of our student-athletes."
More on payment to players becoming THE top priority:
"Yeah, it really has shot to the top as being the thing we discuss most with our coaches because that's what they're discussing with our current student-athletes as well as prospective student-athletes, so we all recognize that facilities continue to be important and we're going to continue to make investments in those areas. We feel like the overall student-athlete experience is still critical for us, and graduating from Tulane is still a 40-year decision that pays dividends for decades down the road, but you can't be in this environment and not recognize that revenue sharing and NIL payments are at the top of everyone's mind an our student-athletes and their parents and their family members, so you have to have a plan to be able to meet those challenges and address that in those conversations. It is critically important for us to be competitive. We don't have to be in the position where we can outspend everyone. That can't be the strategy, but at the same time you know that you have to be in a position where what you are providing is competitive in combination with the other things that you bring to the table."
On how payment has become the dominant issue in attracting players:
"We know that NIL is becoming increasingly a difference-making piece of the puzzle for them, and so to have the ability to be able to address that area is significant. If you talk with our coaches now, they will say that so many of their conversations that were once centered on the big picture of what it means to come to the university and all the benefits have now in many cases become singular conversations about the financial piece of it, so we're still going to build our culture around the idea that when you make the investment to come to Tulane it's a 40-year decision, but at the same time we understand that the world of college athletics means the financial component is significant and we have to be competitive in that area in order to keep our sports teams competitive, and so that's what we're looking to do."
On the sea change and having to adjust on the fly:
"We're all learning and we're all trying to figure out what is the best strategy possible based on who we are as a department and a university and the things that each of us feel like we have strengths in. We want to play to our strengths. We want to make sure we can keep our teams competitive. We want to make sure that we have the appropriate resources to be able to have success, and we want to be aggressive and we want to make sure that people continue to understand the tremendous momentum that we feel we have as a program based on things that have happened in the past few years and things that are happening this year, so the more days we have like we had yesterday, the more momentum we continue to garner and the more that our student-athletes have success, the more championships that they win like we've done this year with cross country and indoor track and field and sailing and we have some sports programs that have yet to finish this year, but all of that continues to paint the picture very positively about what we are looking to accomplish at Tulane."
On bringing athlete compensation in house and not using the Fear The Wave collective in the same way as the past:
"For us it was about being in a position to bring all the resources of the department and the university to bear on making sure that we can do a great job in this area. With Fear The Wave, Michael (Arata) and Jimmy Ordeneaux) have done just a phenomenal job if you look at the success we've been able to have, especially in the sports like football, you can trace a significant amount of that to the hard work they've put in to just volunteer to raise money to be able to help us with our NIL efforts, so we are going to be forever indebted to Michael and JImmy and people like Kelly Comarda, who just did a phenomenal job of help giving us an opportunity to compete during that time period, so now where we're in the position where it doesn't have to be done outside the department and doesn't have to be done the way that it has been, and we can bring the full resources of the university and the department to this effort, it just felt like this was the right time to be able to make this transition and to build on what Fear the Wave set the foundation for with us to try to make it bigger and better and more significant and bring in more money and be able to win more championships."
On changes from how Fear The Wave operated in the structure of soliciting revenue for payments:
"We haven't discussed that. Our conversations have really been about why we felt the transition was appropriate, and which we got on the same page. Michael and Jimmy were fantastic and obviously have been keeping up with this as much as anybody, so they understood exactly what we were trying to do and why. Most of our conversations have been about how do we make sure that for everyone who has been supporting Tulane athletics through Fear the Wave, they understand that this is the new way to do it and they start July 1. Up until then, the collective is still active in fund-raising to be able to meet our commitments, but as we get to July 1 going forward, and we want and need quite frankly everyone who was giving to Fear the Wave to give to the Green Wave Talent Fund. That's the way that we continue to have success, and I know that Michael put something out yesterday on social media about the importance of that happening, and so those guys got it from the very beginning. They were great to work with from the very beginning, and they understand exactly what we're trying to accomplish."
On the manpower that will be involved in Green Wave Talent Fund after Arata and Ordeneaux ran Fear The Wave by themselves after Kelly Comarda's departure:
"It will be an operation for myself and our development team, so I think all of us will have some piece of that puzzle and while there will be some of us that will be doing more than others because we have other initiatives that we're obviously trying to raise money for, I think in some form or fashion over time if you're working within in Tulane athletics in the development area, this will impact you, and then quite honestly there will be those who work within advancement in the entire university who have already been involved or will certainly be involved in the future, so this is certainly an all-hands-on-deck type of initiative for us."
On new Fear the Wave role:
"They will continue in their role as a media company providing behind-the-scenes access to those who subscribe to Fear the Wave, and I know they are interested in doing some special projects with us that will continue to help our student-athletes, so we will be having further discussions with them about what those things will look like, but they want to continue to be in the position for the people that follow them and subscribe, providing behind-the-scenes content on our sports programs and we know they've done a great job with that. They expect and we expect that they will continue to do so moving forward, but in this day and age when everything is constantly evolving, there's nothing to say that six months from now or heck, even six weeks from. now, that things won't change to where we're having further discussions, so it's one thing you learn when you're working in college athletics right now is nothing is standing still. It's a very dynamic environment, so we are certainly going to maintain our partnership with them and make sure that whatever they are doing for us, it lines up nicely with what's in the best interest of our student-athletes."
More on payment to players becoming THE top priority:
"Yeah, it really has shot to the top as being the thing we discuss most with our coaches because that's what they're discussing with our current student-athletes as well as prospective student-athletes, so we all recognize that facilities continue to be important and we're going to continue to make investments in those areas. We feel like the overall student-athlete experience is still critical for us, and graduating from Tulane is still a 40-year decision that pays dividends for decades down the road, but you can't be in this environment and not recognize that revenue sharing and NIL payments are at the top of everyone's mind an our student-athletes and their parents and their family members, so you have to have a plan to be able to meet those challenges and address that in those conversations. It is critically important for us to be competitive. We don't have to be in the position where we can outspend everyone. That can't be the strategy, but at the same time you know that you have to be in a position where what you are providing is competitive in combination with the other things that you bring to the table."
