Director of Athletics Kevin Saal

[jcdshocker]

Leave an SEC job for the AAC after one year. It was not going to happen unfortunately. After the IB experiment we needed to go outside the GM tree. While disappointed with the overall season, I think PM will get it done. Let’s give him a chance.

[shock]

He also would have rallied the donor base. He was my #1 for that reason. Just had to find out what we would have needed and I bet we could have come up with it. I just don't think the question was ever asked

I have it on good authority that EVERYONE knew CJ was the obvious choice. Money was there. He wanted it, his wife wanted it, WSU wanted it, but ADDB refused to call him.

Can the mayor trespass ADDB from Wichita?

[SubGod22]

WBJ - BizTalk 361: WSU's Kevin Saal on NIL's effect on men's basketball and the college landscape

Some of the Name-Image-Likeness deals you see on social media for NCAA football and basketball players seem hard to believe.

And in most cases, they shouldn't be believed.

So it was great to hear Wichita State University athletic director Kevin Saal talk about specific NIL goals and expectations for the 16 Shocker sports. He is my guest on this week's BizTalk with the Wichita Business Journal podcast.

Saal talked of a specific annual NIL goal for the athletic department, the men's basketball program, women's basketball, baseball and softball. It's much more than the roughly $400,000 in NIL distribution expected for the department once the 2023-24 academic year is complete.

I haven't listened yet, but it's about a 43 minute interview that I believe everyone has access to if you go to the link.

[BostonWu]

I very well might be in the minority but with limited NIL funds I'd rather have mbb taking home the lion's share of the bounty. The pie is being sliced into too many pieces.

[Stickboy46]

I very well might be in the minority but with limited NIL funds I'd rather have mbb taking home the lion's share of the bounty. The pie is being sliced into too many pieces.

This .. majority MBB, distant second is baseball.

I've said it before .. if we have a goal of 800k or 1 Million for mbb, then unless a donor specifically calls out a specific sport for their donation, 100% of NIL goes to MBB until they reach their goal.

Have to look at it like a business and not a charity. If you aren't funded to do 50 things well .. you find out what you do best, and you fund those to success while dropping other things.

[ShockerFever]

We’re raising funds and pouring money into…

a new softball stadium.

[Onegreatracer]

Saal is speed running an A+ to F- run as AD

[Stickboy46]

Saal is speed running an A+ to F- run as AD

He gets a lot of credit for the non-coaching-hires part of the job. I think he's doing a pretty good job there. Though would be nice to have more transparency on what he's doing for the big business part of NIL.

The downside for him is that the coaching hires are the most important part of the job.

[Shockerlady]

We’re raising funds and pouring money into…

a new softball stadium.

Women's soccer coming soon and that's from the horses mouth.Some think that MBB may not ever bounce back from the GM era. NIL money not pouring in as expected but KS is thinking outside of the box on ways to compensate players. Not sure it will be enough but he hasn't given up.

[WuDrWu]

Red lights and emergency bells went off when I heard him comment we needed 3-400K for womens basketball NIL.

Yeah, no. 3-4 dollars, MAYBE. And as I've said many times, companies want to use someone for endorsement etc, by all means, cash in. Donors specifically want money to go that way, fine.

Cash from ticket holders for that, or spreading the money around? HARD effing pass and I can't believe the issue is even raised.

[ShockHat]

Red lights and emergency bells went off when I heard him comment we needed 3-400K for womens basketball NIL.

Yeah, no. 3-4 dollars, MAYBE. And as I've said many times, companies want to use someone for endorsement etc, by all means, cash in. Donors specifically want money to go that way, fine.

Cash from ticket holders for that, or spreading the money around? HARD effing pass and I can't believe the issue is even raised.

Just out of touch, honestly. It’s weird, with his background you’d think he would know better

[Shock Top]

Red lights and emergency bells went off when I heard him comment we needed 3-400K for womens basketball NIL.

Yeah, no. 3-4 dollars, MAYBE. And as I've said many times, companies want to use someone for endorsement etc, by all means, cash in. Donors specifically want money to go that way, fine.

Cash from ticket holders for that, or spreading the money around? HARD effing pass and I can't believe the issue is even raised.

Unless he’s wanting to challenge SC and UCONN in the Final Four every year..

[WuShock16]

Red lights and emergency bells went off when I heard him comment we needed 3-400K for womens basketball NIL.

Yeah, no. 3-4 dollars, MAYBE. And as I've said many times, companies want to use someone for endorsement etc, by all means, cash in. Donors specifically want money to go that way, fine.

Cash from ticket holders for that, or spreading the money around? HARD effing pass and I can't believe the issue is even raised.

He is not wrong in saying that women’s basketball will need that to compete at an upper echelon level. If that’s the number, that’s the number.

But you are a bazillion percent correct in saying there can’t be a penny of unrestricted NIL money that goes to women’s basketball until men’s basketball is fully-funded.

[WuShock16]

This .. majority MBB, distant second is baseball.

I've said it before .. if we have a goal of 800k or 1 Million for mbb, then unless a donor specifically calls out a specific sport for their donation, 100% of NIL goes to MBB until they reach their goal.

Have to look at it like a business and not a charity. If you aren't funded to do 50 things well .. you find out what gets best ultimate ROI, and you fund those to success while dropping other things.

FIFY. I agree with what you’re saying. But technically, your last sentence was incorrect, because if we follow that, we would be funding softball first.

[Aargh]

Getting the east half of Cessna taken down was a plus. It turned into a large negative when nothing to replace that seating worked out. We're coming up on the state track meet. Half the stadium is gone and there's probably not enough seating for those attending. I suspect KSHSAA will have some legitimate and hard questions about continuing the event in Wichita unless something concrete can be confirmed fairly quickly.

I've been and would like to remain a "glass half full" person, but it's becoming harder. Mills better have some solid BB recruits. Green looked good early in the season, but that faded when conference play started.

Saal doesn't seem to be connecting with the community well. If he were connecting well, I don't believe there would be the begging for NIL $$ that we're seeing. If he were connecting well, I believe the $$ would have been there to continue on Cessna. He seems to have gone into the BB coaching change and the Cessna renovation without having the resources lined up to make those moves successful.