I think it is probably the greatest challenge right now,

probably as much as NIL. I just think with the money available to college athletes right now, there is less importance being placed on the academic side and the degree. Players and families are seeing paydays now and chasing immediate payoff which I think is fools gold. This is the same as it has always been in some ways. The elite players are going to get big NIL deals and future benefits in professional basketball. I don't think NIL changes things in that perspective in terms of the challenge for ND to get elite players. We have always had that challenge and I don't think it is any different today.

My concern with the current environment is the next level players - the guys in the #50-#150 ranking. These guys have needed to hone their game and still likely wouldn't strike it big financially playing professional ball and were somewhat dependent on getting a degree. But they could still play and play well. They also valued what ND would offer and knew that it would be a process with benefits that might be 10-20 years down the road. Now, those benefits can happen almost immediately. Kids in the #50-150 range could cash in on maybe $50K+ plus year. For many of them, that is lucrative and they are not going to be as excited on the academic side in my opinion. To me, that is ND's challenge. If I'm a 18-20 year old kid and I can make somewhere in the $50K range, do I really want to bust my ass academically knowing I can keep making cash. It's a very shortsighted view but in the current world of immediate gratification, ND isn't going to win that game I don't think.