URI Men’s Basketball Hits $400,000 for NIL - Top Booster and Former CVS CEO Says More to Come

Saturday, October 07, 2023

James Malachowski. Sports Contributor

 

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L-R URI Men's Basketball Coach, Hall of Fame Coach Frank Keaney, URI Alum Tom Ryan PHOTO: GoLocal, Hall of Fame and URI

Frank Keaney’s ghost is howling. Sources have told GoLocal that the University of Rhode Island men’s basketball team members will collectively make $400,000 from name, image, and likeness (NIL) revenues this year.

Tom Ryan, the former CEO of CVS and the quintessential URI supporter who has been involved with the NIL efforts, told GoLocal, “We have had a solid start generating NIL revenues and are at a very competitive level for A-10 programs. The money raised to date is from Individual donors who have made contributions. Our goal now is to broaden the base of individual donors while we solicit corporate support and conduct fundraising events.” Ryan said, “We will build off this solid base, and I am confident our NIL revenues will grow to the top tier in the A-10 Conference.”

Ryan and his wife Cathy have poured tens of millions in donations, a gift of $35 million in 2019, and the largest individual donor in support of the Ryan Center -- named after the couple.

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When Frank Keaney brought his “Point a Minute” Rams to a near victory over Kentucky in the final of the NIT championship game in 1946, the Rams got there through coaching, innovation, hard work, and determination. These things are no longer enough. You must also have money in the form of payments to players through NIL.

The future of the URI program is very much in the hands of the school’s alumni. They now control whether the program will deteriorate, tread water at its current level, or grow by collecting and retaining the talent to secure NCAA Tournament invitations.

Rhode To Excellence Collective (Collective) is the organization created by URI alums to funnel NIL money to URI athletes.  Thorr Bjorn, URI Athletic Director, told GoLocal that the athletic program has embraced the concept and goals of NIL.  Bjorn said, “The Rhode To Excellence is doing well overall. We are in a solid place within the A-10.”

The Collective's Board, besides Ryan, includes Michael Fascitelli -- a former business partner of former President Donald Trump -- and, David Martirano, the former business partner to former Governor Gina Raimondo in Point Judith Partners.

The Executive Director of Rhode To Excellence is Chris Schoemann, who runs the Collective from his Kansas City-based company.  He serves in the same role for other collectives, most notably Southern Methodist University.  Asked why Schoemann’s company was chosen, Ryan responded, “We were suddenly dealing with the transfer portal and NIL.  There was a steep learning curve for everybody, including the NCAA, who would be promulgating the rules that collectives have to abide by.  Chris Schoemann has over 30 years of experience in collegiate athletics administration, including time on the legislative services staff of the NCAA.  We needed speed, experience, and systems in place to be ready as quickly as possible for the never-ending recruitment process.”  Ryan concluded, “Chris came highly recommended by everyone we talked with.”

It is not unusual for schools to turn to existing businesses to assist their collectives. Student Athlete NIL is a company that works with the collectives for 30 programs, including A-10 rivals St. Joseph’s University, LaSalle University, and Duquesne University.

When asked how it was going, Schoemann said, “We have hit the ground running and are raising money with the goal of being competitive in the A-10.” But, the dollars don't compare to programs like Providence College have collected. GoLocal reported that PC is now over $1 million in NIL money this year.

In preparing for the 2023-2024 season, Coach Archie Miller had a roster to fill.  He only had four returning players on his 16-man roster.  None of the now “veterans” were starters the previous year. Archie Miller has been a college basketball coach for almost 20 years. He is well familiar with the ins and outs of recruiting and has been very successful at it. However, during the past year, the recruiting world has changed dramatically. Now, it takes money.

NIL has added complexity to recruiting and a coach’s job.  On that point, Miller said, “NIL has been one of the biggest game-changers in the history of college basketball, so it certainly has added significant complexity to coaching. NIL has greatly impacted the college athletics landscape since its approval in 2021 and is now one of the key questions that prospective student-athletes ask throughout the recruiting process. Learning how to navigate those questions and educate our current players and recruits has been the most notable complexity from a coach’s perspective.” 

When asked if NIL provides an opportunity for URI to break out and climb up the rankings and become an NCAA Tournament team, Miller responded: “Between NIL and the transfer portal, there are absolutely avenues that exist to quickly “climb up the rankings” or speed up a rebuilding process. That said, our goal here at Rhode Island is to build a foundation of success with high-character student-athletes who love being a Rhode Island Ram. We want players who are here for multiple years, building a culture that is sustainable, to not only compete in the Atlantic 10, but to also compete on a national level for consistent NCAA tournament berths.”

Around the country, NIL is exploding, and revenues to players are ramping up quickly as schools try to one-up each other. To be a Tournament team, in the not-too-distant future, URI players will have to become among the highest earners on campus.  That may already be happening at Providence College.

Since the Big East Conference was created, Rhody basketball has played second fiddle to the team from the capital city.  NIL allows URI the opportunity to change this.  Providence has revealed its NIL number.  The rival has shown its hand.  If Ram alums want to beat PC they need to stop bemoaning their fate and raise a million dollars.  They can no longer solely rely on Ryan, Fascitelli, Joe Penza, and the relatively small group of financial boosters.  A much broader group of alums will need to step up, get involved, and contribute money to the Rhode To Excellence.  It’s all in the hands of the alums.

Back to Frank Keaney and the “Point a Minute” Rams and the time before college athletics was a multi-million dollar profit center for colleges and universities.  What would Keaney think of all of this and NIL?  When presented with this question, Thorr Borg postulated, “The old coach would have embraced NIL and figured out a way to win using it!”

 

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James Malachowski is the former Chairman/Managing Partner at RDW Group. He previously served as the chair of the Public Utilities Commission. 

 

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