Mike Gundy urges less spending on facilities, more NIL investment: 'Don't build it, put the money in the bank'
The Oklahoma State coach says the new battle for hierarchy in college football is here.
The intense competition among college football programs for the most impressive facilities will soon become less important compared to the emerging importance of NIL. Although the need for top-notch amenities still exists, an increasing number of donors and boosters are redirecting their attention toward supporting NIL opportunities.
Long-time Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy spoke Monday about his perspective on the evolving landscape of college football in relation to NIL and projects for new facilities.
"Don't build it, put the money in the bank," Gundy said. "Put the money in the bank and spend it on NIL. That's just the future, and I'm not saying I agree with it. I only know the sign of the times. … Players used to want to go somewhere for shiny new facilities and new uniforms and things like that — they still want to go somewhere where they win, but they also want the other stuff. I'm going to hypothetically build a situation: if you brought in 50 of our players and said we'll NIL you $50 to $60,000 a year cash or we can build you a new weight room and meeting room, which one do you want? They're gonna take [the money], right? That's what kids do nowadays."
Gundy went on to mention the percentage of players in college football leaving schools for NIL opportunities elsewhere, adding he knows for a fact some former Oklahoma State players transferred elsewhere because of that.
"There's a good percentage of players that are leaving schools — and I know for a fact that we've had some here that have left — to go take NIL money because they know they're not a pro player," Gundy said. "So I can go play for somebody and get $150 or $200,000 for a year for two years, and I'm not good enough to play in the NFL, or I can stay at a school and get $30 or $40,000, so that's not a good business decision. You can't blame them for doing it, but that's what's going on."
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops shared similar sentiments regarding NIL and paying players during his weekly call-in show on Monday. After lambasting his team following Saturday's loss to Georgia, Stoops said fans had a right to be disappointed in the Wildcats' performance, but didn't stop there. He encouraged Kentucky's supporters to give more — so the program could afford better talent.
"I can promise you in Georgia, they bought some pretty good players," Stoops said. "You're allowed to these days and we could use some help, that's what they look like when you have 85 of them. I encourage anybody that's disgruntled to pony up some more."
Kentucky has already spent more than $150 million on football stadium renovations since Stoops was hired in 2013, as well as another $5 million on a new practice facility.
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At Oklahoma State, its athletics department announced in February a new facilities vision plan worth an estimated cost of $325 million with all funding coming through donations and fundraising.
Brad Crawford contributed to this report.
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