In the post-NIL landscape, I've seen references to the idea of "feeder schools:" an unofficial minor league/pipeline program to assist in the development of future transfers to big name programs. If something like this does come to pass, I think UNI would be the primary candidate for us.
I assume the general procedure would be:
-Marquee program in fb or mbb would fill out more of their roster with transfers/upperclassmen/proven commodities than worry about developmental prospects
-Said developmental prospects would agree to a 1 or 2 year commitment at feeder school in exchange for playing time and perhaps "augmented" NIL opportunities than they would otherwise receive
-Marquee program picks from developed prospects on feeder school's roster, who are incentivized to stay in pipeline (instead of jumping ship to a bigger program) due to NIL opportunities carrying over (especially with shared media market) and familiarity with coaches/program due to marquee-feeder relationship.
Primary benefits for feeder school would be to have access to a pool of higher-rated prospects and NIL opportunities than they might otherwise, even on a short term rental basis.
Primary benefits for marquee school would be to raise average skill/talent/experience level of roster and have additional "recruiting" slots that don't count against the limits.
I could see UNI being Iowa's feeder school under this scenario, both through existing transfer history (especially in football), a shared media market, nearby access to each other's facilities, and the gap in competition level between the two conferences.
Thoughts? A bridge too far?
Edit: added N Illinois to the topic heading based on your alternate suggestions
I assume the general procedure would be:
-Marquee program in fb or mbb would fill out more of their roster with transfers/upperclassmen/proven commodities than worry about developmental prospects
-Said developmental prospects would agree to a 1 or 2 year commitment at feeder school in exchange for playing time and perhaps "augmented" NIL opportunities than they would otherwise receive
-Marquee program picks from developed prospects on feeder school's roster, who are incentivized to stay in pipeline (instead of jumping ship to a bigger program) due to NIL opportunities carrying over (especially with shared media market) and familiarity with coaches/program due to marquee-feeder relationship.
Primary benefits for feeder school would be to have access to a pool of higher-rated prospects and NIL opportunities than they might otherwise, even on a short term rental basis.
Primary benefits for marquee school would be to raise average skill/talent/experience level of roster and have additional "recruiting" slots that don't count against the limits.
I could see UNI being Iowa's feeder school under this scenario, both through existing transfer history (especially in football), a shared media market, nearby access to each other's facilities, and the gap in competition level between the two conferences.
Thoughts? A bridge too far?
Edit: added N Illinois to the topic heading based on your alternate suggestions
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