The NIL support for Indiana basketball has always been strong — now opposing college coaches believe it, too

Mike Woodson hasn’t shied away from discussing NIL and how it’s impacted college basketball — and more specifically the Indiana basketball program.

With the ever-changing waters of college basketball recruiting and the impact NIL has had on numerous programs and coaches, it has been *unofficially* evident that Indiana basketball has had one of the most competitive NIL backings and support nationally over the last few years.

And even though Mike Woodson continues to navigate those sometimes murky waters, he understands it’s part of the game, now.

“It’s gonna help. I think anytime you get additional money that goes towards recruiting, it’s going to help,” Woodson said earlier this summer on the ‘Bossman Show’. “We’re in different times now, man. This summer was a busy summer for me and my staff in terms of entertaining the portal and it’s just a lot of work and it’s not going to change. It’s going to be that way for years to come. It is what it is.”

With the influx of NIL support and recruiting efforts, this summer was the most impactful for the Indiana basketball program under Woodson. IU hauled in a consensus top-3 recruiting class with the likes of three top-20 transfers in Oumar Ballo, Kanaan Carlyle and Myles Rice.

In total, Indiana added a total of seven players this offseason — and six from the transfer portal.

How? In large part to NIL and the collectives that Indiana has made available and put in place. That incudes collectives such as Hoosiers for Good and Hoosiers Connect. Both coincide with certain athlete endorsement deals, public event appearances and the ever-increasing merchandise sales.

Mike Woodson made it clear at the end of last season what their support means to the program.

“I’d like to thank Pete Yonkman (Cook Group President) of Hoosiers for Good, and all of the NIL participants who’ve given money to keep our program where it should be,” he said during his Senior Day remarks.

Well, on Thursday it was confirmed by anonymous coaches around the country what they thought of the Indiana NIL effort.

Gary Parrish and Matt Norlander of CBS Sports polled more than 100 college coachespolled more than 100 college coaches, asking their thoughts on NIL and which programs they think have the strongest collectives. It is part of their “Candid Coaches” series. Indiana basketball was polled as the fifth-strongest.

IU came in with 16.9 percent of the votes.

The top five include:

1. Arkansas at 73.7%
2. Kansas at 43.2%
3. BYU at 30.6%
4. Kentucky at 25.3%
5. Indiana at 16.9%

The Indiana fan base has been one of the strongest communities for quite some time. There’s no doubting that.

But it’s clear, programs around the country think — and to some extent, know — that it now carries with it multiple tools of support.

Despite all of that, the old-school part of Mike Woodson still rises.

”It’s a new era now in college sports, no doubt about that. My approach has always been and it won’t change — I’m selling you on education and it’s up to you to buy in,” Woodson added this summer. “I’m selling you on education and selling you on playing for a great program in Indiana University basketball. Playing for a guy that is going to be in your corner in Mike Woodson and the money is what it is. The NIL and collectives, that’s part of the game, I get that. But if you’re coming to me thinking, ‘coach I just want to get paid’ and thinking about chances to getting to the NBA, you’ve got the wrong coach.”

We’ll see if the NIL collectives paid off this offseason when Indiana takes the floor in November.

Recruiting is no longer an issue — or shouldn’t be — for Woodson and Indiana. Now, it’s time to put the proper product on the court.

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