Kansas State AD Gene Taylor on growth of NIL: 'People were kind of ignoring the rules'

In one respect, Gene Taylor is no different from anybody else who has watched the NCAA's name, image and likeness policy roll out over the past 11 months.

He looked on with interest to see just how it would shake out.

But as Kansas State's athletics director, Taylor also found himself in the thick of the action, overseeing his program's transition into an era where athletes for the first time can cash in on their individual accomplishments.

The NCAA guidelines were deliberately vague, leading schools and individuals to push the limits of what constituted legitimate compensation for athletes without spilling over into recruiting inducements and pay-for-play.

More: Kansas State name, image and likeness collectives welcome new NCAA policy guidance

"People were kind of ignoring the rules that already existed in terms of recruiting inducements and boosters being involved," Taylor said last week during a K-State Catbackers tour stop in Salina. "Those have been the rules for a long time and all of a sudden people just ignored it."

The seemingly shady practices led the NCAA to offer new guidance, which basically reiterated the previous rules, saying it would go after individuals and institutions that used NIL as an inducement in recruiting and essentially paid athletes.

"I think what's happened is the ADs and the coaches have gotten fed up and said, 'We've got to do something,'" Taylor said. "So, the NCAA had been powerless. They hadn't been doing anything.

"They've been risk averse, let's put it that way, because they're afraid they're going to get sued. Well, they're going to get sued no matter what they do, so they had to do something."

K-State took steps before NIL went into effect last July to educate its coaches and athletes about what was permissible, and also cautioned boosters to steer clear of the recruiting process.

"I think the first thing we did is we have regular head coaches meetings," said Julie Owen, K-State's senior assistant athletics director for compliance. "So, as we were drafting the policy, we kind of ran it by them and got thoughts and feedback and made sure they understood the directions we were going.

"As it has evolved and they see things or hear things, we've been pretty cognizant to make sure they're understanding where we are as an administration and our view of what is permissible and not permissible."

Since the NIL implementation, various collectives have sprung up nationwide, geared toward helping athletes maximize their opportunities. K-State has two such collectives — Wildcats' Den and Wildcat NIL — that were created by former Wildcat athletes.

Fortunately, Taylor said, both groups have stayed out of the recruiting process and also have worked with the athletic department to ensure that they operate within the spirit of the NIL rules.

More: Kansas State basketball target Antoine Davis to return to Detroit Mercy, NIL deal in hand

"We made sure that they spent a lot of time with our compliance folks," Taylor said. "There have been individuals and we've told them the same thing.

"You can't be involved in the recruiting process. When they're on campus, if you think they're of value to your company, then talk to them. Don't do it before they get involved."

Former K-State basketball player Nijel Pack made headlines last month when after entering the transfer portal and signing with Miami, he also got a two-year, $800,000 NIL deal.

That, Taylor said, flies in the face of NIL's intent. So far, K-State's NIL deals have pretty much been restricted to athletes who have established themselves in their respective sports.

The most visible are football players Deuce Vaughn and Felix Anudike-Uzoma, women's basketball star Ayoka Lee and volleyball player Aliyah Carr.

"It's one thing for Deuce to be on campus, or a Yokie Lee, who comes here and then establishes an image," Taylor said. "You get paid for doing something, either doing appearances or doing commercials.

"It's another thing to offer some high school kid, who has never played a down or passed the ball. That makes no sense to me."

Taylor compared it to the business world.

"I even told some of our CEOs and friends of mind, 'Would you ever hire a high school kid and pay him at the top of your corporate pay structure? So why would you do that for a high school kid, who he or she might not even play for us?'

"There are pieces of it that don't make sense."

K-State also is implementing some one-hour courses, open to all students, geared toward NIL in general and also financial literacy.

"I think one of the neat things about name, image and likeness is it's really a cross-departmental endeavor," Owen said. "We have a role in the compliance office about educating student-athletes about the policy and what's permissible and what's still against NCAA rules.

"We have a student development team that does a lot of education in terms of how to read a contract and financial literacy, and then Kenny (Lannou, executive associate AD for communications) and his group do a lot of education related to brand management and how to build a positive social media presence. You touch many different places in the athletics department as we're implementing all of the (NIL) programming."

With athletes now claiming a piece of the financial pie, another challenge for Taylor is making sure donors continue to support the department as a whole.

"We haven't sensed it yet," Taylor said of any drain on the department coffers caused by NIL. "People that are giving to the collectives are thinking about it and they're still giving to us.

"We try to hammer that home, how important it is. We need to continue to give to the Ahearn Fund, continue to give to our needs, because that's operational dollars that we need to support our program."

With COVID-19 putting a strain on athletics budgets nationwide, Taylor said things have begun to stabilize and he anticipates that K-State's will finish the fiscal year in the black.

"I think our 2023 budget is going to be similar to the '19 budget in terms of dollars," he said.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas State plays by name, image, likeness rules, AD Gene Taylor says