Four years ago, when the To The Top Collective was first formed, the goal was for Southern Miss not to be left behind in the evolving world of college athletics that now features athletes being legally paid.
For the last several years, the TTT Collective has focused on building a strong foundation for what would eventually become legal revenue sharing, which became official last week with the approval of the NCAA Settlement.
"There are still a lot (of other schools) scrambling to figure this out," said To The Top Collective Executive Director Peter Boehme. "This is what To The Top Collective was scrambled on back in 2021 and 2022. We had an understanding of what this new phase was going to be like and be ready for it.
"I think the biggest thing for people to be aware of is now that the settlement has happened, it did not eliminate the need for revenue. It did not eliminate the services that the membership will continue to provide; It did not eliminate the growth and enhancement of our student-athlete experience. It didn't eliminate how we are going to compete going forward."
For the last few years, it has been essentially a wild west and arms race of who can raise the most money and who could have the most to pay athletes, and it hasn't been much different for Southern Miss. However, unlike other schools, Boehme helped the school establish a strong foundation for the future of revenue sharing. As many schools are choosing to absorb their collectives as part of their athletic departments, Southern Miss will not be electing to go that path.
"The collective was formed to be an extension, or a wing of the athletic department in an effort to help fundraising to share revenue with student-athletes," Boehme said. "It's a revenue stream that helps compete at the next level and not start from scratch. My whole focus when I started it was to make sure that we didn't get left behind because I was tired of feeling like Southern Miss was getting left behind. So, the 500-plus members of the collective also wanted to make sure that we didn't get left behind. This was formed because of the passion and the fuel for our athletics, and that's what's going to carry it."
Overall, the result of the settlement did not surprise Boehme, and in some ways, it was a welcoming sight. The settlement has now separated the ways of paying athletes, with the first being revenue sharing. Schools will be capped at spending $20.5 million, a figure Southern Miss will not be reaching.
Another way athletes can earn money is through NIL, which will be regulated by the newly formed College Sports Commission and the use of NIL GO. The creation of NIL Go, which is primarily intended to prevent booster payments to athletes who, for four years now, have been masquerading as commercial and endorsement deals.
NIL GO is a centralized clearinghouse designed to oversee and regulate athlete endorsements. The system requires Division I athletes to report any NIL deal worth more than $600. Before the settlement, Boehme spent more of his time helping to finalize NIL deals and ensuring that they followed correct NCAA procedures rather than focusing solely on fundraising for the collective.
"I'm going to focus less on the human resources aspect of running a company, and I'll be able to run a company that is focused on finding revenue streams," Boehme said. "A lot of the tasks that I was having to create for the players we're not creating revenue. We get a few members if the right player posts about joining at the right time. That's good work, but a lot of expense that my month is the payroll. As a business owner, if you are paying for something, you want to get something back.
"Now that revenue sharing is here, the collective can now focus a lot more of its resources and time and energy on driving revenue, whereas in the NIL era, the collective's purpose was a lot of where I had to spend time on player engagement, contracts, payments, personnel and the day-to-day of helping an athlete because I was their employer essentially."
Fundraising will include more events for members and prospective members. Events like the second annual Fore Athletes Golf Tournament on July 14 are part of those plans. Boehme is still looking for sponsors, and more details can be found at www.tothetopcollective.com.
"The collective is focused on creating revenue and value for our members, engaging the local community with opportunities to sponsorships and athletes," Boehme said. "From an athlete's side, it's having a platform that can help all of our coaches in recruiting. Hopefully, the student-athletes see the emphasis our collective has and that it isn't going away because of the things that we want to have for them while they're here and enhance their experience."
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