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6’11”/274 per Iowa St official site. Started 30 games for the Cyclones this season.

@Pub_PaulZeise

Paul since you have given us more info on NIL in the last two weeks then that Goober/Turd Peak did in the last 3 years, I was curious what your thoughts are if Pitt is ever getting an on Campus Stadium. You seem to be dialed in, what are your sources or people in the know saying?

Thanks….

Darren Heitner is an agent and expert in all things NIL. He is a good follow on Twitter even though he sometimes is a little too pro-player (not a shock) for my tastes.

These are two things he tweeted that I think give you an idea where all of this is going….

“An “NIL” budget in the realm of $10 million is what it’s going to take to be competitive for the 2025-26 basketball season.

You can complain about it or start figuring out where that money is coming from.

We aren’t going back to “the old days.” Adapt or die.”

And he also tweeted this:

“
The amount of money offered to basketball players in the transfer portal is bananas.

It's hard to believe that 5 years ago, college athletes were lucky to receive envelopes of cash here and there and not get caught.

Today, similarly talented athletes are certified millionaires”

****

I mean, if you want to know where Pitt stands and why it is tough for the Panthers right now to compete those two probably shed a lot of light.

I have talked to two other NIL agents who told me this is absolutely an “athlete’s market” and the cost of doing business right now is high.

It will be interesting to see where this all heads

Don't look now, but the Buccos swept the Red Sox at Fenway

2023 Team Payroll
New York Mets $355,436,854
N.Y. Yankees $275,249,873
San Diego $257,610,217
Philadelphia $236,260,439
Los Angeles Dodgers $221,759,500
Los Angeles Angels $212,228,095
Toronto $210,367,554
Texas $199,569,490
Atlanta $197,332,500
San Francisco $193,482,500
Houston $192,767,233
Boston $190,556,279
Chicago White Sox $189,158,667
Chicago Cubs $179,168,250
Colorado $176,008,778
Minnesota $156,488,740
St. Louis $152,712,308
Seattle $130,969,948
Detroit $123,500,500
Arizona $117,251,292
Milwaukee $116,351,987
Washington $101,540,153
Miami $91,975,000
Kansas City $90,118,100
Cleveland $89,824,629
Cincinnati $84,175,714
Tampa Bay $75,209,811
Pittsburgh $71,652,500
Baltimore $60,422,300
Oakland $57,795,000


Hey we’re not in last!

Just a clarification - I know that Pat Narduzzi called Whaley the general manager and he is in that he serves in that regard. But when I talked to Doug last week he doesn’t have that official designation and it isn’t a full-time job because he still has a number of other projects he is involved in with respect to various professional leagues. He has done the work on contracts and negotiating pay and NIL stuff and he works with the collective as well. Pitt hasn’t gone the full step of making him the full time GM like other schools have but that obviously could happen. Doug is smart and when I talked to him last week he has a good vision for what Pitt can become. He said he is excited to work with Allen Greene because the last AD really did everything possible to sabotage the efforts of the collective. So there is that

It was nice knowing ya.

Lol

Holstein was good but not great in 2024, he was not anywhere near the hype the media is giving him. Who knows how much NIL money, but for sure he has not yet earned it. In my opinion, Holstein has not done enough to lock up the #1 job. It should be an open competition. Duggar and Heintschel should have a chance to battle for the #1 spot.

Here is my Redshirt Diaries for April 1st. Hope you enjoy....

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after all the portal transfers are completed?

Forbes named Pitt to its top 20 Public Ivy League schools and CMU to its Private Ivy League schools. Great recognition. Was surprised to see a 50% acceptance rate for Pitt and Purdue.

This link allows you to read it beyond the paywall...impressive lists


Regarding true Ivy League schools..."employers share a growing distaste for America’s oldest and most venerable colleges. In a Forbes survey answered by more than 380 C-suite inhabitants, vice presidents and other managers, 37% said they are less likely to hire an Ivy League graduate than they were five years ago—up from 33% who said the same last year. Another 12% said they would never hire an Ivy League graduate. Survey respondents pointed to graduates’ attitudes and lack of humility as sticking points. “I believe Ivy League candidates are over valued, and they frequently have a higher than real opinion of themselves,” one C-suite-level respondent wrote. “Entry-level job candidates should be “eager to learn, have no ego or be ‘stuck-up’ because of the school they attended,” said another.

So if America’s favor is turning away from its most elite private schools, where are employers, students and parents looking instead? For the second year, Forbes New Ivies has selected 10 outstanding public universities and 10 top private schools that are attracting the best and the brightest, and graduating students that are outpacing most Ivy Leaguers in the eyes of employers. These colleges are highly selective—applicants have a one in seven chance, or slimmer, to gain admission to one of the private New Ivies, and a 50% chance or less to enroll at one of the 10 mostly large public universities. And, they accept the best—the private New Ivies admit students with a median SAT score of 1530—slightly higher than the nation’s largest Ivy, Cornell University, which has a median SAT score of 1520. The public universities, which educate a combined 396,000 students, admit students with a median SAT score of 1410.

Many of these schools are making their second appearance on our list—Johns Hopkins University, Northwestern University and the University of Michigan, for example, continue to impress. But this year, we welcome six newcomers: Washington University in St Louis, Tufts University in Massachusetts; Purdue University in Indiana; the United States Military Academy at West Point; the University of Pittsburgh; and William & Mary in Virginia.

The two other public New Ivies newcomers—Purdue University and the University of Pittsburgh—better fit the public flagship university mold. Purdue, in West Lafayette, Indiana, enrolls more than 56,000 students (a portion of them who study online), and Pittsburgh enrolls about 35,600 students."

I have it on good authority that Tomlin will fire Penguins head coach Sullivan and pirates head coach Shelton but only after the draft concludes. Tomlin has to focus on the Steelers potential first round blunder and then he can whack those two losers. Dulac is reporting this also.

Sights and sounds of Pitt practice....

Here are Karl's thoughts on spring camp thus far

Khalil Taylor from Seton-LaSalle just committed to Penn State. Pitt wanted him, worked to recruit him but right now there is seemingly a Blue and White wall around the best players in the WPIAL. Terry Smith is crushing it but I bet the money he has to offer helps. Taylor is a 4-star and top 50 player. Pitt has to crack this wall somehow.

I predict Pitt vs ND for Gameday in November. You heard it here first!

He whiffed three more times today in the number 5 batting position. The pirates should have a night where everybody in attendance gets a free beverage when Jack strikes out.

Or maybe Nutting contributes $1,000 everytime Jack strikes out to Pirate Charities.

This is great

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I'm not that tuned into what is going on elsewhere in college basketball as many of yinz. While Pitt is being decimated by the portal, how are other ACC teams and similar schools faring? Should I be concerned over Pitt's situation or is this all just the new normal of college basketball?

Here is my latest edition of the Redshirt Diaries. Hope you enjoy......

I don't think this is a surprise to anyone who is paying attention. It felt like he was probably going to move on last year and they got him to stay. Karl is going to have a story with further details today and hopefully we can talk to the kid or his agent.

But he had a rough year, it was pretty clear the second half of the season he wasn't particularly happy and I would be willing to bet because he is a guard that can score (at least on some level, he needs to shoot much better) he will command a decent NIL deal.

One thing that is happening right now that is interesting is the top guys and even some of the not so top guys are jacking up their prices because they want to maximize their NIL deals before the rules all change and the revenue share part of this all comes into play. I think that is important to note because there hasn't been quite as many guys signed quickly as in the past.

I do believe this after having a talk with a couple of people who follow the money side of this closely - revenue sharing will help Pitt be more competitive in paying guys. I hope this isn't 100 percent just "I can get more money elsewhere" but by the same token, if it isn't, that is not good news because I would think Lowe would be the kind of player who thrives in Capel's system.

Like I said Karl will have much more on this later today

According to ON3 sports, Milwaukee junior forward Jamichael Stillwell is going to schedule visits to Pitt, USC and Oklahoma. So this is the first known visitor we have from the portal. He was first-team All-Horizon League and averaged 13 points and 10.7 rebounds per game.