I’ve had a few conversations with the folks at Alliance 412 recently, and I thought there were a few things worth passing along.
- As it stands right now (or as of this morning), Alliance 412 had around 700 members. That’s not donations; that’s active members making monthly contributions. It’s a decent number, and obviously the 6-0 start to the season has helped quite a bit - even to the extent of adding nearly 200 new members. That’s a big jump, and it’s probably what you would expect to be the effect of on-field success: people get excited and they want to get involved. That’s what’s happening, and it’s a positive step for the collective’s efforts.
- At the same time, while 700 is breaking new ground for Alliance 412, it’s still worth considering in the proper context. Nationally and in the ACC, that number of members is pretty soundly in the bottom half (and probably closer to the bottom than the top or even the halfway point).
This jives with what I’ve heard in the past that Pitt’s NIL budget is near the bottom of the ACC. It’s actually fairly remarkable that Pitt is one of 11 teams in the country with an undefeated record despite having collective membership and an NIL budget that falls well below what most of the other undefeated teams - service academies aside, I presume - have access to.
- We’ve spoken a number of times about how Pitt and Alliance 412 have to approach the transfer portal and NIL deals and player acquisition and retention, and the bottom line is always the same:
Pitt needs to get a discount.
Fortunately for the Panthers, they’ve gotten a bunch of them. I would say, with very few exceptions, the players Pitt has added in the last two years and the players Pitt has retained in the last few years have chosen to take a “hometown discount” of sorts to play with the Panthers. Some of the most notable players on the teams - we’re talking football and men’s basketball - are getting considerably less here than they could have otherwise.
That’s just the reality of the situation, and while it forces Pitt - in a number of incarnations - into a “Moneyball” sort of approach that, quite frankly, has worked out pretty well, there’s another reality, too, and that other reality is this:
That approach isn’t sustainable. You just can’t keep getting discounts and finding hidden gems and hoping the relationships are strong enough to convince guys to play for less.
You can do it sometimes, but you can’t do it all the time. And if you have success, which Pitt has had in basketball and is having in football, it gets tougher to maintain.
Success brings a spotlight, and the players leading your success get the brightest spotlight - and draw the most attention. Which is another way of saying, if the Pitt football team keeps going like it has been, this offseason is going to be even more challenging in terms of player retention than last offseason was.
- So what’s the point? Is it simply that other teams have bigger NIL budgets and unless Pitt can convince players to take less money, those players are going to get lured away?
Yeah, to some extent, that’s it. There’s a ceiling to everything and there’s always going to be another school/collective that can offer more.
But that doesn’t mean Pitt can’t be more competitive. 700 is a nice number, but I think the people at Alliance 412 believe - and I kind of agree with them - that it can be higher. Say what you want about the Pitt fanbase, but it seems entirely reasonable to me to think there are 1,000 Pitt fans who are willing to contribute to the effort, particularly as they watch a whole bunch of transfers and NIL-influenced players in prominent roles on a 6-0 team.
- I think that might be the main message I’ve taken away from my conversations with people at Alliance 412:
Look at what leveraging NIL efforts has done. Pitt’s leading passer, rusher and receiver this season are all transfers - not to mention the second, fourth, sixth and seventh-leading receivers, or the guy who made the catch of the year against West Virginia; they’re all transfers, too. Oh, and the other two guys in the top seven of receptions this season are players whose presence at Pitt right now is tied in a not-insignificant way to NIL.
That's a lot of production and success tied back to NIL and the work of the collective, and like I said, it's been done with support that lags well behind most of Pitt's peers.
- I also think it’s important to note the ongoing relationship between the collective and Pitt. Alliance 412 is not officially affiliated with Pitt, but there is a lot of collaboration: there is cooperative work with the coaching staffs on personnel matters, and there is a growing connection between the collective and Athletic Department officials.
Take the recent news that Alliance 412 members/donors can earn Panther Club priority points for the money they give to the collective. I think that’s a pretty big step in terms of the Athletic Department publicly supporting Alliance 412 and the NIL efforts, and I don’t think that’s the only thing happening on that front. I think the Athletic Department is looking into more and more ways to support and advance the goals of the collective.
It seems to me that all of this is notable because, as far as I can tell from conversations, social media posts and activity here on the board, I think there’s still some skepticism about who Alliance 412 is and what they do. I would say this:
Alliance 412 is a partner of Pitt athletics working in collaboration with two parties - the coaches to bring talent to the rosters and administration to rally the support necessary to be competitive.
- That’s ultimately what it comes down to: there are certain realities about what it takes to be competitive in college sports in 2024, and those realities center on fan involvement.
Is Pitt going to have the biggest “war chest” in the ACC? No, probably not. Can it do better - and does it need to do better - than 700 members? Yeah, it probably does.
- One other thing: the people at Alliance 412 are very familiar with this board and the community we have here. I think they know you guys are among the most dedicated Pitt fans in the universe; after all, that’s why you’re here. And they value your input and opinions on all the things we’re talking about here.
So if you have a thought or idea or question - anything like that - reach out. Reach out to Alliance 412 directly or post it on the board or even ask me and I can try to get an answer. Alliance 412 exists and will thrive with the support of the fans, and I think they have a lot of respect for the fans who spend their time and money on this site. So don’t hesitate to reach out.
- As it stands right now (or as of this morning), Alliance 412 had around 700 members. That’s not donations; that’s active members making monthly contributions. It’s a decent number, and obviously the 6-0 start to the season has helped quite a bit - even to the extent of adding nearly 200 new members. That’s a big jump, and it’s probably what you would expect to be the effect of on-field success: people get excited and they want to get involved. That’s what’s happening, and it’s a positive step for the collective’s efforts.
- At the same time, while 700 is breaking new ground for Alliance 412, it’s still worth considering in the proper context. Nationally and in the ACC, that number of members is pretty soundly in the bottom half (and probably closer to the bottom than the top or even the halfway point).
This jives with what I’ve heard in the past that Pitt’s NIL budget is near the bottom of the ACC. It’s actually fairly remarkable that Pitt is one of 11 teams in the country with an undefeated record despite having collective membership and an NIL budget that falls well below what most of the other undefeated teams - service academies aside, I presume - have access to.
- We’ve spoken a number of times about how Pitt and Alliance 412 have to approach the transfer portal and NIL deals and player acquisition and retention, and the bottom line is always the same:
Pitt needs to get a discount.
Fortunately for the Panthers, they’ve gotten a bunch of them. I would say, with very few exceptions, the players Pitt has added in the last two years and the players Pitt has retained in the last few years have chosen to take a “hometown discount” of sorts to play with the Panthers. Some of the most notable players on the teams - we’re talking football and men’s basketball - are getting considerably less here than they could have otherwise.
That’s just the reality of the situation, and while it forces Pitt - in a number of incarnations - into a “Moneyball” sort of approach that, quite frankly, has worked out pretty well, there’s another reality, too, and that other reality is this:
That approach isn’t sustainable. You just can’t keep getting discounts and finding hidden gems and hoping the relationships are strong enough to convince guys to play for less.
You can do it sometimes, but you can’t do it all the time. And if you have success, which Pitt has had in basketball and is having in football, it gets tougher to maintain.
Success brings a spotlight, and the players leading your success get the brightest spotlight - and draw the most attention. Which is another way of saying, if the Pitt football team keeps going like it has been, this offseason is going to be even more challenging in terms of player retention than last offseason was.
- So what’s the point? Is it simply that other teams have bigger NIL budgets and unless Pitt can convince players to take less money, those players are going to get lured away?
Yeah, to some extent, that’s it. There’s a ceiling to everything and there’s always going to be another school/collective that can offer more.
But that doesn’t mean Pitt can’t be more competitive. 700 is a nice number, but I think the people at Alliance 412 believe - and I kind of agree with them - that it can be higher. Say what you want about the Pitt fanbase, but it seems entirely reasonable to me to think there are 1,000 Pitt fans who are willing to contribute to the effort, particularly as they watch a whole bunch of transfers and NIL-influenced players in prominent roles on a 6-0 team.
- I think that might be the main message I’ve taken away from my conversations with people at Alliance 412:
Look at what leveraging NIL efforts has done. Pitt’s leading passer, rusher and receiver this season are all transfers - not to mention the second, fourth, sixth and seventh-leading receivers, or the guy who made the catch of the year against West Virginia; they’re all transfers, too. Oh, and the other two guys in the top seven of receptions this season are players whose presence at Pitt right now is tied in a not-insignificant way to NIL.
That's a lot of production and success tied back to NIL and the work of the collective, and like I said, it's been done with support that lags well behind most of Pitt's peers.
- I also think it’s important to note the ongoing relationship between the collective and Pitt. Alliance 412 is not officially affiliated with Pitt, but there is a lot of collaboration: there is cooperative work with the coaching staffs on personnel matters, and there is a growing connection between the collective and Athletic Department officials.
Take the recent news that Alliance 412 members/donors can earn Panther Club priority points for the money they give to the collective. I think that’s a pretty big step in terms of the Athletic Department publicly supporting Alliance 412 and the NIL efforts, and I don’t think that’s the only thing happening on that front. I think the Athletic Department is looking into more and more ways to support and advance the goals of the collective.
It seems to me that all of this is notable because, as far as I can tell from conversations, social media posts and activity here on the board, I think there’s still some skepticism about who Alliance 412 is and what they do. I would say this:
Alliance 412 is a partner of Pitt athletics working in collaboration with two parties - the coaches to bring talent to the rosters and administration to rally the support necessary to be competitive.
- That’s ultimately what it comes down to: there are certain realities about what it takes to be competitive in college sports in 2024, and those realities center on fan involvement.
Is Pitt going to have the biggest “war chest” in the ACC? No, probably not. Can it do better - and does it need to do better - than 700 members? Yeah, it probably does.
- One other thing: the people at Alliance 412 are very familiar with this board and the community we have here. I think they know you guys are among the most dedicated Pitt fans in the universe; after all, that’s why you’re here. And they value your input and opinions on all the things we’re talking about here.
So if you have a thought or idea or question - anything like that - reach out. Reach out to Alliance 412 directly or post it on the board or even ask me and I can try to get an answer. Alliance 412 exists and will thrive with the support of the fans, and I think they have a lot of respect for the fans who spend their time and money on this site. So don’t hesitate to reach out.
