How South Carolina, Ray Tanner are adjusting to changing college athletics landscape

Destin, Fla.

Ray Tanner has hung out on the Florida Panhandle nearly yearly for the previous decade.

As of late, Tanner is among the many elder statesmen within the room when Southeastern Convention athletic administrators collect for his or her annual spring conferences within the Sunshine State. He’s at present the second-longest tenured AD within the league behind solely Kentucky’s Mitch Barnhart — who’s been on the helm in Lexington since 2002.

That offers one perspective solely time can afford.

“We’ve obtained quite a bit to be pleased with at this convention,” Tanner informed The State. “I’ve been within the league now a complete of 26 years (as an AD and baseball coach). So it’s been nice to be a part of such an amazing league.”

This week, Tanner and the league’s athletic administrators have spent numerous hours discussing every part from potential modifications within the SEC’s soccer scheduling mannequin to changes within the sport’s intraconference switch deadline.

Smack dab on the middle of the beachfront discussions, although, have been the rising frustration with inconsistent rules surrounding title, picture and likeness in collegiate athletics.

“Some type of uniform title, picture and likeness commonplace that helps some type of equitable nationwide competitors, I feel, is basically, actually essential in faculty athletics and faculty soccer,” Alabama coach Nick Saban mentioned on Tuesday. “We’ve all the time had that.”

The NCAA has largely stood pat when it comes to regulating the cost of student-athletes for concern of potential authorized challenges and, possible, antitrust fits that will be introduced ought to they try to take action.

That’s left leagues, states and colleges to manage NIL, in the event that they so select, thus creating inconsistencies throughout the board.

“There’s plenty of ‘what ifs’ being mentioned, plenty of ‘what ifs,’” Mississippi State president Mark Keenum informed reporters on Thursday in regard to the way forward for faculty athletics. “Nobody has solutions — no definitive solutions, for positive.”

The place South Carolina, and different states, are at present hamstrung is thru the restrictions positioned on their capacity to be concerned with NIL offers in comparison with extra overtly navigable legal guidelines elsewhere.

South Carolina’s present regulation precludes colleges from managing NIL offers for student-athletes and/or having any actual hands-on method within the course of.

That, nevertheless, is slated to vary.

It’s largely anticipated that South Carolina’s state regulation that handed in April 2021 shall be suspended on July 1, opening the door for the college to take a extra direct method to NIL and dealing student-athletes via potential offers.

Tanner informed The State he additionally wouldn’t rule out USC working to handle offers in-house, along with offering academic measures that will assist athletes to keep away from offers that could be dangerous to them that will in any other case be signed beneath the present construction ought to the regulation be suspended.

“It nonetheless stays somewhat bit, perhaps somewhat bit fuzzy,” Tanner mentioned. “However all of us wish to assist. You don’t need athletes to enter into any kind of settlement the place they get in hassle with it, or it’s they could possibly be sued, or they assume they’ve a possibility and it will get nixed.

“We wish to be useful, and I feel that’s the important thing element. However whenever you see these large numbers — OK, I can dwell with the large numbers. Let’s simply be certain that it’s all accomplished for the precise causes, in the precise approach.”

One perceived answer to the smorgasbord of state legal guidelines that are actually on the books is pushing student-athletes to grow to be workers of their respective colleges. That, although, has its personal drawbacks.

South Carolina’s athletics division, for instance, operated at a loss throughout the 2020 fiscal 12 months, in keeping with paperwork obtained by The State, largely resulting from points associated to the COVID-19 pandemic. That doesn’t embrace the practically $15 million in buyouts the varsity has shouldered during the last two years to fireplace soccer coach Will Muschamp and males’s basketball coach Frank Martin.

Ought to student-athletes grow to be salaried workers that stark monetary actuality would create a vacuum most colleges wouldn’t have the ability to shoulder beneath the present construction.

“Simply my opinion — as soon as we go there, the mannequin is in hassle as soon as athletes are workers,” Tanner mentioned. “I feel that the intercollegiate mannequin has severe points and when you cross that threshold — some folks say we’re already there — I don’t assume we’re already there, but.”

This isn’t to say South Carolina is wilting beneath the strain of the monetization of school athletes or is on the verge of monetary smash.

Tanner informed The State USC is working again towards working within the black. It has additionally benefited, at the least partially, from pleasure surrounding Shane Beamer’s soccer program and the ladies’s basketball crew’s most up-to-date nationwide title by way of elevated ticket gross sales (Tanner didn’t present precise numbers as these stay ongoing) and advertising and marketing.

“When coach (Daybreak) Staley wins a nationwide championship, you may’t purchase that advertising and marketing,” Tanner defined. “You possibly can’t pay for that and that’s large. And her personally — her presentation and her platform — she reaches not simply ladies’s basketball, she reaches throughout all limitations, strains. She’s unbelievable.”

Faculty sports activities have modified loads in Tanner’s decade because the AD at South Carolina. NIL, the switch portal and convention realignment are solely latest elements of that.

The inflow of cash via TV offers and convention revenues has additionally added strain on ADs to nail their teaching hires — essentially the most outward dealing with of their job obligations. Tanner, for instance, has acquired ample criticism in latest days for not shifting on from baseball coach Mark Kingston. (He mentioned he wouldn’t touch upon the matter in the interim.)

That mentioned, Tanner mentioned the most recent slate of big-picture points mentioned in Destin have him trying endearingly towards the long run. In spite of everything, no change after some time will get boring.

“It’s energizing,” he mentioned. “I don’t assume you need something to be stagnant. You need progress.”