’We give to the I-Fund is that the same thing as giving to NIL?’
O'Donnell leaves radio analyst job...
*’We give to the I-Fund is that the same thing as giving to NIL?’…
-Kathleen Knight of the Illini NIL collective ICON recently gave a presentation to the QB Club in Champaign....many of those old farts left more confused about NIL after her talk……’We give to the I-Fund is that the same thing as giving to NIL?’ kind of questions asked…….shrugged it off as older crowd that don’t understand what college sports are now.
Ran reaction to presentation by a few (5) Illini boosters all in their 40s successful want to see NIL do well/contribute……to a man all agreed with what one booster said about his interaction with ICON…..”tell you the truth…..last time we met with her I had same struggles. It was like she had a time and word count hit. I think there is a school for AD types that teaches them how to talk a long time and say nothing’…OK so it’s just not the old farts that might not be clear on NIL.
Get it….Athletic director Whitman wants a polished/corporate presentation of NIL….Knight does that…very well…she is a hard worker (former Illini swimmer/long time family ties to UIUC) needs more staff for such a big job in my view….but…..does that ‘corporate’ style resonate with majority of boosters/donors/fans? I think not…rather than just complain about it….offer a few suggestions on how to be more engaged with your donors/getting them excited about giving.
Old saying, ‘only two types of guys in the world…ones you want to have a beer with, ones you don’t’….strategy goes like this....be the guy everyone wants to have a beer with….bullshit with donors…...give them some 'inside info' on the teams makes them feel ‘special’….not everyone is on social media/message boards getting daily updates on every little detail…..give donors examples of what the ‘competition’ is doing with NIL…..once you got ‘em informed/excited/loosened up…closing sales pitch, ‘you want to win right? Well give to our NIL’ …. ‘polished’ ‘corporate’? probably not but it works.
*’In-state kids do best when they stay in-state’…
-Former Illini All-American guard Martin O’Donnell last week announced he wouldn’t be returning in 2024 as radio color analyst on football broadcasts…..He started out doing the post-game show on WDWS…replaced Kurt Kittner 2014 as color analyst…..Martin did a fantastic job…fair and honest…you learned about what was working/not working during the game from O’Donnell’s call…..cheered the great moments….critical of bad play/coaching without being over the top……Remember Steve Kelly saying, ‘roped Martin into doing the post-game show’ spring 2010….had to laugh knowing the previous host (Eric Loy) had gotten fired after the 2009 season cause Ron Zook’s wife didn’t like his speculation on the head coaches job status post-game shows.
Some O’Donnell memories…Mid-December 2002 returned from a night on the town…look at my website there it is….’Five-Star Downers Grove South offensive lineman Martin O’Donnell' commits to Illinois’…some good news after a shitty 2002 seasons….great…O’Donnell because of injuries/changing o-line coaches/blocking schemes…never quite lived up to the five-star hype till….
January 2007 Zook hired Eric Wolford off the University of Arizona staff to coach o-line replacing Ed Warinner…’Wolfie’ came in a ball of fire…first two linemen he met with face to face? Seniors O’Donnell and former five-star/Oklahoma transfer/tackle Akim Millington….challenged both….’coaches in this office don’t think you are tough enough, dedicated enough to ever get the most out of your ability….honestly don’t trust either of you to be good enough to win with’….O’Donnell took right to proving everyone ‘wrong……Millington tougher nut to crack but eventually came around….He moved from left to right tackle played thru injuries to have the best season of his college career….O’Donnell team captain 2007/first team AP All-American helping running back Rashard Mendenhall become Big Ten MVP that season.
Wolford would give O’Donnell 20 bucks (wink wink) weekly to take the rest of the offensive line out for ‘pizza’/bonding make them all feel a part of the unit…pre-practice O’Donnell going thru drills with his teammates yell at a lineman ‘that was half assed, do it full speed and correct’….leadership….it meant something to him…night of his commitment 2002….had a message on my answering machine….still had a land line it was 2002 fellas’….never forgot the message from the local Champaign newspaper football beat reporter that night, ‘is O’Donnell slow in the head or something? He picked Illinois over Nebraska? Something must be wrong with him’….beat guy huge Nebraska fan still is.
Yeah O’Donnell ‘slow’….All-American/captain of a Rose Bowl team/degree from UIUC…O’Donnell married a local girl (Danville)/fellow UIUC grad….worked in fund-raising University Foundation before Busey Bank hired him…now an executive vice-president there.….same ‘reporter’ kisses O’Donnell’s ass each time he sees him now……’in-state kids do best when they stay in-state’.
*Letters we get letters…
-Few messaged me after the O’Donnell news, ‘you going to be the next color guy on the Illini broadcast?’….yeah they were joking….reasons why I won’t be applying for the job.
‘Hey Brian can you tell me what the fuck they are doing down there?’ probably won’t fly as acceptable analysis on a broadcast.
Face for radio no doubt….Midwest nasal accent…my voice on radio is not good.
‘Hey Brian Miss Illinois coming up the stairs….look at the stems on blondie!’ during a break in the action….again kind of comment probably not acceptable analysis on a broadcast.
To do that job…have to get up early…leave the house…be nice to people in the ‘media’/athletic department….as an ‘older fella’….don’t like doing any of that shit unless I have to.
*Statue of limitations has run out…media on the road…
-Know majority of you loves the stories…….Back in the old days when several newspapers/TV crews would go on the road to cover Illinois sports….a few prominent media types would end up at local strip joint enjoying the scenery…..certain three-some always go out together, two ‘younger’ journalists would tell the dancers the third member of the group ‘their grandfather and it’s his birthday’ to get him extra attention….did it all over Big Ten country….worked every time.
We all love Martin as the analyst. He's going to be missed. When he was with the Foundation, we got to meet him. He was fundraising for the Library, and he came to our house once, and another time he took my wife and myself to lunch. He's as genuine in person as he is on the radio.
I think it'd be great if you got the job, Jeff. Heck, I'd do it!!
Great work, as always.