For Cal Poly Athletics, a new source of funding, the Players Trust, was rolled out earlier this week as a way for people to donate directly to different programs and even athletes in an effort to supplement scholarship and Name, Image and Likeness compensation.
“[We are] learning these new ways in which we can recruit and retain our student athletes financially," Cal Poly Athletic Director Don Oberhelman explained.
A perfect example of how the Players Trust could work is taking a look at freshman Peter Bandelj, who had an excellent season on the basketball court. He entered the transfer portal to see what more financial and basketball opportunities he could get at a bigger school, something that is commonplace in today’s athletic landscape.
“I feel like there's no downside in testing the water," Bandelj said.
He entered the portal, fielding looks and offers in some cases from other schools, some of them bigger and able to offer more compensation.
“If they blow up and they're able to contribute on a Power Five [conference] roster, well then we'll wish them well and glad we were able to help them in their journey," Cal Poly Head Men's Basketball Coach Mike DiGeorge stated.
DiGeorge is in his first year with the program. He led the Mustangs to a semifinal berth in the Big West Tournament.
Bandelj said he turned down more than $250,000 at a bigger program to return to Cal Poly for far less money but with the opportunity to stay in a program and grow after a promising first year.
“At the end, I just felt like coming back to Cal Poly was the best decision for my next, for my career," Bandelj said. He'll now have a chance to improve as a player, stay in a familiar system and bet on himself with the potential of earning more money down the road.
The goal of the Players Trust is to retain as many quality student-athletes as possible and, for DiGeorge, make sure they have a great experience to go along with some form of compensation.
“You're not going to get wealthy," DiGeorge said. "But our goal is to help you have a very comfortable experience here where you can enjoy the Central Coast and you're going to have a great experience and have a few dollars in your pocket.“
Amid the House vs. NCAA settlement, there will be roster cuts across all sports but up to 200 more scholarship opportunities, according to Oberhelman, which is something this trust will help fund.
“We've already lost four or five students to six-figure deals elsewhere," he admitted. "That's just not something that we're prepared to do at this point in time. We do feel like, however, we're far ahead of our peers in the Big West and Big Sky conferences in terms of rolling out this Players Trust.”
It's a fund that could help incentivize other student-athletes like Bandelj to stay in the future.
“I just feel like next year here with all the guys, I feel we have a great thing going and I'm excited to be back,” he said.
