Wichita State collective says NIL money growing after Shocker basketball coaching change

A year ago in the spring, Wichita State was left behind in the rapidly-evolving landscape of the college basketball world.

No money had been saved to entice basketball players to stay in Wichita to cash in on their name, image and likeness and no collective had been formed to spearhead the effort.

That lack of preparation in Wichita played at least some kind of role in significant roster turnover last spring, a change in athletic director and now a coaching change on the men’s basketball team.

Armchair Strategies, an NIL collective operated by a pair of Wichita businessmen, Tyler Weber and Tymber Lee, who are both former Shocker baseball players, was launched last April and the collective believes the same NIL problem isn’t facing Wichita State entering this offseason.

In fact, what used to be a weakness is turning into a strength.

“Since the decision was made on new leadership for our men’s basketball program, we have seen an uptick in contributions to our NIL programs and for the first time having six-figure pledges committed,” Armchair Strategies wrote to The Eagle in a statement.

“Having a successful NIL program is imperative in the recruitment of a new coaching staff that will know they are walking into a program that is committed to providing all resources to win.”

Because the collective is operated separately from the university, its finances are not available through open records request and cannot be independently verified by The Eagle. The collective said fans can expect to see NIL deals for players coming soon to back up its claims.

A bankroll in the hundreds of thousands of dollars for the men’s basketball team would likely rank WSU second, only behind Memphis, in the new-look American Athletic Conference once Houston, Cincinnati and UCF depart for the Big 12 this summer.

While NIL money isn’t the most important thing for a coach to win, it’s becoming increasingly important to make their program as appealing as possible for prospective athletes to come.

The past three coaches at Wichita State have led the team to an at-large NCAA Tournament bid and departed with a winning record, which should make the open position one of the more attractive ones in the country as athletic director Kevin Saal conducts a national search for the next head coach.

“Shocker Nation, your renewed and unwavering support is essential to restoring our program to national prominence,” Saal wrote in his open letter to WSU fans this past weekend. “Please join us on this critically important and transformative new journey; a journey that will require enhanced investment to expand and align resources to expectations.”