Thank you for a sincere reply. Clearly, Illinois fans here are easily triggered. First, I also bleed orange and blue and will always be a fan dreaming of that title.I'm also a longtime lurker and have never posted until today. I am also a long time booster (graduated in the 80's). The second I found about the Illini Guardians, I donated and will continue to do so. We agree in one sense-I don't like all the change that's happened to college basketball either, but that's the new landscape. I still love March Madness. I still love going to games in Champaign. I still love following recruiting on this site. I still love the team and I still bleed orange & blue. You asked why boosters should continue to support the program? The answer is still the same for me. I want to see them win a national championship-whether it's with a four year player, a one and done, or a transfer. Now, your donations can be pooled with others to create NIL contracts with the student athletes. Your impact can be immediate and direct. You've made your choice and I've made mine. I will continue to support, even more so than I have in the past.
Also a late 80’s alumni, I have been fortunate to be able to donate to specific facility projects (Most recently for Ubben), as well as towards general athletic funds over the years. However, as you and many others have said before, the entire landscape of college athletics has evolved into something unrecognizable from our day. The entire point of me posting in the first place was to acknowledge that I have been ethically torn and to seek feedback from other donors— so thanks again. Fundamentally, I just became too conflicted. Seriously, what is the point of a public university??? It just seems to be way out of balance now. Between the network revenues and NIL, I also started to feel like I was being duped. I will still support U of I but will be shifting my donations towards areas I now consider more impactful for the university as a whole, like research and scholarships, not just men’s bball. Who knows, maybe it’s just me getting old.