BYU Basketball Coach Reveals NIL Money Needed To Compete In Big 12 Amid Larger Controversy Surrounding Failed Deals

BYU basketball was consistently near the top of the West Coast Conference despite the fact that the Cougars have reached the NCAA Tournament just one time since 2015. They frequently won 20 games, or got close, and often played the spoiler as a sneaky upset team for the likes of Gonzaga and Saint Mary's.

However, BYU is off to the Big 12. It will need more money to stay relevant in a new conference, in the era of Name, Image and Likeness. But just how much do the Cougars need?

BYU needs more money. (Photos by Chris Gardner/ Getty Images)

Assistant coach Cody Fueger spoke with ESPN960 and opened up on the topic. He said that NIL funds are the most important thing in collegiate athletics today, and echoed the sentiments of countless coaches across the country who are calling for regulation.

Right now I would say that it's the most important thing. Three years ago we talked about how we'd love for it to be a part of (college basketball.) I just wish there were more regulation to help it move forward because right now it's just kind of the wild, wild west.

Fueger, who served as BYU's director of basketball operations from 2013 to 2015, spent a few years at Utah Valley and later returned to the Cougars as an assistant in 2019. NIL came into effect on July 1, 2021.

As Fueger goes out and recruits, he has found that financial compensation is one of the most pertinent talking points. High school athletes want to know how much they could get paid at BYU, especially when compared to other programs. That's not a secret at this point.

It's one of the top three things we talk about with each recruit. They're asking what's the NIL like and what did guys get last year, and all that stuff. It's everything to these guys and I don’t blame them, at all.

That topic is particularly interesting, considering what is going on with NIL around other programs. Current and former BYU football players recently called out the program and contributing companies for failing to follow-through on their Name, Image and Likeness promises.

If that is allegedly happening around the football program, who is to say that it couldn't happen with basketball? That only further complicates the NIL conversation with every coach at every program in Provo.

Fueger sees $2.5 million in NIL funds as the loose number necessary to compete in the Big 12.

We have to be up there if we want to be the best. BYU could be one of the most prominent teams in the country right now with the right NIL… Money changes a lot of things.

Where the Cougars used to recruit against Gonzaga, Saint Mary's, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine and Pacific, they will have to beat out Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU, and West Virginia in the future. That's a big jump in resources and NIL funds.

Can BYU stay in the conversation?