Mountaintop View 7-2-21. Recruiting, 25th anniversary, Media deal factors, Bulldog partnership, Olympics.

Take a deep breath. We have arrived at another Friday. Get your weekend started a bit sooner with our collected links and original content coming your way today.

Can NLI rules help Hawaii recruit?

NLI matters have mainly been thought of in terms of top players and schools benefiting, but that’s not the full story. This post wonders if a school like Hawaii can gain a recruiting advantage. They interview former player RJ Hollis. Hawaii football being the main sport on the islands means there will be no other competition in the state, meaning they can have all the local sponsorships and benefits and it will pay to be the top star at a school that it may not have previously.

Boise State celebrates 25 years of joining the FBS ranks.

It may seem hard to believe to those outside of the program, but 25 years ago, back in 1996, Boise State was playing I-AA football. But on July 1st of that year, they joined the Big West. Of course it was a season to forget at 2-10 (one of just 5 losing seasons in school history), but it was the start of the success that was to come. 6 years later they got their first top 25 ranking and around a decade later, they played in the famous Fiesta Bowl.

Important Factors in a Mid-Major Media Deal.

Matt Brown talked to the Big Sky to learn more about creative media deals and some things can be generalized to the MWC as well. They took less money for more exposure, with some guaranteed games on linear networks for football as well as MBB and WBB. ESPN+ isn’t free but many people use it and the Big Sky is now where the action is, rather than being the main attraction on a platform no one watches. They are leaning into the changing media world and can always adapt again if it isn’t beneficial.

Fresno State announced Opendorse partnership.

MWC in the Olympics

On the horizon:

• Today: Peak Perspective: As the NLI is already making waves, the Mountain West makes a splash.
• Today: MWCConnection Roundtable: How many 10 win teams will there be in 2021?
• Today: Friday Night Lights Review S1E18.