As we get set for opening kickoff this weekend, the Syracuse Orange and Louisville Cardinals, we do so in an era never before seen in college athletics. Money has changed the entire landscape and as we’ve already seen, different schools have different plans as to how it will handle Name, Image and Likeness.

Monday, our Brian Dwyer shared the thoughts of SU Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim and today he introduces us to a new foundation aiming to help Syracuse Athletes earn money and make a major impact on Central New York.

“We have 16,000 season ticket holders. Do they want to come to a game and not see a good team? No. They want to see a good team,” Syracuse Orange Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim said.

The need, the pressure to win is nothing new to Syracuse Basketball Coach Jim Boeheim. However, today’s journey to get there is a different story.

“This is probably the biggest change we’ve seen in college athletics and it’s here to stay," he added.

Coach of course is talking about NIL, Name, Image, Likeness, the ability to pay college athletes. While he knows paying recruits to come play at Syracuse is not the answer, his current players being taken care of, is.

“In the future, if a player can’t make NIL money they are able to leave after the year and play right away someplace else. So if they see they aren’t making any NIL money or I’m making very little, I can go over here an make pretty good NIL money, you can’t blame them for leaving,” he stressed.

Enter two men who are hoping to help ensure Syracuse has what it takes.

“We’re fans. Think about it. We are fans. The community is fans. You get to see a guy like Coach Jim Boeheim, a hall of fame guy, the best in the business with the great talent that he’s been able to bring in. To be able to support that,” 315 Foundation Co-Founder Mike Bristol said.

Mike Bristol and Tony DeSorbo are the co-founders of a new collective. It’s called the 315 Foundation and its mission is to ensure SU athletes are properly compensated not only for their time and effort, but their name, image and likeness, NIL.

“In order to change with the times, you have to do something like this. I think with what Tony and I have set up, this allows the best possible route for kids, the community, for the program, for Syracuse to do things the right way,” Bristol added.

“We don’t feel the model of a big donor giving a lot of money over and over and over again is sustainable,” DeSorbo said.

Now don’t get it wrong, Syracuse will still very much need its big donors. In fact Vinny Lobdell, who we met Monday, wrote a six-figure check to kick off this foundation.

“For us, my family, we’re very grateful to be in a position to give back to the community and I think the real important factor here is Syracuse sports and Syracuse is so important to this community,” Lobdell said.

There’s that word again, community, and that’s on purpose because the 315 Foundation want this program to be exactly that. In order for players to reap the full rewards, they need to do something to give back to Central New York - whether it be a clinic, a speech or even pitching in on a charitable project.

“Our athletes are going to go out and use their name, image and likeness to help support the missions of local charities.”

“You could be doing a quarterback clinic with Garrett Shrader. You could be doing a running back feature with Sean Tucker. You could be hanging out with Joe Girard. This leads to bringing the team to everybody, kind of right into your living room,” Bristol added.

And it is your living room because you can get involved. While six-figures isn’t possible for most, maybe $20, $50 or $100 is and that’s exactly how the 315 Foundation wants to grow.

On Wednesday, we’ll be taking a closer look at how the average fan can make a significant impact.