Vinny Lobdell is in heaven. On this day he is walking through Syracuse’s Melo Center with his son. As he does, he’s reliving great memory after great memory.

“The history and the lineage is just amazing.  I mean, to see all these players and what has made this organization and this institution so great, we have to continue it," said Lobdell.

However, whether it’s Syracuse basketball, football or any other sport, the path to success has taken a sudden turn.

“This is a big change. It’s probably the biggest change we’ve seen in college athletics,” SU Basketball Head Coach Jim Boeheim said about NIL.

In his nearly 60 years with the Syracuse Basketball program, as both a player and coach, Jim Boeheim has seen it all. But NIL, the ability for players to earn money for the use of their name, image and likeness, well that’s a game changer, for both the good of the game.

“College kids are kids. If they can make a little money, everybody thought they can make a little money, $10,000-$20,000,” said Boeheim.

…and the not so good.

“When you talk about $400,000-$500,000, you’re really talking about professional athletics,” he said.

From what was designed to be a way to pay athletes for their work and their name, image and likeness, to what we are now seeing. In many other parts of the country, money is used as a recruiting tool.

“Players don’t mind if other players can go make money on their own. They just don’t want one player to be given a lot of money or two players to be given a lot of money out of an NIL Foundation or fund," said Boeheim.

It’s a fine line that Boeheim does not want to see Syracuse cross, rather, he’d prefer it focus efforts on taking care of the student-athletes who are already here and to do it the right way.

“There’s a million dollar quarterback out there. I think those are the exceptions. I think they do happen. But, I think if we get a good solid NIL program here, it will keep our players in the ballpark where they need to be,” he said.

That’s where two men, both big SU fans, come in.

Tony DeSorbo and Mike Bristol are the co-founders of foundation - a collective that will ensure Syracuse athletes are well compensated. Vinny Lobdell, was able to make a six-figure donation to kick it off.

However, this particular venture, called the 315 Foundation, has room for everyone to make an impact and also has an added component. It’s one that will greatly benefit Central New York as a whole.

On Tuesday, we’ll take a much closer look at that - explore it all, including how it could impact sports other than basketball and football, and the players that may not be able to earn as much on their own, as others.