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LeVelle Moten Says NIL Has Changed NCCU’s Fight
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With Mike Tomlin joining North Carolina Central’s tip-off fundraiser, LeVelle Moten is confronting the costly new reality of keeping an HBCU basketball program competitive.
North Carolina Central men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moten is not treating this year’s tip-off banquet as a ceremonial start to the season. He is treating it as a necessity. In the NIL era, Moten says the work required to lead a competitive program now extends well beyond practices, recruiting and game planning; it includes raising the money needed to keep pace with rivals whose player-compensation resources have reshaped the sport.
That urgency is why Moten has brought Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin to the NCCU basketball tip-off banquet at the Sheraton Imperial on Sept. 30. The event, once designed primarily to introduce the Eagles to their supporters, has become what Moten calls an “ultimate fundraiser” as the program seeks the donations and booster support needed to compete in a marketplace where talent increasingly follows financial opportunity.
A Program’s Financial Reality Has Changed
Moten offered a blunt explanation of how dramatically the job has evolved. When he first took over at North Carolina Central, he said the central financial goal was funding 13 full scholarships. Now, he sees conference competitors operating with NIL budgets that can approach $700,000. The shift has changed the day-to-day demands on a coach, making Moten feel as much like a general manager and fundraiser as a basketball coach.
His assessment of NIL is equally direct. NIL stands for name, image and likeness, but Moten believes the system has quickly become pay for play. In his view, the original premise of athletes profiting from their public value has been overtaken by a transaction-driven recruiting environment. That reality creates a particularly difficult challenge for programs without the deepest donor networks or the largest institutional resources.
Why the Fundraiser Matters Beyond One Night
Moten’s appeal is not simply for fans to fill seats and applaud on game night. He said that kind of support still matters, but the present moment requires donations. His argument is straightforward: schools with the richest boosters now have a sizable competitive advantage, and athletes know where the available resources are. For NCCU, maintaining a place in that environment means turning community support into direct financial capacity.
The stakes reach beyond the immediate roster. Moten worries that when money leads every relationship, young athletes can lose access to the lessons, bonds and personal development that have long made college sports meaningful. His concern is not that players should lack opportunity; it is that the transactional nature of the landscape can crowd out mentorship, loyalty and the value of being part of a program built around more than a payout.
Mike Tomlin Brings a Shared Leadership Story
Tomlin’s presence gives the fundraiser a powerful leadership dimension. Moten said their relationship began through John Calipari, who recognized similarities between the two coaches and connected them. What began as an exchange between sports figures grew into a friendship and then a brotherhood rooted in shared values, similar family circumstances and an understanding of the pressures that can accompany being a Black head coach.
Moten described Tomlin as someone who understood what it meant to be an anomaly in his profession and who chose to offer support when others did not. He noted that basketball coaches were not quick to reach out after he got his job, just as football coaches were not necessarily quick to embrace Tomlin early in his tenure. That makes Tomlin more than a celebrity keynote speaker: his appearance reflects an example of leadership that includes reaching back, building relationships and helping others navigate demanding spaces.
Moten’s Model Still Starts With Family
The financial pressures have not changed Moten’s belief that coaching must be personal. He recently hosted his team at his home, continuing a practice he sees as central to building trust. Moten said becoming a husband and father made him a better coach because it helped him understand the importance of allowing players to see the person behind the authority figure at practice.
Inviting players into his home is Moten’s way of showing them his full life: a coach who holds them accountable, but also a father, husband and family man. He believes those moments of breaking bread and sharing space create intimacy and camaraderie that cannot be manufactured in a gym. It is also a practical answer to an increasingly transactional climate—relationships must be actively built if a program expects young men to see themselves as part of something lasting.
What It Means
NCCU’s tip-off banquet is therefore about more than launching another basketball season. It is a test of whether a community can meet a new business reality without surrendering the values that have made HBCU athletics so important to generations of students, alumni and supporters. Moten is making the case that competitive ambition and meaningful mentorship do not have to be opposing ideas.
His message is clear: North Carolina Central needs more than cheers if it intends to compete in college basketball’s altered economy. The presence of Tomlin will bring attention to that mission, but Moten’s larger challenge will continue after the banquet—building the financial support that gives his players a real chance while preserving the family-centered culture that has defined his leadership.
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