Red and Guilty said:
I forget, did Martin have any preference for Michigan before "his kids" went there or no?
I don't know, but Fisher was definitely feeding him perks after a while, and he definitely kept the talent heading our way.
Plus Fisher hired the coach from whatever school that was (Detroit Southwestern?) as an assistant. I think there were probably a number of factors that motivated Ed Martin to steer kids to Michigan.
In sarniak's case, not sure exactly what he got out of the deal, or if he was an OSU fan/booster; maybe it was just some sort of "jersey chaser" thing. or maybe a cut of future earnings, tickets, benefits, etc.
I think being a fan is one thing, but spending money like that to hang around a sports team or athletes in general is pretty damn lame.
At least in Ed Martin's case, according to Jalen Rose, he seemed to view it as a charity project, since he gave money to all kids on the team regardless of talent. Of course... later the money laundering opportunity, courtside tickets, hotel rooms, etc. tend to make his motivation look a lot shadier.