I think fan investment is still part of the equation. It may not be as important to recruits as say money (and we can argue the merits of fiscal vs spiritual/emotional compensation all day long), but it still means something to say that 100,000 people may be chanting your name some day. I think that if fans want to continue to have any sort of impact, even if small compared to the "good ole days" they need to be extra vocal on social media. This of course will bring out the worst of a fan base (cough cough vol twitter) so it's a double edged sword. As an aside, I find payments made or garunteed upon graduation a tough pill to swallow, though I think there is merit to the idea.