Oregon Alumni Launching New Company "Division Street" to Aid in NIL Ventures

Oregon Donors, including Phil Knight, have helped Oregon to lead the way in NIL deals and management.

Once again the University of Oregon, along with some of its biggest donors, have collaborated in a new and innovative way, announcing a new company called ‘Division Street’ Thursday morning. 

Per their press release, Division Street is set to help athletes “supercharge name, image, and likeness opportunities for University of Oregon athletes.”

Some of the big donors of this project are Pat Kilkenny, Ed Maletis, Jim More, the Papé Family, and of course, Phil Knight.

Rosemary St. Clair will be the CEO of the company. St. Clair used to be the VIP and GM of NIKE women. The former VP of Sports Marketing at NIKE, Rudy Chapa will also join this venture as the Chairman of the Board.

“Division Street’s founding strength is the Oregon brand itself, which has always been about innovation, audacity and culture,” St. Clair said in the release. “Our goal in this chaotic new world of NIL marketing is to elevate the athlete experience by bringing in leading expertise across brand marketing, sponsorship, digital and creative to support all University of Oregon student-athletes inclusive of every sport and across gender.”

Phil Knight, co-founder of NIKE, is very confident in the leadership and experience that St. Clair and Chapa bring to this team.

“Division street has put together an extremely capable group to deal with the fast-changing landscape of NIL,” Knight said in the official press release. “Led by Rosemary and Rudy, I am confident they will bring innovation and creativity to this new world.”

Adopt’s co-founder and Klutch sports group founder Rich Paul will be working on the team, as well as NIKE and Jordan executives Josh Moore, Nicole Graham, and David Creech. This team will be absolutely loaded and will seemingly have no trouble helping UO athletes find deals.

Among the big team members is another big name that will be joining their team: Sabrina Ionescu. The previous No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 WNBA draft has announced that she will be serving as the Chief Athlete Officer, or the senior advisor of the team, to make sure “the voice of the athlete is at the center of the company’s work”.

“So honored to be involved with Division Street!” Ionescu said on her twitter this morning. “Call me Chief Athlete Officer from now on. Go Ducks!”

So honored to be involved with Division Street! Call me Chief Athlete Officer from now on😉 Go Ducks! https://t.co/87qWMv4LoC

— Sabrina Ionescu (@sabrina_i20) September 30, 2021

As well as the big executives and athletes, Division Street will be collaborating with the University of Oregon’s Warsaw Sports Marketing Center as well as the School of Journalism and Communication. This will allow even the students in Eugene to assist in the athletes' ventures. They hope that throughout all of these partnerships and collaborations, the name, image, and likeness deals will be perfect for all students.

This is a huge boost for Oregon. 

The ability to get these students deals will be something that is important to athletes. This company will likely also become a gigantic recruiting tool for all teams at the university, as students will look to see what opportunities the school has for them before they make their college decision.

You can read the full press release here. 

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