UCONN ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES TO SUPPORT STUDENT-ATHLETE NIL INITIATIVES
STORRS, Conn. – In an effort to enhance the support system around student-athletes who wish to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL), UConn has added resources in addition to its enhanced partnership with Opendorse, which was announced in July of 2021.
Since last summer, the partnership with Opendorse has sought to empower student-athletes to succeed in the NIL space by helping Huskies to understand, build, and protect their brands with the industry's leading education, marketing, and compliance technology.
Educational opportunities for student-athletes will be augmented further by programming provided by the Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The Werth Institute has established its Championship Labs subdivision to specifically support UConn students and student-athletes who endeavor to learn more about innovative approaches to NIL. Championship Labs seeks to provide support in creating a personal branding plan, mentoring through brand development, early-stage business coaching, and assistance with financial planning and evaluating brand partnership offers.
"There is an abundance of resources on campus that will help us navigate the NIL landscape, as we endeavor to provide our student-athletes with the necessary knowledge and tools to succeed in this space," director of athletics David Benedict said. "I want to thank David Noble and the Werth Institute faculty for their expertise and willingness to assist our student-athletes in monetizing their NIL. The skills they will learn from the programming available at the Werth Institute will serve them extremely well in both the short term and the long term."
"Name, Image, and Likeness provides student athletes with an accessible means to entrepreneurial behaviors that will evolve over time," UConn associate professor and director of the Werth Institute David Noble said. "UConn's Werth Institute will provide the highest level of creative support, start-up structuring, and mentorship for student-athletes while creating opportunities for many students to further enhance their skill set for careers in social media, content creation, and entrepreneurship."
Benedict also announced the hiring of Jason Butikofer, who brings over 20 years of experience in athletics administration to Storrs, including stints as the director of athletics at Southern Utah (2015-17) and deputy director of athletics at Purdue (2017-20) and Washington (2020-22). As special assistant to the director of athletics, Butikofer will serve as the internal point of contact for student-athletes, coaches and staff in the NIL space, while interfacing with Learfield, Opendorse, the Werth Institute, and potential collectives in this area.
Butikofer's presence will provide an important resource as he will also assist student-athletes with educational initiatives on how to build their personal brands and maximize their earning potential.
The aforementioned partnership with Opendorse will be enriched by a collaboration with Learfield, as the two entities will form a branded marketplace that will allow student-athletes to more-easily identify NIL opportunities. Learfield, which is the multimedia rights holder for UConn athletics, has committed to hiring a dedicated staff member charged with selling and facilitating deals for student-athletes within the Northeast. The Learfield/Opendorse partnership will also provide a streamlined process by which potential partners can engage with student-athletes and their representatives.
The Connecticut state legislature recently passed a bill allowing student-athletes in Connecticut to use institutional marks in NIL deals, per a policy to be developed by their respective institution, and Governor Lamont signed that bill into law effective July 1, 2022. UConn has been preparing for this eventuality and is finalizing policies and procedures to provide the necessary support.
An additional means by which student-athletes can garner opportunities to monetize their NIL is through collectives, in which school supporters pool funds to help create NIL programs for student-athletes through a wide range of activities. UConn has been working to explore and identify collectives that align with the best interest of student-athletes, including the recently founded D'Amelio Huskies Collective. 1991 UConn graduate Marc D'Amelio will help provide opportunities for student-athletes while also lending his expertise in the personal branding space. Additional interest from UConn supporters exists in this area and the overarching goal is that the product of this exploration is something that can endure, for the benefit of all Husky student-athletes.
Finally, UConn will work with the International Student & Scholar Services to assist international student-athletes with the nuance in the NIL space that precludes international student-athletes from monetizing their NIL, based upon their visa category. UConn will exhaust every avenue, within the guidelines of immigration laws, to allow international student-athletes inclusion in the same NIL opportunities as their domestic teammates.
Source: UConn Athletics
