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Arkansas Track Star Rachel Glenn Prepares NIL Brand for Paris Olympics

Razorbacks’ high jumper/hurdler is hitting her stride ahead of NCAA Championships, Summer Olympics

Michael Ehrlich

Mar 9, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Rachel Glenn of Arkansas wins the women's high jump at 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) during the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at The Track at New Balance.
Mar 9, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; Rachel Glenn of Arkansas wins the women's high jump at 6-6 3/4 (2.00m) during the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships at The Track at New Balance. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

With 100 days to go until the 2024 Paris Olympics - and her qualification already confirmed in the high jump - No. 3 ranked Arkansas’ track and field star Rachel Glenn is focused on one thing, and it’s not a medal.

The Razorbacks’ high jumper/hurdler has her mind on finishing the college season strong, with the upcoming SEC and NCAA outdoor championships ahead as opportunities to continue to add new line items to her already illustrious resume.

Unlike pro athletes preparing full-time for the Olympics stage, Glenn is balancing school, her Arkansas season, training and NIL, ahead of the Summer Games. With all of that on her plate though, the redshirt sophomore from Long Beach, CA has been on a tear as of late. In February, she set an indoor personal best of 1.90M at the Tyson Invitational and in March, she won the NCAA Indoor Championships with a personal best, championship record and collegiate best height of 2.00M, also good for third on the US all-time list.

Over the weekend - and for the first time since 2022 - Glenn ran the 400M hurdles and clocked a U.S. leading and career best 54.91 seconds. To say that she is hitting her stride - at the right time of the Arkansas season - would be an understatement.

So with the on-track success and Olympic stage pending, how does Glenn leverage the moment to build her NIL portfolio? She and her team at The Network Advisory have been strategically partnering with brands in the months leading up to Paris and have big plans for her return.

With recent collaborations promoting the likes of Gatorade, CELSIUS, Steve Madden, Premier Sea Moss and The Ryl Company, among others, Glenn has stayed busy building her personal brand and sharing her journey to the Olympics. But as a college student-athlete and a woman, her impact goes beyond deal flow.

“Rachel’s Olympic qualification is a true testament to her hard work and talent,” shared her manager, Michaela Simon, VP of Content and Operations at The Network Advisory. “As a female in the sports management space, guiding exceptional female athletes like Rachel, I am privileged to contribute to changing the narrative around women in sports, both on and off the field. Together, we are not only aiming to excel at the Paris Olympics but also to inspire and empower the next generation of female athletes and leaders.”

Glenn clearly understands her opportunity as a student-athlete in the NIL era. “I’m just trying to build on my resume on the track and add onto to that through NIL,” she said. “I am a walking advertisement, so I’m looking for ways to advertise myself for other brands.”

However, she genuinely enjoys the process of creating content, even if it turns some heads around the track or around Fayetteville.

“I love how I can create content and show my followers the journey,” she added. “This is something different. This is definitely not normal. I’ll bring out my tripod and camera in public and sometimes get some looks. I think it’s funny that this isn’t as normalized. I love creating content and taking photos so it’s fun for me.”

With NIL goals of landing new fashion and car deals leading up to and after the Paris Games, Glenn wants to continue to connect with brands to see how they operate and get a sense of the behind the scenes processes of sports marketing.

But with her focus on the track and continuing the immense momentum at Arkansas, Glenn will be more than prepared to represent the US this Summer.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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