Mizzou Athletics, School of Journalism Team Up on NIL Branding Program

Missouri athletes and journalism students team up to elevate NIL market presence

Student-athletes at the University of Missouri, along with students from the School of Journalism, partnered in a pilot program during the fall semester, where J-School students assisted student-athletes in exploring and expanding their brand potential in the NIL market.

Each student-athlete was paired with one or more J-School students. Once teamed up, the J-School student(s) met with the student-athlete to delve into their interests, passions, and attributes. Thereafter, they analyzed the social media platforms of the student-athlete, assessing the quantity and type of content, posting frequency, and follower count.

The J-School students then created a social media "playbook" for each student-athlete. This playbook offered guidance on the type of content that the athletes should share and optimal posting times, all aimed at expanding their audience and fostering increased engagement with followers. From there, a business pitch was crafted, including a roster of potential companies for the student-athletes to approach for NIL partnerships.

Thirty-seven J-School students and eighteen student-athletes participated in the program’s launch.

"I think this is such a marvelous experience involving the J School with the athletes," said Euphenie Andre, senior triple jump and long jump specialist studying journalism at Mizzou. "We have one of the best journalism schools in the country, and this just makes sense to do. I'm so glad I was able to be an experiment guinea pig for it. Because it was really truly amazing."

In the coming semester, student-athletes will also have the opportunity to get their NIL contracts reviewed by third-year law students at Mizzou. Don Seitz – MU professor and head of the law school's entrepreneurship legal clinic – is helping spearhead the new service, which will be available to student-athletes and non-student-athletes across the university.

"In addition to reviewing their NIL contracts and helping the student-athlete navigate the complexities of the legal terms and conditions - convert the contract language from 'lawyer words' to more common explanations in layman's terms - we can assist them in protecting their brand through Trademark filings as well and personal liability protection using certain corporate entities," Seitz said.

"These student-athletes are entrepreneurs in their own right," Seitz added. "They have a product (NIL) that will be marketed and monetized. No different than any other business, as the growth cycle continues, entrepreneurs are faced with many legal challenges that the clinic can assist with."