Name Image Likeness

NOCAP x Exos: Inaugural Transfer Portal Combine to Launch in Dallas this January

NOCAP Sports has teamed up with Exos to create The Athlete Showcase to help elite college transfer prospects find new homes

Noah Henderson

Nov 28, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws against the Memphis Tigers during the first quarter at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
Nov 28, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Tulane Green Wave quarterback Darian Mensah (10) throws against the Memphis Tigers during the first quarter at Yulman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

College sports mirror their professional counterparts more and more every day. After the Battle v. NCAA case stripped the NCAA of its power to enforce transfer restrictions in late 2023, the transfer market has heated up within college athletics. All college athletes can explore new opportunities after each season, regardless of previous transfers, without losing eligibility or facing suspension. 

With the simultaneous proliferation of NIL ‘pay-for-play’ contracts, college athletes are hungry to leverage their talents for increased salaries in the transfer portal. This has created a system akin to free agency in professional sports, except college athletes become unrestricted free agents after every season, not the conclusion of a multi-year contract.

The challenges of this new system are tremendous: the pool of collegiate “free agents” is vast, coaches have a finite window to sign players, and often, players in the transfer portal looking to find an opportunity to play have limited game film to analyze. To help alleviate the logistical hurdles of the transfer market, NOCAP Sports has partnered with Exos to bring another fixture of professional athletics to the collegiate level: a combine. 

The Athlete Showcase plans to feature 50-75 of the most elite NCAA football players who entered the transfer portal during the Fall transfer window (Dec. 9 – Dec. 24, 2024). The closed workout will take place on January 5 at Dragon Stadium in Southlake, Texas –– a suburb of Dallas. Invites are being sent to high-level players who intend to find a new home for the 2025 football season.

Players who accept will be allowed to showcase their skill sets to interested teams, and fans can watch talented athletes work out through a live-stream airing. NOCAP and Exos have indicated that a soon-to-be-announced major production company will assist in the broadcast of The Athlete Showcase. 

While the combine is only one day long, NOCAP and Exos provide an Athlete Marketing Expo for athletes participating in the combine on January 6-7. Industry partners, who are soon to be announced, will help athletes receive guidance on how to best amplify their personal brands. 

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Noah Henderson
NOAH HENDERSON

Professor Noah Henderson teaches in the sport management department at Loyola University Chicago. Outside the classroom, he advises companies, schools, and collectives on Name, Image, and Likeness best practices. His academic research focuses on the intersection of law, economics, and social consequences regarding college athletics, NIL, and sports gambling. Before teaching, Prof. Henderson was part of a team that amended Illinois NIL legislation and managed NIL collectives at the nation’s most prominent athletic institutions while working for industry leader Student Athlete NIL. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law in Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor of Economics from Saint Joseph’s University, where he was a four-year letter winner on the golf team. Prof. Henderson is a native of San Diego, California, and a former golf CIF state champion with Torrey Pines High School. Outside of athletics, he enjoys playing guitar, hanging out with dogs, and eating California burritos. You can follow him on Twitter: @NoahImgLikeness. 

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