Southern Miss University Eyes Bright Football Future Fueled by NIL Partnership

Southern Miss University is hoping to capitalize on NIL opportunities for its Division I football program.

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NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) laws have opened up a door in college athletics that had been closed shut for a long time.

Today, tons of schools have a unique opportunity to recruit better than ever, possibly reaching untapped potential.

One of those schools looking to capitalize off of NIL is Southern Miss University, which in 2021 partnered with To The Top Collective, an agency that has managed NIL deals for the school’s student-athletes.

Southern Miss football coach Will Hall has already seen the benefits the partnership has provided.

"NIL is the best thing to happen to Southern Miss in a long time, and our fans have to continue to embrace it," Hall told Southern Miss Student Media. "It’s given us an edge and you are able to see that in the big 3 sports of football, men’s basketball, and baseball and in the way that we’ve recruited."

While the football team has struggled as of late, he is hopeful that NIL can guide his program in the right direction.

"If our fans can continue to take hold of this, latch onto it, and use it as a way to prove that we are the best fanbase in the country, we can really do some great things and put ourselves to be competitive with the ACC, Big 12, and SEC Opponents," he added.

Southern Miss is entering their third season in the Sun Belt Conference and has compiled an 11-16 record.

Furthermore, 247Sports has ranked their 2025 recruiting class the 119th-best in the nation.

But one thing is for certain: The school has its eyes set on the prize, and given its budding relationship with To The Top Collective, will look to capitalize off of the booming market of NIL.

Whether it’s able to compete with the behemoth Power Five schools is to be seen, however, with this partnership, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the school is able to get more and more competitive, especially in the Sun Belt Conference.