Student-Athletes Leverage Their Personal Brands Following New NCAA Guidelines

Student-athletes across the country, including those at Saint Joseph’s University, are experimenting with the new opportunities that come with the updated NCAA name, image and likeness (NIL) rules. The policy, which went into effect in July of 2021, allows college athletes to profit off their personal brands, gain sponsorship deals and earn money off their likeness.

For Director of Athletics Jill Bodensteiner, the NIL rules are about treating student-athletes more like other students — allowing them to get side jobs, to build and leverage their social media following or to hold their own clinics and camps.

It’s also an opportunity for student-athletes like Katy Benton ’23 to collaborate with brands that are a natural fit for their sport. Benton is currently working with LEAP Hockey, a field hockey training camp, and Liquid IV, an electrolyte drink mix.

“The new NIL opportunities allow student-athletes to be more entrepreneurial and to build a brand for themselves,” Benton says.

Bodensteiner — who quite literally helped write the NIL rule book as a member of the Division I Legislative Working Group representing non-football schools — shares Benton’s vision. She’s excited about the potential for student-athletes to gain real-world experience negotiating sponsorship deals or learning social media marketing techniques.

“For student-athletes who can't always hold down a 9-5 internship, I think it’s an opportunity not only to make a little bit of money but, more importantly, to build their career skills and profile,” Bodensteiner says.

Taylor Funk ’21, forward on the men’s basketball team, has a sponsorship deal with Restore Health and Wellness Therapy. The partnership allows him to utilize their services, which, he says, have been beneficial to his body for recovery. Funk also says he is excited about the potential opportunities that can come from the new allowances.

“I think NIL gives student-athletes a chance to seek out opportunities to get their name out there whether you plan on playing professionally or not,” Funk says.

The athletics department is helping to support student-athletes as they navigate these new opportunities. Men’s Baseball Coach Ryan Wheeler and Women’s Soccer Coach Fred King collaborated to create a guide on how student-athletes can run their own athletic camps. They’re providing information on details like background checks, hiring an athletic trainer, and how to structure a day camp schedule.

The department is also looking to partner with University professors on bringing discussions of NIL into the classroom. Professors within the sports marketing major and the marketing department have already started implementing the topic into their curriculum, says Ryan Koos ’23, president of the Saint Joseph's University chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA).

The chapter named “St. Joe’s Athletes” the 2021 “Marketer of the Year” — a designation that, in prior years, the association has granted to 76er Allen Iverson, Philadelphia Flyers mascot Gritty and Jesuit Pope Francis.

“Being able to see how creative athletes and brands will be is extremely exciting and is something that I am able to watch unfold here at Saint Joseph’s,” Koos says.

As new avenues emerge for student-athletes to explore these opportunities, Bodensteiner is looking to support all athletes, including international students who currently are excluded due to visa restrictions.

“We're not just going to be at the mercy of what's happening here,” says Bodensteiner, “We want to continue to advocate for our student-athletes.”