Richmond Leader

Richmond Athletics unveils Spider NIL Initiative

The University of Richmond Department of Athletics announced its enhanced comprehensive Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) plan for Spider student-athletes Wednesday. The Spider NIL Initiative is designed to provide Richmond student-athletes with the resources to optimize their NIL potential and offer engaging educational programming to protect them in an ever-changing environment. The plan includes the creation of the Spider Marketplace, a one-stop shop where fans and businesses can connect directly with our student-athletes to offer NIL opportunities.

"Spider Athletics is, first and foremost, a student-centered endeavor. It is our responsibility to provide our student-athletes with the education and resources to be successful in their sport, in the classroom and in the Richmond community," Director of Athletics John P. Hardt said. "Over the past 15 months, NIL has changed the collegiate athletics landscape. We have been diligent in understanding and monitoring the ever-evolving space to position ourselves to implement an effective model for Spider student-athletes."

 "We are excited to officially announce the Spider NIL Initiative 2.0 as we continue to take steps to support our student-athletes in a manner that capitalizes on the resources at the University of Richmond and prepares them for success after graduation," Hardt said. "This initiative harnesses the collaborative nature of the University of Richmond and provides our student-athletes with access to experts to assist them in optimizing their NIL activities."

The Spider NIL Initiative includes the following:

 

Education and Training

Richmond Athletics is partnering with the Robins School of Business, the University of Richmond School of Law and Advance to provide NIL programming and resources for each Spider student-athlete.

• Educational programming will consist of social media/personal branding, financial literacy and tax implications, NCAA and regulatory compliance and engaging with vendors and companies.  

• All student-athletes will have the ability to utilize the resources.

• Professional speakers will provide financial literacy and tax education regarding NIL earnings.

• Subject matter experts will provide educational sessions and offer NIL Office Hours to engage with student-athletes on these issues.

Outside Athletics Partnerships

Richmond Athletics has partnered with Opendorse and INFLCR, the leading content and brand management platforms in college athletics, to assist student-athletes in growing their brand and giving them access to a streamlined local marketplace to engage in NIL activity.

Opendorse

Opendorse will provide Richmond student-athletes with a branded marketplace to seek NIL opportunities. The Richmond-branded marketplace, which is fully NCAA compliant, will offer every Richmond student-athlete the ability to opt into the directory. The new and easily-accessible platform will support Spider student-athletes by offering fans, brands and sponsors a single, streamlined platform to easily find, pitch, book and compensate student-athletes for their NIL services.  

Every Richmond student-athlete can choose to create their personalized Opendorse profile that can be customized and promoted to fans on their personal social media channels.

INFLCR

INFLCR is the marketing product athletes use to build their brands. Student-athletes receive on-demand access to share photos and videos from games, practices and more right from their phones. Student-athletes may utilize the INFLCR Verified program to disclose NIL deals, as required by Virginia state law.

Adidas

Every eligible student-athlete at the University of Richmond will have the opportunity to become a paid brand ambassador with Adidas. Student-athletes will promote the Adidas brand using tracking links, send their audience to adidas.com to shop and be rewarded for the sales they generate.

PlayFly Sports

PlayFly, the multimedia rights holder for Richmond Athletics, will expand its partnership to allow sponsorship opportunities for student-athletes.

Original source can be found here