Where do smaller schools fall in the NIL conversation?
The News & Observer
Many of the beneficiaries of the new NCAA name, image and likeness rules share a common trait: Their gifts earned them a spot on a team at a Power 5 school.
Of course, many more student-athletes across the country are in a different place.
In June, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors decided — amid a well-publicized federal lawsuit — that college athletes in all three divisions would be able to profit financially from their name, image and likeness. Though schools have control over the types of deals an athlete can make, it is now possible for partnerships to be made. Since news of the ruling came out, many athletes at major college programs have announced their own partnerships.
One prominent question arose: How will things pan out for smaller college programs?
Dr. Ingrid McCree — a member of the Division I Council and the athletic director at North Carolina Central University in Durham — weighed in on how some athletes may choose to decide which school to attend with these new permissions. One thing she believes will impact recruiting is how an athlete evaluates their own market value.
“If I’m in a smaller town, where there’s not a lot of business, and it’s just a smaller community, and it’s not a really large school,” McCree said, “then what is the market value versus a student coming to this area, where there’s a larger population, a higher income for everyone? And so it’s going to be a different market value.”
As a smaller school, North Carolina Central does not provide the same market as others in the area. Although it still competes in Division I, most of the highly ranked recruits tend to attend schools in conferences like the ACC.
How they’re handling NIL
On top of accounting for incoming recruits, NCCU will look at how its current athletes are responding to new NIL laws.
“For the smaller schools, I think we’ll have to look at how creative our student-athletes are with regards to what they’re doing with their name, image and likeness,” McCree said. “But is it ever going to be a level playing field when it comes to recruiting? No, and this may widen the gap for some.”
George Knox, the athletic director at Shaw University in Raleigh, believes that it is still early to gauge how new NIL regulations will impact the landscape for smaller schools in college athletics. He does think, though, that it will be good for student-athletes to gain from their name, image and likeness.
Previously the associate director of athletics at WinstonSalem State, Knox does not see any potential problems with recruiting in the early stages of NIL laws.
“I think, recruiting-wise, we’ll still be able to get who we need to get to succeed within all of our programs, though only time will tell if there’s going to be an advantage or not an advantage. But from where I sit, I don’t see it as a disadvantage to our institution.”
Knox mentioned that the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, in which Shaw University competes, is looking to help athletes through instituting programs that will allow them to navigate the new terrain.
“And that’s going to help us to be able to navigate, to be able to track on the name, image and likeness and make sure that we’re doing it correctly,” Knox said. “And it makes sure that student-athletes are in a place in which they understand the fields that they’re getting in, and make sure that we don’t conflict, in those deals, with current bills that our institution may have.”
NCCU and Shaw are also historically Black colleges, playing in smaller conferences and, in the case of Shaw, Division II athletics.
In June, Howard University President Wayne Frederick expressed in a hearing on NIL rights that he had “concerns” about how HBCUs could benefit, given that they do not have the same resources as some of the bigger college programs. He believed that it would hurt some athletes and some smaller programs.
St. Augustine’s interim athletic director, David Bowser, spoke to the realities of HBCUs and smaller schools potentially making partnerships and moving forward with NIL deals. Like Shaw, St. Augustine of Raleigh participates in the CIAA as a Division II school. These schools, Bowser said, use need-based grants, so he wants to ensure that an athlete’s financial aid is not hindered.
“I think that from an HBCU perspective, we just have to keep our kids knowledgeable of the actual facts and ins and outs of what this means,” said Bowser, who is also the head football coach. “Because they have to realize that you’re still going to be responsible for taxes on this money . ... It’s not just that you’re going to be able to go out there and do a whole bunch of commercials and ads and you’re just going to make all this money.”
Preparing for the future
North Carolina Central is already in preparation for the coming year, with athletic programs reaching out to the business and law schools to help educate athletes on agents and knowledge of personal branding.
Dr. McCree said town hall meetings have been held with every team to go over guidelines.
“We did start with the head coaches first, and making sure that they understood the governor’s executive order regarding name, image and likeness,” McCree said. “And then we developed our guidelines and shared that with all the studentathletes. We will also do that, again, probably within the next two or three weeks once they arrive on campus, just to make sure that we’re keeping that in front of them, the things that they can do, the process they have to go through, and the things that they can’t do in terms of partnering with certain types of businesses.”
The school partnered with the brand INFLCR on a multiyear agreement in May 2020. The INFLCR app helps athletes and coaches to manage their social media content. Some larger Triangle schools have also partnered with INFLCR, including UNC, Duke and N.C. State.
Bowser thinks that the NIL laws are a step in the right direction for young athletes to prepare themselves for the future. He believes that getting direct experience with the new NIL permissions will help them later in life when looking for career opportunities.
“I always want kids to be forward thinkers and not make a decision based on this year. Both something that can affect them in a great way 20-30 years down the road,” Bowser said. “Even if it starts out small, but that connection stays there, and they’re able to build a network of opportunities to connect with CEOs of companies and local businesses, then I think the sky’s the limit. I think it gives them a chance to broaden their horizons.”