Ex-buckeye helping current OSU athletes navigate NIL

The view from Lane Avenue has changed a lot since Brandon Fusscheatham suited up at Value City Arena. Looking south from Lane Avenue, new dormitories dot the sightlines from his second-floor perch in a mixed-use office building adjacent to famous watering hole Varsity Club.

A four-year player for the Ohio State men’s basketball team from 2001-05, Fuss-cheatham is seated in front of a massive television screen inside what is known as the Scarlet Room.

It’s a private club, one owned by local businessman and friend Bill Lewis. The building also occasionally serves as a base of operations for Nilmanagement, the new company co-founded by Fusscheatham and Columbus entrepreneur (and country music artist agent) Zach Beebe.

With Ohio Stadium looming through the windows and Value City Arena just a few blocks down the road, Fuss-cheatham has seen the campus experience change for student-athletes. And now, with Buckeyes freely allowed to earn money from their names, images and likenesses, the former point guard has positioned himself to help those who are enjoying a decidedly different college experience than what he had.

It’s a natural extension of Fusscheatham’s undergraduate years and professional business life ever since.

FRED SQUILLANTE/THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Brandon Fuss-cheatham's degree in sports and leisure studies from Ohio State, along with several business ventures following graduation, helped lay the foundation for Nilmanagement.