Colleges scramble to ensure compliance

Chris Clunie chuckles thinking about what Stephen Curry’s marketing potential might’ve been at Davidson College during the Wildcats’ remarkable 2008 NCAA Tournament run had Curry played in an era when college students could profit from fame and celebrity.

Curry jerseys. Curry shoes. Curry chicken sliders. Who knows what else?

“It would have been absolutely bananas around here,” laughed Clunie, a former Wildcats basketball player who now serves as the college’s director of athletics.

The groundbreaking ruling that went into effect Thursday enabling college athletes to profit from use of their name, image or likeness for the first time has sent athletic directors and compliance officers scrambling. Even though the NCAA essentially cleared the decks for the money to flow — with some restrictions — it is up to schools to help ensure all those endorsement deals and social media shoutout arrangements follow state laws and still-fresh school policies.

In short, their job responsibilities have increased and become infinitely more complicated.

Clunie said the work is focused on educating athletes about making sure their newly granted marketing decisions are compliant.

College sports is entering the great unknown.

And there are many more questions to be resolved, including whether schools with significantly more marketing resources could impact an athlete’s decision in recruiting, thus putting more distance between the haves and have-nots.

“The bottom line here is student-athletes have to take it upon themselves to step into this phase and educate themselves and think through this and do the right thing, while understanding the implications and all of the things that come with this new opportunity,” Clunie said. “For (schools), the work is less about helping them get opportunities but more about making sure if they’re going about the opportunities in the right way.”