Zachary Carter09.14.23
Just over two years have passed since the biggest off-the-field change to college sports in recent history. On June 30, 2021, college student-athletes at all levels of play (D1, D2 and D3) gained the right to use their name, image and likeness (NIL) to generate profit under new NIL legislation—the NCAA’s way of giving all athletes equal opportunity to monetize themselves.
The NCAA—a.k.a. the National Collegiate Athletic Association—is the nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics at more than 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The birth of NIL at the collegiate level ushered in a new era of college sports. Under the new legislation, athletes can now participate in a wide variety of ways to use their popularity to make money, such as signing autographs, teaching lessons and camps, starting their own businesses and most importantly for many brands — taking part in advertising campaigns.
With the floodgates now open, companies in the personal care industry have wasted no time finding ambassadors to represent their products, with an abundance of examples to show for it.
Haircare brand Mielle, which is part of Procter & Gamble, signed Angel Reese as an ambassador. The Louisiana State University basketball star led her team to the NCAA D1 championship during March Madness.
The reason why ad campaigns featuring popular collegiate athletes has become so enticing to so many brands is because it allows companies to reach an abundance of potential customers in seconds. Using an athlete as a gateway, communities that were once considered inaccessible now become reachable. Partnering with an athlete means partnering with that athlete’s followers on social media sites. Then, the company has the freedom to use that athlete to promote their product in almost any way they please.
A door is opened, theoretically, to a large demographic of previously untapped customers.
According to the Education Data Initaitive, more than 20 million Americans are enrolled in secondary education universities. A byproduct of a successful ad campaign is reaching into this sea of people and fishing out an abundance of new customers.
Think of it on a smaller scale. The defending NCAA Football National Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia, average more than 90,000 fans in attendance per game – that’s 90,000 people each week who can be exposure to your brand.
In the mind of the athlete’s followers, when they see a brand deal sponsored by a student athlete pop up on their social media feed, they know that the athlete representing the product has given it their hypothetical seal of approval. They now know the product is legit, and if they find it to be tempting, they’re more willing to buy it because it is endorsed by one of their favorite competitors.
But there is more to an ad campaign than reaching new demographics. NIL deals allow companies to have a voice. Partnering with an athlete to take a stand for a cause, or to act in support of an ongoing current event allows companies to use that voice and make their values heard. These deals attract customers who share those same values and grow the company’s foundation of supporters.
For example, five athletes at Rutgers University partnered with EcoAthletes to promote discussion around global climate change and other emerging environmental issues. EcoAthletes gave these Rutgers students the fuel of their brand and message, and using their platforms as the fire, ignited new activism around this ongoing controversy.
College athletes are young, and they are passionate. They’re not afraid to take a stand for what they feel is right. Companies can take advantage of that, piggybacking on an athlete’s outspokenness to make their ideals simultaneously heard.
The answer to this question is complex. It is ill-advised to just pluck any random athlete from the litter because they have a half-million followers on Instagram. There are a few important criteria to consider when searching for the perfect ambassador.
First and foremost, the athlete’s beliefs must align with those of the company. Supporters of any athlete know what he or she values; they know what causes the athlete will fight for, or what rights they will swear to protect. If the athlete doesn’t make sense for the deal, people may feel less inclined to purchase the product.
Julian George, part of the University of Wisconsin’s wrestling team, has an NIL deal with a company he values—a New Jersey-based physical therapy provider that helped him rehab his wrist and ankle injuries. Now on campus and prepping for his freshman season on the Badger’s NCAA D1 team, the New Jersey native—and recent Silver medalist at the 2023 Pan-American championships—is part of Thrive Spine and Sports Rehab’s #TeamThrive.
For brands, it is also important to find an athlete who holds a low risk of running into controversy and has stayed uncontroversial through their time into college. Backlash or negativity against an athlete can transfer to the company that they are representing and potentially spoil the whole campaign.
Agencies can appear in all forms. Athletes can sign with a third-party agency to represent them individually. A popular group is NOCAP Sports. A complete database can be found on the NIL Network’s athlete service provider directory.
There is a finite number of high-profile college players that have national visibility. But there are approximately 500,000 college athletes competing for NCAA schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada, according to the NCAA. Their sports vary from those that are big business and well-known—namely D1 football and basketball—but NCAA teams include skiing, rugby, rifle, squash, equestrian and e-sports to name just a handful of lesser-known but competitive collegiate athletics.
Athletes can run their name, image and likeness through their university. Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, just recently launched its own marketplace that works to centralize all information on their athletes in one location, making it easier for brands to find and contact an athlete with a potential NIL deal.
Tara Walsh, an NCAA D1 gymnast, initiated her own search for a NIL deal with a brand. While at Auburn University, she sent emails to stores and brands shortly after the NCAA allowed for NIL opportunities, eventually landing a partnership with boutique called Studio 3:19 in Opelika, AL.
“I told them who I was, why I liked their business and how I thought their values and mine would align, and then asked if they were working with athletes….I was very fortunate to work with the company that I did. At the beginning I spoke to the owner and I got a sense of the brand. I knew we were aligned from very early on,” said Walsh, who is now a student athlete at Michigan State.
The athletes are out there, and they are ready to take advantage of these new NIL laws. But it is uber important for companies and athletes to fit the best fit.
Zachary Carter is a third-year journalism major and Spanish minor currently attending Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. He is the online editor for the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network (QBSN), the treasurer for the satirical newspaper, The Quinnipiac Barnacle, as well as the secretary for the Quinnipiac Club Baseball Team.
The NCAA—a.k.a. the National Collegiate Athletic Association—is the nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics at more than 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The birth of NIL at the collegiate level ushered in a new era of college sports. Under the new legislation, athletes can now participate in a wide variety of ways to use their popularity to make money, such as signing autographs, teaching lessons and camps, starting their own businesses and most importantly for many brands — taking part in advertising campaigns.
With the floodgates now open, companies in the personal care industry have wasted no time finding ambassadors to represent their products, with an abundance of examples to show for it.
NIL Deals In Beauty
Hally Hair specializes in cruelty-free, vegan hair dye. With the new NIL laws at their disposal, the company launched a new advertising campaign that pushed the boundaries of what an NIL deal could truly look like. Hally Hair sponsored more than 100 athletes from almost 15 different sports at Baylor University to promote its hair dye using star women’s basketball players Aijha Blackwell, Caitlin Bickle and Jana Van Gytenbeek to lead the charge. In May, the brand rolled out ambassador deals with NCAA softball players at several high profile colleges.Haircare brand Mielle, which is part of Procter & Gamble, signed Angel Reese as an ambassador. The Louisiana State University basketball star led her team to the NCAA D1 championship during March Madness.
The reason why ad campaigns featuring popular collegiate athletes has become so enticing to so many brands is because it allows companies to reach an abundance of potential customers in seconds. Using an athlete as a gateway, communities that were once considered inaccessible now become reachable. Partnering with an athlete means partnering with that athlete’s followers on social media sites. Then, the company has the freedom to use that athlete to promote their product in almost any way they please.
A door is opened, theoretically, to a large demographic of previously untapped customers.
According to the Education Data Initaitive, more than 20 million Americans are enrolled in secondary education universities. A byproduct of a successful ad campaign is reaching into this sea of people and fishing out an abundance of new customers.
Think of it on a smaller scale. The defending NCAA Football National Champions, the Georgia Bulldogs of the University of Georgia, average more than 90,000 fans in attendance per game – that’s 90,000 people each week who can be exposure to your brand.
In the mind of the athlete’s followers, when they see a brand deal sponsored by a student athlete pop up on their social media feed, they know that the athlete representing the product has given it their hypothetical seal of approval. They now know the product is legit, and if they find it to be tempting, they’re more willing to buy it because it is endorsed by one of their favorite competitors.
But there is more to an ad campaign than reaching new demographics. NIL deals allow companies to have a voice. Partnering with an athlete to take a stand for a cause, or to act in support of an ongoing current event allows companies to use that voice and make their values heard. These deals attract customers who share those same values and grow the company’s foundation of supporters.
For example, five athletes at Rutgers University partnered with EcoAthletes to promote discussion around global climate change and other emerging environmental issues. EcoAthletes gave these Rutgers students the fuel of their brand and message, and using their platforms as the fire, ignited new activism around this ongoing controversy.
College athletes are young, and they are passionate. They’re not afraid to take a stand for what they feel is right. Companies can take advantage of that, piggybacking on an athlete’s outspokenness to make their ideals simultaneously heard.
Brands & Athletes
But there is one vital question: how can a company find the perfect athlete to represent their brand and advertise their products?The answer to this question is complex. It is ill-advised to just pluck any random athlete from the litter because they have a half-million followers on Instagram. There are a few important criteria to consider when searching for the perfect ambassador.
First and foremost, the athlete’s beliefs must align with those of the company. Supporters of any athlete know what he or she values; they know what causes the athlete will fight for, or what rights they will swear to protect. If the athlete doesn’t make sense for the deal, people may feel less inclined to purchase the product.
Julian George, part of the University of Wisconsin’s wrestling team, has an NIL deal with a company he values—a New Jersey-based physical therapy provider that helped him rehab his wrist and ankle injuries. Now on campus and prepping for his freshman season on the Badger’s NCAA D1 team, the New Jersey native—and recent Silver medalist at the 2023 Pan-American championships—is part of Thrive Spine and Sports Rehab’s #TeamThrive.
For brands, it is also important to find an athlete who holds a low risk of running into controversy and has stayed uncontroversial through their time into college. Backlash or negativity against an athlete can transfer to the company that they are representing and potentially spoil the whole campaign.
Finding an NCAA Athlete
In the search for the perfect candidate, a good place to start are the many NIL agencies that exist to help an athlete gain recognition for themselves. These agencies are databases, to an extent, that house an endless stream of athletes in search of partnerships with major companies.Agencies can appear in all forms. Athletes can sign with a third-party agency to represent them individually. A popular group is NOCAP Sports. A complete database can be found on the NIL Network’s athlete service provider directory.
There is a finite number of high-profile college players that have national visibility. But there are approximately 500,000 college athletes competing for NCAA schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Canada, according to the NCAA. Their sports vary from those that are big business and well-known—namely D1 football and basketball—but NCAA teams include skiing, rugby, rifle, squash, equestrian and e-sports to name just a handful of lesser-known but competitive collegiate athletics.
Athletes can run their name, image and likeness through their university. Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, just recently launched its own marketplace that works to centralize all information on their athletes in one location, making it easier for brands to find and contact an athlete with a potential NIL deal.
Tara Walsh, an NCAA D1 gymnast, initiated her own search for a NIL deal with a brand. While at Auburn University, she sent emails to stores and brands shortly after the NCAA allowed for NIL opportunities, eventually landing a partnership with boutique called Studio 3:19 in Opelika, AL.
“I told them who I was, why I liked their business and how I thought their values and mine would align, and then asked if they were working with athletes….I was very fortunate to work with the company that I did. At the beginning I spoke to the owner and I got a sense of the brand. I knew we were aligned from very early on,” said Walsh, who is now a student athlete at Michigan State.
The athletes are out there, and they are ready to take advantage of these new NIL laws. But it is uber important for companies and athletes to fit the best fit.
Zachary Carter is a third-year journalism major and Spanish minor currently attending Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT. He is the online editor for the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network (QBSN), the treasurer for the satirical newspaper, The Quinnipiac Barnacle, as well as the secretary for the Quinnipiac Club Baseball Team.