Summary
This is the Startup Junkie’s Podcast, welcome back!
Episode 265 gathered a lot of incredible people around the Startup Junkie table! Alongside our hosts, Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Davis McEntire, we sat with Meredith Lowry and Judy Henry of Wright Lindsey Jennings Law Practice, and Sarah Goforth and Cari Humphry from the University of Arkansas’ office of entrepreneurship and innovation. The NCAA, the U of A, and the NIL are some big buzz words for any collegiate sports fan and we got to discuss the legal ramifications alongside with the U of A’s response to the matter.
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Shownotes
(0:49) Introducing WLJ and UARK guests
(3:13) Pressure of NIL with the NCAA and UARK
(13:07) UARK Programs to Empower Athletes with New NIL Procedures
(22:12) The Need for Financial Advisement and Education
(26:29) Legalities of This Transition
(35:36) UARK Vs. Other Universities
(41:20) Relationship with Businesses and Universities and NIL Procedures
(48:17) Changing Marketplace and Changing Regulations
(1:02:55) Growth of Sports Management
(1:10:45) Closing Remarks & Wrap Up
Links
Wright Lindsey Jennings Law Practice
UARK Office of entrepreneurship and Innovation
Quotes
“This has been a pressure point boiling up to the surface for a couple of years. And finally became reality when states went ahead and had statutes that immediately came into effect this summer. The NCAA couldn’t ignore it any longer and had to take some action.”
(7:24) – Judy Henry
“A lot of them are not equipping themselves because they devote so much time to their sport.. [they have no time to ] to really be successful and negotiate and go after opportunities and start their own businesses.”
(15:27) – Sarah Goforth
“I feel we’ve [UARK] differentiated ourselves with the wide variety of mentors and community partners involved who are giving their time and their expertise. And then secondly, taking that wider entrepreneurial lens.”
(35:36) Sarah Goforth
“Student-athletes have some really great ideas and there is some grit involved and some determination and commitment.”
(37:19) – Cari Humphry
“I really hope that it keeps them engaged in school longer. Taking advantage of the resources that they have as student-athletes and on campus.”
(1:09:50) – Cari Humphry
Show Me the Money: Exploring NIL with WLJ Tech Law and UARK’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Name, image, and likeness are some buzz words you must have heard floating around if you are keeping up at all with collegiate sports. We won’t pretend to be experts on the subject, which is why we brought on an ensemble of a cast for this week’s episode.
Joining Jeff Amerine, Caleb Talley, and Davis McEntire are Meredith Lowry and Judy Henry of Wright Lindsey Jennings Law Practice and Sarah Goforth and Cari Humphry from the University of Arkansas’ office of entrepreneurship and innovation. We saw it fit to bring in both groups to tackle the conversation of exploring the ins and outs of NIL.
Wright Lindsey Jennings Law Practice has been long-term friends and sponsors, and we were thankful for their expertise on the legal ramifications of the recent amendments to the NIL structure for Arkansas. Our second set of guests from the UARK office of entrepreneurship and innovation discuss how they will be educating and empowering these athletes who now can use their own influence for the greater entrepreneurial good!
This episode is a long one and we go incredibly in-depth, so all of you college sports fans and entrepreneurial junkies will want to listen to the whole thing to get in the know with us!
Pressure on the NCAA
“This has been a pressure point boiling up to the surface for a couple of years. And finally became reality when states went ahead and had statutes that immediately came into effect this summer. The NCAA couldn’t ignore it any longer and had to take some action.”
(7:24) – Judy Henry
The impact of the newest revisions to NIL on the University of Arkansas student-athletes is astronomical. The first thing to know is that NIL means more than even the three words it is shortening. NIL can mean a player’s voice, influence, and anything that promotes their branding. When legislatures of other states began to pass statutes allowing athletes to capitalize on this, the NCAA started to feel internal pressure.
By June of 2021, the NCAA took the leap! Arkansas will probably go into effect on January 1st, 2022, but after the NCAA lead, Arkansas saw many student-athletes contracts beginning this past summer. When Arkansas’s statutes go into effect in January, there is a lot of lack of clarity about what that means for existing contracts.
Why Now?
The main driver of this change could be based on a myriad of things. The list goes on, but a few ones include the fact that there was no historic compensation opportunity for students, that other students and schools could capitalize on personal influence, that it was an unfair and confusing set of demands, and that the capital these students bring to the school should be regarded.
Just as the Hog emblem brings in money to U of A, these students’ faces, catch-phrases, and personal brands do the same thing. It was about time they were able to capitalize on such.
Another point they brought up was the NFL. The answer to this question used to be that they would receive their payment as required once joining a professional sport. When you look at the data from NFL leagues, the average career is 2.8 years. That would not maintain the years these athletes put into their talents and even in other sports such as baseball, they could last longer, but the professional compensation would not compare to actual marketing they could use while still a big name in college sports.
Social Media, The Catalyst
As mentioned, a plethora of factors led to this change, but the most notable was the rise of social media and influencer marketing. These students see everyone promoting their own brand, whether that be through a company, fashion, a startup, an ambassadorship, or even online personalities. UARK wants to reposition their thoughts from the old ways of marketing to using new-age tactics to lead them into opportunities for personal and professional growth.
Platforms such as Instagram, Tik Tok and LinkedIn can all be used for creating connections, getting in touch with brands, and company build outs that they can then use to provide a lifestyle and career for themselves after their handful of years in collegiate sports is over.
What UARK Is Doing To Empower Students
“A lot of them are not equipping themselves because they devote so much time to their sport.. [they have no time to ] to really be successful and negotiate and go after opportunities and start their own businesses.”
(15:27) – Sarah Goforth
The University of Arkansas Athletic Department began to reach out to the services and programs within UARK to create a system of people and educational services that would inform these student-athletes of the new ramifications of NIL.
The opportunity to teach students something in a hands-on format and experiential environment has just helped them learn better overall. This is how they were able to make things memorable, meaningful and sink in with the student-athletes. Educators were ecstatic to show them everything they needed to know to get the most out of their influence as student-athletes. By surrounding these students with mentors and free educational services, UARK is hopeful and excited about the future of these programs.
Beyond empowering students, teaching them about how some gifts, payments, and services they will now be receiving through sponsorships could affect their taxable income is crucial. Money management and finances make most people squirm; imagine this for a 20-year-old athlete. UARK will be creating programs and mentorships to take students through the ins and outs of financial advising to keep them eligible, out of debt, and out of trouble.
“I really hope that it keeps them engaged in school longer. Taking advantage of the resources that they have as student-athletes and on campus.”
(1:09:50) – Cari Humphry
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