Some UW Stevens Point student athletes have already signed off on name, image, and likeness deals.
That follows a decision by the NCAA to allow student athletes to profit off those elements.
Athletics Director Brad Duckworth.
“A lot of this is the online presence. Social media influencers, product endorsements. There are certain websites that exist out there that pay college students to be part of it”
Duckworth says they are asking those who are taking advantage to disclose their actions to the athletics department so they can make sure everything is handled legally, whether the benefit is ten dollars or ten thousand dollars.
“So that we can help them ensure the compliance part of it, so there’s no extra benefits…. things seem to jibe from an NCAA standpoint.”
Duckworth says the decision does open up some interesting possibilities, for example the school got several offers for appearances after the men's hockey team won a national title two years ago.
Duckworth says they hope to have some sort of training or coursework specifically for student-athletes to help them navigate the business aspects of name, image, and likeness, but that won't be ready for several months.
“How do we develop this type of course? We’ve talked with our people in the school of business. Every UW campus has a small business resource available for all students, so we intend to partner with them.”
Duckworth says the change means you could see Pointer student athletes on billboards or in commercials- but he's not aware of any of those opportunities being presented just yet.
Some division I football players have already made millions off their name image and likeness- including those at Alabama and Ohio State.
