Altius Sports Partners, Iowa Marching Band NIL Deal, Pac-12 Control, + ICYMI | NIL Newsletter #199
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Major News
Altius Sports Partners Acquired by underdog
This week, Altius Sports Partners was acquired by underdog & company.
Altius has consulting agreements with 39 universities, most of them among the Power Five, including Clemson, Duke, Georgia, LSU, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin.
Altius has renewed 36 of its 39 current agreements, with 31 of the extensions consisting of multi-year deals.
In many of their consulting agreements, ASP provides an on-campus General Manager to consult on NIL-needs for Athletic Departments.
“Ultimately, how can we add value and try and be disruptive in the industry, obviously in the NIL space, but also as an integrated company,” said Dan Mannix, co-founder and managing partner at Underdog.
Members of Iowa Marching Band Sign “NIL” Deal
18 members of the Iowa Marching Band’s Mellophone section signed a first of their kind deal with The Brick Kitchen, an Iowa-based kitchenware business.
“Most people don’t realize the amount of effort Marching Band students put into their performances,” shared Shelly Whited, owner of The Brick Kitchen in a press release.
“Many of these students are also trying to maintain part-time jobs, so it can be stressful. This is a great way for us to provide a little financial help and have a lot of fun while doing it. We are also excited to be the first business to ink a deal for a full instrument section with an NCAA Marching Band,” said Whited.
”We bleed black and gold, you know we’re major ambassadors for the university. And you know, we’re a big part of game day. A big part of the fabric of the university. So to have those students be recognized as well, I think it’s really important,” said Iowa Band Director Eric Bush.
Members of the Mellophone section will be featured in advertising and social media campaigns, and will be compensated with case and store products.
Fleeing Pac-12 Schools Oppose OSU, WSU
As Oregon State and Washington State seek control of the Pac-12 conference board, the 10 departing schools have filed in opposition of the motion for preliminary injunction.
Washington joined the lawsuit, on behalf of the other 9 departing universities, on October 16th as an intervening party.
In a sworn statement, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce said: “If OSU and WSU gain control of the Board, I am concerned that they would claim control over the entirety of UW’s media rights interests. I am also concerned that, in general, a Board controlled by OSU and WSU would decide not to distribute net revenues earned by UW and the other nine departing institutions for competing during the 2023-24 year.”
Oregon State and Washington State believe that the future of the Pac-12 should be decided by the universities that stay, not those that are departing.
ICYMI
Valiant Management Group has raised over $50,000 in 24 hours after re-releasing Michigan vs. Everybody merchandise. All funds go directly to student-athletes from all Michigan sports. LINK
The Illinois-focused ICON for Illini Collective has chosen Basepath as their membership operations provider. LINK
The North Dakota State-focused The Green and The Gold Collective also selected Basepath. LINK
Have you checked out OSC’s website?
Head to www.OptimumSportsConsulting.com to find important resources and features relating to all things NIL. These resources include State by State Resources for Admins, Agents and Athletes, including our initial “OSC Summaries” for over a dozen states coming soon.
More to come too, including links to helpful state information- agency laws and information about school policies, as well as seminar/congressional notes, worksheets, and much more!