NIL Newsletter # 137 | NIL Cruise, Boeheim's Spat, Florida's NIL Repeal, + ICYMI
Welcome to the NIL Newsletter by Optimum Sports Consulting - providing valuable, actionable NIL resources for student athletes, administrators, agents and other sport professionals.
Recapping NIL This Week:
BYU Collective Introduces First NIL Cruise
CougConnect, a BYU-focused Collective, announced a new NIL deal with football student athletes Masen Wake, Max Tooley, Miles Davis, and Keanu Hill.
The new deal, which is aptly titled “Cruising With the Cougs,” invites BYU fans and donors to purchase tickets for a four day Carnival Cruise out of Long Beach, California.
In return for their purchase of the $350 player package, fans will get two to three dinners with different players and a chance to play minigolf with them. The first 10 tickets purchased receive BYU gear from CougConnect as well.
“Masen Wake came up with this idea a while ago, and we finally were able to get it all out together,” CougConnect Director Jake Brandon said. “We’re hoping some travel industry members take note and reach out to us and sponsor more of these.
The full story is available HERE.
Jim Boeheim Apologizes After NIL Comments
Last week, Syracuse Men’s basketball coach Jim Boeheim shared his honest thoughts on the current state of NIL in college basketball.
“This is an awful place we're in in college basketball … Pittsburgh bought a team. OK, fine. … Wake Forest bought a team. Miami bought a team. ... It's like, ‘Really, this is where we are?’ That's really where we are, and it's only going to get worse.”
Boeheim went on to argue that NIL is the reason that Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Villanova’s Jay Wright retired.
Boeheim later walked back his statements on the ACC schools he mentioned, stating that he believes Pitt, Wake Forest, and Miami are in compliance with applicable NIL rules.
The ACC sent out a memo this week addressing the incident: “The negative conduct and comments reflect a lack of awareness and consideration of others – and our coaches must have a higher degree of responsibility and accountability.”
More on the story is available HERE.
Florida NIL Repeal Reaches Governor’s Desk
The Florida House of Representatives and Senate both unanimously passed House Bill 7B this past week, and Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill into law.
House Bill 7B focuses on repealing prohibitions on Universities, administrators, and coaches that are included in Florida’s Intercollegiate Athlete Compensation and Rights Act. The amended law will allow coaches and athletic departments to facilitate deals for enrolled college athletes.
“While we want more checks and balances, we are behind the eight ball in the state of Florida in the sense that some of the other states have no rules and regulations, and it’s the wild wild west,” Senate sponsor Travis Hutson said.
Alabama and South Carolina have repealed or suspended their NIL laws, while Louisiana removed a similar prohibition within their own state law.
Supporters of the Bill believe that it is necessary in order to foster relationships between student-athletes and local businesses.
The full story is available HERE.
ICYMI Ticker
Micconope 1851, a Florida State-focused collective, is partnering with Blueprint Sports. LINK
Wisconsin-focused The Varsity Collective purchased a 15-minute video billboard block in Times Square to advertise the Wisconsin football team’s 6 early enrollees and 13 transfers. LINK
The Flock launched to support NIL opportunities for Chattanooga student-athletes. LINK
Two Ohio State-focused collectives, The Foundation and The O Foundation, announced a merger. LINK
The Georgia Tech-focused Tech Way collective announced that they have raised $1 million so far. LINK
Tulsa’s NIL marketplace launched on Opendorse in unity with three other Tulsa-focused NIL programs. LINK
Syracuse University revised its NIL policy to remove language relating to boosters. LINK
Nebraska Volleyball’s Head Coach John Cook shared his thoughts on NIL: “The main thing these collectives are started for is football. But what’s happened is donors who are going to donate to football, say, hey, we want to donate to volleyball as well. So this is a package deal.” LINK