Sports Betting, The Collective Association, Pony Express 2.0, + ICYMI & More | NIL Newsletter #181
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Major News
Sports Betting Issues at Iowa, Iowa State, Elsewhere
Five current and former student-athletes from Iowa or Iowa State pled guilty to gambling charges this week.
These included Iowa State’s Hunter Dekkers, Dodge Sauser, and Jake Remsburg, and Iowa’s Aaron Blom and Gehrig Christensen. All pleaded guilty to underage gambling and received a $645 fine.
An NCAA survey on sports wagering was also released this week, revealing that 27% of autonomy five (P5) universities had dealt with a sports wagering issue among their student-athletes or staff within the past year.
A similar percentage of universities said they “were aware of athletes on their campus being harassed online or in person by someone with a gambling interest in their games.”
More on the survey is available HERE.
The Collective Association Adds Members, Calls for Inclusion
This week, the collective association added four new member collectives. These four collectives support NC State, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia.
Total membership for The Collective Association now includes 21 member collectives from all Power Five conferences.
In the same memo, The Collective Association advocated for a voice in congressional discussions surrounding NIL legislation.
“As an organization of collectives that work closely with student-athletes and have firsthand knowledge of how NIL is working—favorably and unfavorably, we are the most effective resource to identify solutions to create a system that serves the many parties involved.”
The full release is available HERE.
SMU’s Path to Competing in the ACC
Nearly forty years after SMU received a “death penalty” from the NCAA for repeated violations, the program agreed to join the ACC. As part of their move, SMU won’t receive any media rights revenue for nine years.
To compensate for this lack of media revenue, SMU boosters plan to contribute over $150 million over nine years, in an effort to boost the football program back to national prominence.
“In a full-circle moment, it’s a new booster culture and alignment with the university that brought the program back to this moment. The school that dominated ‘NIL’ long before it was legal has plans to do it again.”
The full article from The Athletic ($) is available HERE.
For Athletes
Deal of the Week
UConn’s Paige Bueckers signed an NIL deal with Nike, making her the first collegiate student-athlete to lead a marketing campaign for the company.
Bueckers will be the leading face for Nike’s GT Hustle sneaker campaign this fall.
ICYMI
LSU partnered with Matchpoint Connection to launch NILSU, while will “ensure our student-athletes receive the best education, build a strong brand and maximize opportunity during their time as a student-athlete.” LINK
Louisville announced that 502Circle is the official NIL partner for the university. LINK
The NCAA denied Tez Walker’s eligibility waiver for this season. UNC Head Coach Mack Brown stated: “I don’t know that I’ve ever been more disappointed in a person, group of people, or an institution than I am with the NCAA right now. It’s clear that the NCAA is about process and couldn’t care less about the young people it’s supposed to be supporting.” LINK
Ohio State announced that The 1870 Society will be the official NIL collective for Ohio State Football. The Foundation, another NIL collective, is shifting its focus to Men’s and Women’s Basketball. 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!