UC Named Among Top Universities for Student-Athlete NIL Endorsement Deals

WLWT 5 NBC

May 6, 2024

The University of Cincinnati continues to demonstrate leadership in collegiate athletics by being recognized as one of the top universities helping student-athletes secure name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement deals. This recognition highlights UC’s innovative approach to supporting their student-athletes in this new era of collegiate sports.

Below is the full article from WLWT5 NBC about this achievement:

UC among top universities in helping student-athletes land endorsement deals

WLWT5 NBC – https://www.wlwt.com/article/university-cincinnati-nil-endorsements-ncaa-money/60707263

Updated: 11:00 PM EDT May 6, 2024

CINCINNATI — The University of Cincinnati has been named one of the top universities in the country in helping student-athletes land endorsement deals. NIL stands for name, image and likeness. It’s been three years since the NCAA allowed collegiate athletes to profit off of NIL.

“I feel like it took a long time, but it’s finally here and it was needed,” said UC running back Corey Kiner.

Since then, UC has been at the forefront of helping its athletes maximize their opportunities and has earned national recognition.

“It’s a big thing of how recruits decide where they want to go to school and where donations are going,” said Eddie Taylor, assistant director of NIL innovation.

As NIL quickly changed the landscape of collegiate sports, the University of Cincinnati created a comprehensive NIL development program to help student-athletes maximize their opportunities.

“We do a content creation workshop where we teach them how to create content, but we also educate them on exclusivity clauses and contracts and stuff like that,” Taylor said.

Cincy Reigns is the official NIL partner of Cincinnati Athletics. It is a fundraising collective that offers direct financial support to UC’s student-athletes.

UC is a leader in the industry. Taylor and his team created the first-ever female-only NIL event called “In Her Likeness.”

“Every single girl that attended the event got an initial deal,” Taylor said. “It was the first time ever that that happened with a collective in a corporate partner and female student-athletes.”

The university, now gaining national attention, was named a finalist in the “NIL Summit Awards” for best institutions. Taylor says UC’s strong fan base and rich business community have created a vast number of NIL opportunities for student-athletes.

“We’re only as good as the city that surrounds us, and the city does a great job,” Taylor said. “I hope it just encourages the city to get more involved.”