NIL at Illinois State University

   NIL, which stands for Name, Image, and Likeness, allows student athletes to benefit financially through the “right of publicity”. The right of publicity gives athletes exclusive control over using their identity for profit. In 2021, the NCAA passed an interim policy allowing its athletes to participate in NIL activities as long as they followed applicable state laws. Athletes are also allowed to obtain professional providers. Examples of NIL activities include public speaking, merchandise, camps, and autographs. NIL opportunities give the individual athlete the avenue to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors.

    The advent of the NIL era did not appear overnight. Many events influenced college athletics and the opportunities for students to profit eventually from their athletic performances. In 1953, the NCAA created the label  “student athlete”  in response to legal action by an injured University of Denver football player claiming employee status and workers’ compensation for his injuries. The label of student athlete emphasized that an athlete was a student first and NOT an employee. In 1956, athletic scholarships were made available to student athletes without consideration of financial need or academic status. The introduction of athletic scholarships enabled many students to attend college. Still, those students of modest means found that the scholarships did not cover all of their financial needs. Jalen Rose described in "The Fab Five" 30 for 30 episode that members of the Fab 5 from the University of Michigan saw merchandise with their names being sold in stores. Despite the enormous profits, none of the athletes benefited directly from the sales of their name, image, or likeness. At the same time, jerseys were often sold without names on their backs to avoid the optics of selling an individual athlete’s gear. For example, in 1992, stores frequently sold #5 Michigan Wolverines Basketball jerseys without the name Rose. Johnny Manziel and Reggie Bush are examples of two student athletes who found themselves in complicated situations, where, by today’s NIL standards, as long as they comply with the NIL regulations, there would be less scrutiny of their financial arrangements.

    Fast forward to 2025, Illinois State University’s NIL collective, Empower the Nest, oversees NIL arrangements for all student athletes at ISU.  Fly With Us is the organization within Empower the Nest that directly benefits ISU Women’s Basketball’s NIL efforts. Multiple donor levels allow people to participate and support the athletes directly. Similarly, the 1998 Club supports the ISU Men’s Basketball NIL efforts.  These NIL organizations provide opportunities for fans to influence the quality of sports by enabling ISU to be competitive in attracting and retaining talented athletes in the NIL environment.