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The 2024 Best Institutional NIL Program With The University of Cincinnati

Guest Chad Allen, Cincinnati; Eddie Taylor, Cinncinati
min watch

Summary

University of Cincinnati Associate AD for Career Advancement and Leadership Chad Allen and Assistant Director for NIL and Innovation Eddie Taylor join ADU’s Tai M. Brown at the 2024 NIL Summit to offer insight into IMPACT, their award-winning NIL and student-athlete development program. Allen and Taylor dive into the creation of the program, which ties together NIL education and opportunities with professional development and life after sport preparation as well as brand strategy and community engagement. Taylor shares more about the “In Her Likeness” event for female student-athletes, which includes an NIL deal from Cincinnati collective Cincy Reigns with networking opportunities and educational panels.

Allen on the future for NIL for the Bearcats: “Year One is education, Year Two is implementation, Year Three we start moving into execution and that’s where we are now – doing what we’ve done but doing it at a high level because the culture is built, everyone knows what we’re doing, the buy in is there. Hopefully by Year Four, we’re able to start being more innovative with some of these things. We try to stay two steps ahead.”

The conversation is indexed below for efficient viewing (click the time stamp to jump to a specific question/topic).

  • - We're here at the NIL Summit and Cincinnati has just received an award for the Best Institutional NIL Program. Tell me about the NIL setup for the Bearcats.
  • - What is your pro sports background?
  • - So you bring that mindset in and then NIL happens - so then you figure out how to tie those two together to make something great happen.
  • - Eddie, talk to me about your experience dealing with players, staying relevant and knowing the language to speak so that they'd listen to you and you'd have an influence on what the department wanted them to accomplish in terms of NIL.
  • - The data is so important - how did you get the student-athletes to do so many polls?
  • - It's a pretty good formula - let's find out what you want in terms of NIL; we'll get you deals that fit what you want. Then that will get you interested in what you want beyond just NIL, so let's go talk to Chad about possible careers and professional development.
  • - From your perspective, what did the committee evaluate you on in order to select you to win this award?
  • - This blend of NIL education and student-athlete development - I assume those priorities were linked together on purpose when they brought you into the department?
  • - When Eddie's GA term ended, how did this position play out?
  • - Tell me about the "In Her Likeness" program for female student-athletes - the vision for it and what you believe the outcomes are.
  • - So that was the first time and you've done it again?
  • - What do they get in the program, aside from the NIL deal?
  • - So now more female student-athletes have NIL deals, apart from this initial one from Cincinnati's collective?
  • - More of them now know that NIL is possible for them to be part of, due to this event.
  • - Tell me about your AD's charge to you specifically about NIL.
  • - You came in last year and said, "We're going to win this award." Now you have. What's on the docket, what comes next?
  • - It seems like innovation started at the beginning of this program.
  • - Eddie, what's your take on the future of NIL at Cincinnati?

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