Preparing Leaders Through NIL With North Texas’ Jessie Gardner

Guest Jessie Gardner, North Texas

16:23 min watch

Summary

North Texas Executive Senior Associate AD for Leadership and Culture and SWA Jessie Gardner joins ADU’s Steph Garcia Cichosz at the inaugural NIL Summit to discuss how the Mean Green embraces NIL to “Build Champions and Prepare Leaders.” Gardner talks about Paramount, UNT’s comprehensive NIL program developed in partnership with INFLCR, and how Mean Green student-athletes are tapping into NIL opportunities to develop essential leadership skills that will serve them for life.

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

- What is a day in your life in this new NIL era?
- How have your daily priorities shifted now that NIL is in place? What does time management look like for you?
- How is NIL similar to other kinds of student-athlete development and leadership programming?
- How does Paramount lead into AD Wren Baker's mission to "Build Champions and Prepare Leaders"?
- What feedback have you received from student-athletes about their experience of NIL so far?
- What advice do you have for student-athletes who don't feel they need a personal brand or don't want to engage with NIL?
- What can Group of 5 or mid-major programs do from a resources and staffing standpoint to ensure that all student-athletes are served regarding NIL?
- What have been some of the more innovative NIL deals or projects for UNT student-athletes?
- What trends or topics will you be paying attention to as we shift into Year 2 of NIL?
- Do we need more support from outside entities and technology providers or should NIL be conducted more "in house"?
- You were a student-athlete; how would you be engaging with NIL if you were still competing?

Video

Disrupting The Market With Playfly’s Christy Hedgpeth

Video

Removing Obstacles To Success With The AFAAC’s Dr. Nancy Hixon

Video

The Impact Of DEI On Corporate Culture With LEARFIELD’s Ian Moses