SAIL Team Visits VCU

In late April, two of our SAIL team members visited VCU to talk with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams and staff about impending name, image and likeness (NIL) legislation.

Our goal with this initial session was to begin the NIL education process with the student athletes prior to the end of this semester, and in advance of July 1 when several states are inacting their own NIL laws outside of any NCAA rulings.

Even though no NIL rulings have come down from the NCAA, VCU’s Athletic Department felt passionate about SAIL beginning the conversations with student-athletes, especially the basketball teams which both recently finished up successful seasons. Our priority right now is to help students understand what NIL means and the importance of personal branding. Navigating these new rules will be cumbersome, but it was exciting for our team to be able to inform VCU’s student athletes about potential opportunities in their future. Much of our presentation focused on the importance of personal branding and appropriate social media usage to set these students up for the greatest possible success in the coming months. No matter how NIL plays out, SAIL’s goal is to educate students on the importance of their personal brand today, plays a role in their future.

This discussion was the first of many meaningful conversations that will be had with all VCU student athletes starting next semester. We look forward to expanding our partnership with VCU through more dialogue and education so that athletes of all levels can maximize their personal brand value.