Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Launch On-Campus NIL Program With Altius
7/25/2022 8:01:00 AM | General
Northwestern one of six schools investing in groundbreaking, enhanced NIL resources for student-athletes
EVANSTON, Illinois – Northwestern University is one of just six schools nationwide launching an on-campus General Manager Program in partnership with Altius Sports Partners (Altius), the Name, Image and Likeness launch program for elite athletics departments. As Altius continues to serve as the external NIL launch platform for dozens of schools, the GM program is a natural extension to further centralize and stabilize athlete-focused strategy, education, operations and deal facilitation for participating athletics departments wishing to establish an in-house NIL department. In addition to the 'Cats, Cincinnati, LSU, Oklahoma State, South Carolina, and Virginia are the first six athletics departments to participate and place full-time trained Altius personnel on campus as part of the GM program.
The GM program represents the future of centralizing NIL as a standalone vertical within athletics departments. This includes comprehensive education of all stakeholders, as well as a bespoke approach for each athletics department for maximizing each athletes' NIL opportunities. Each institution will have a customized approach to connecting athletes with brand partnerships, which could include providing opportunities and resources or making appropriate introductions depending on the nature of involvement. Altius prioritizes development of athlete NIL while fostering collaboration with institutional partners and university supporters in identifying brand prospects and enhancing existing multimedia rights partnership.
LEARN MORE: ICON - NIL at Northwestern
As the landscape shifts closer to schools supporting athletes in identifying and facilitating NIL opportunities, there are numerous benefits from having personnel recruited, vetted, hired, trained, and managed by Altius on campus, in collaboration with institutional partners. Altius personnel offer the benefit of understanding the national landscape and reducing liability for school involvement as Altius can leverage its unrivaled experience in licensing, sponsorship, agents, employment, labor, collective bargaining, Title IX, and other impending issues.
The on-campus program will be led by Brittney Whiteside, Altius' VP of Collegiate Partnerships, with support from Altius' EVP of Collegiate Partnerships, Andrew Donovan. "We are excited to launch the on-campus program, which will add significant value to our partners and expand NIL opportunities for their athletes. Our top priority is to provide innovative NIL strategies and solutions to maximize opportunities for athletes in this evolving landscape," said Whiteside.
Among the GM responsibilities will be supporting overall NIL strategy and daily compliance of on-campus opportunities. The day-to-day duties also entail oversight of comprehensive education and ongoing support for all university stakeholders. Additionally, the newly formed NIL-centered staff will lead identification and implementation of athlete-focused NIL deals along with marketing, branding, and content creation to support those opportunities.
"This initiative requires foresight and thoughtful collaboration. These schools are solution-oriented and have prioritized positioning all stakeholders, most importantly, the athletes, to maximize the NIL space and the opportunities it presents for personal, professional, and financial growth," said Donovan.
"Our purpose is to provide the best holistic student-athlete experience in the nation for our Wildcats," said Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Dr. Derrick Gragg. "With staggered implementation and inconsistent legislative guidance across the country, the Name, Image and Likeness space has been a rapidly evolving environment. Rather than asking a current staff member to manage this along with myriad other responsibilities, or hiring a new teammate who lacks national perspective, this extension of our partnership with Altius positions us to best support what our student-athletes need now and in the future."
The initiative is an extension of Altius' services, which are rooted in navigating and keeping university partners ahead of the curve and compliantly optimizing NIL activities for their athletes. As Altius implements its GM Program, it will continue to support all school partners through an advisory role in addition to providing ongoing innovative and strategic guidance on policy and initiatives and customized educational support.
With today's announcement, the unique business model Altius has maintained since launching in October 2020 – being paid by schools, not athletes, agents, or collectives – has not changed. While Altius does not represent athletes or collectives directly, secure rights, or sell tickets, Altius-hired staff will collaborate campus-wide and leverage their knowledge and resources around NIL and athlete marketing. Additionally, each program will be based on the specifications of its institutional and applicable state policies.
Altius will continue to provide direct and real-time actionable information for partner programs, regardless of participation in the GM program, including recruiting resources for coaches, analysis of developments across the national landscape, as well as understanding of local community and campus, departmental and team-by-team philosophy, and priorities because of integration into the athletics department and daily on-campus presence.
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About Altius Sports Partners
Altius is a leading NIL launch platform and external innovation department that delivers consulting, strategic planning, compliance support and education to its clients. An official partner of premier collegiate athletic departments and sports properties, Altius provides strategic solutions on topics ranging from NIL to the shifting landscape of employment and media rights within college athletics. Altius currently represents athletics departments at Arizona, Auburn, Cincinnati, Clemson, Duke, Georgia, Georgetown, Indiana, Kansas, LSU, Marquette, Miami, Mississippi State, Nebraska, Northwestern, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue, South Carolina, USC, Tennessee, Texas, Villanova, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Altius has also partnered with Women Leaders in College Sports. Providing all stakeholders – athletics departments, coaches, and college athletes – with resources they need to thrive in the new age of college athletics, Altius leverages its deep reservoir of sports business sophistication to help those impacted to prepare and excel. It has built a team of cross-disciplinary leaders to reach higher levels of education, higher access to opportunities and higher standards of excellence.
Media Contact:
ASP: press@altiussp.com
