This year’s Sports Business Journal Intercollegiate Athletics Forum (SBJIAF) touched on numerous topics, including changes to the NCAA. Just before the start of the annual conference, NCAA president Charlie Baker released a proposal to create a new subdivision within Division I in which some schools will have increased autonomy. This could lead to those schools being able to compensate some student-athletes directly. Schools that opt into this subdivision would have to demonstrate a standard rooted in athlete investment.
Over the course of the conference, athletic directors, conference commissioners, and other pundits in college sports weighed in. Every year, the SBJIAF includes a student-athlete panel, this year titled “What Keeps You Up at Night? The Student Athlete Perspective.”
The first question asked by moderator Rodney Anderson, manager of NIL (name, image, and likeness) business development for Learfield/Sooner Sports Properties, related to experiences with NIL. One clear point is that, for the most part, sports outside of football and basketball—known as the Olympic sports or non-revenue generating sports—have less or smaller opportunities. Those who are social media-savvy do their best to leverage NIL.
Former softball player and NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) Vice Chair Morgyn Wynne transferred to Oklahoma State University just before the enactment of NIL on July 1, 2021. She used the 2021–22 academic year to build her brand and then saw deals come in during her final year.
“It was really cool to see the progression of people not knowing who I was to people asking, ‘Can you wear this?’ or ‘Can you take a picture and post it on your social media and we’ll give you this [amount]?’” Wynne said. She spoke about a collaboration with a car dealership that had a mission to propel women’s sports, doing community outreach to young female athletes.
In response to Anderson asking how student-athletes prioritize mental health amid the many demands on their time, Clara Vulpisi, a recent graduate and former water polo player at the University of the Pacific, said, “I think we’re moving in the right direction with trying to figure out how to build requirements and standards across Division I, Division II, Division III, ensuring student-athlete mental health and preventing burnout.” She also stated her approval of Baker’s proposals.
Wynne said she nurtured her own mental health by becoming involved in student-athlete advocacy. “That is where I created a balance for myself,” she said. “I have a voice and I have a seat at the table.”