YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN)- Following the NCAA’s decision this summer for athletes to profit off their name, YSU set out to figure out what a policy would look like on their campus.
They have partnered with Opendorse to enhance student-athlete brand opportunities. Opendorse has facilitated endorsement opportunities for thousands of professional athletes since 2012.
Opendorse has facilitated endorsement opportunities for thousands of professional athletes since 2012.
The partnership will empower YSU athletes to understand, protect, and build their brands. The deal was made official in late September of this year with a campus visit from Opendorse to show students how it works.
The Opendorse platform serves as a one stop shop for student athletes to handle anything related to name, image, and likeness.
“It’s education on the financial side of it, but also how they can better promote themselves to earn other opportunities or have a better presence on social media,” said YSU Senior Associate Athletic Director Rebecca Fink.
Each institution works within their own state law. With the national landscape of NIL changing on July 1st. Fink tells us this is really the first topic that’s been wide open with the NCAA.
Opendorse has been in the professional sports space for a while. When the collegiate space opened up, they moved into that space as well. The platform offers several different features for student-athletes. The three main ones focus on compliance, social media, and education.
Opendorse Monitor offers protection for student-athletes. Compliance leaders can easily define, review, and flag NIL activities to ensure the safety of their athletes and institution.
Opendorse Social provides student-athletes with social assessments based on their presence on their platforms. This allows them to see what the value of their posts may be. Within the platform there are also educational modules on a variety of topics.
“We knew when things changed with NIL that we really needed. the biggest piece was going to be educating our students on how they can find opportunities, how they can pursue them, and also how this may affect taxes or things like that,” Fink said.
Fink said that feedback about the partnership has been positive. She says she thinks the platform will be beneficial to their student-athletes.
The Opendorse platform is accessible for student athletes, businesses, and athletic departments.
Today, there are more than 60,000 athletes around the world use its services.
YSU student athletes partner with marketing company to boost brand opportunities
