Ohio State is moving forward in the next phase of assisting its student-athletes when it comes to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). According to a release from the university’s athletic department on Monday, OSU is updating its NIL guidelines and creating a team to assist as NIL continues to evolve.
“We are updating our NIL guidelines to allow for the creation of the Edge Team to assist in connecting and coordinating NIL activities for our student-athletes,” Carey Hoyt, Ohio State senior associate athletics director and primary administrator for Ohio State’s NIL programs, said in a statement.
“Our guidelines were initially created to be restrictive, but now that we have a better understanding of NIL, it’s clear that we can provide more assistance in connecting student-athletes with interested brands. By allowing some OSU staff to interact with the brands and to educate and answer questions, we can eliminate hesitancy from brands, and donors, who were concerned about breaking rules.”
So what exactly is the Edge team? According to the release, it is “an internal advisory group whose members can assist student-athletes with access and resources to successfully pursue NIL opportunities. The Edge Team may work with companies and brands to assist in the NIL process, and it will also have the flexibility to monitor and adapt to changing guidelines and legislation.”
It was unclear what role universities and their athletic departments could play in helping student-athletes with the NIL process and potential deals, but as things have become a little more clear, there now appears to be an ability to offer some assistance to the student-athletes in navigating the space.
🌰 Dept. of Athletics creates "NIL Edge Team" & updates guidelines for student-athletes
ℹ️ varsity sports will have designated staff to work with NIL requests#GoBucks https://t.co/YzTOEMng7u
— Ohio State Buckeyes 🌰 (@OhioStAthletics) January 24, 2022
“We have watched national trends and we are learning from the emerging NIL collectives,” Hoyt said. “Every state and every institution has its own set of NIL rules or guidelines. Updating our NIL guidelines at this time is what we needed to do to stay competitive in this ultra-competitive landscape.”
Ohio State continues to get out in front of NIL better than most schools out there and have embraced it with open arms. So much so that OSU reportedly led all schools over the first six months in opportunities gained, the number of athletes involved, and total money made.
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