The UCF athletic department is introducing a new program that will assist its athletes in creating economic opportunities made available through impending name, image and likeness legislation.
The LAUNCH program was created in partnership with Opendorse and COMPASS as a way to provide UCF athletes with the help needed in building and managing their own brands. It’s also meant to help athletes navigate the challenges of the upcoming NIL legislation that takes effect July 1 in Florida.
That legislation allows college athletes to receive compensation for the use of their image and likeness.
“Our LAUNCH program incorporates multiple new elements to assist our student-athletes with navigation of these opportunities — and we are excited to add the Opendorse and COMPASS platforms to what we already were offering to them,” says UCF athletics director Terry Mohajir. “We know this can be a turnkey operation for all our student-athletes that best enables them to take advantage of both marketplace and campus resources.”
Since 2016, UCF has been working with Opendorse, a third-party company that more than 100 athletic departments across the country use to help athletes build and monetize their social media brands. The company also works with Florida and Florida Atlantic.
COMPASS is a third-party NIL platform created by CLC, a trademark licensing company, that provides education and monitoring systems that work with athletes in establishing marketing opportunities while remaining compliant with NCAA and federal and state legislation.
“We are here to serve our student-athletes in every area — academics, athletics, success after graduation, nutrition, mental health — and building their personal brands is definitely one of them,” added Mohajir. “We are invested in helping them become outstanding alumni by developing their brands. As a result, we are guaranteeing 100% job or graduate school placement.”
Mohajir told the Orlando Sentinel that a third-party administrator like COMPASS, would monitor the potential NIL contracts of its athletes and help with compliance issues.
UCF made national headlines earlier this year when its football players took the field for the program’s annual spring game on April 10 wearing jerseys adorned with their social media handles instead of their last names. It was a strategy meant to capitalize on the growing issue of NIL, which has been at the forefront of a changing college landscape.
The NCAA has long forbidden athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness but its changed its stance after states began introducing their own NIL legislation. More than 39 states have introduced bills, 20 of which have already approved legislation. Florida is among six states where the law goes into effect on July 1.
The NCAA has been asking for Congress to step in and pass federal legislation to supersede the state laws but it doesn’t appear to be likely before July 1.
NCAA President Mark Emmert is asking the Division I Council, which meets this week, to take up the issue of name, image and likeness and vote on its own version of the legislation.
But things become complicated when the Supreme Court ruled unanimously against the NCAA in an antitrust case Monday. The ruling eliminates limits put on education-related benefits for Division I athletes particularly caps put on athletic scholarships.
The news opens the door for possible antitrust lawsuits if the NCAA chooses to create its own NIL legislation.
Meanwhile, schools have been moving forward to provide their athletes with the best practices available.
“There’s no doubt that we’re prepared,” UCF football coach Gus Malzahn said back in May. “We’re going to embrace it. Everything is set up here for great success with name, image and likeness with our players and with our school and everything that goes with it.”
