Gamecock Athletics Rolls Out NIL Program for Student-Athletes

University of South Carolina student-athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday.

The University supported South Carolina State Law S. 685, which allowed intercollegiate student-athletes in the state of South Carolina the right to earn compensation for their name, image, and likeness.
  
The effective date of the bill was to be July 1, 2022, or by certification of the South Carolina Attorney General if rules consistent with the provisions of the bill were to be in effect by the NCAA.
  
On June 30, the NCAA suspended its NIL rules for all incoming and current student-athletes in all sports, allowing South Carolina student-athletes the opportunity to benefit from NIL starting July 1, 2021.

The NIL program at South Carolina will fall under the athletics department’s “Gamecock CEO” program, started in 2020.  CEO is an acronym for “Commit, Engage, Own It” and empowers student-athletes to take charge of their lives.   The NIL program will assist student-athletes in taking advantage of the opportunities that becoming leader of their own brand can bring.

“I consider it a part of our education mission in the athletics department for our student-athletes to understand how to market themselves and be the CEO of their brand,” said University of South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner.  “I want to make sure that our student-athletes are able to take advantage of all the opportunities that NIL can bring.”

Under the leadership of Tanner, Gamecock athletics has had a strong commitment to student-athlete development.  In 2014, the Gamecock Student-Athlete Promise made Carolina the first school in the SEC to offer multi-year scholarships.  It also included the Carolina Degree Completion Program, which allowed for student-athletes to return to school who left the University in good academic standing to pursue a professional career or did not complete their degree for personal circumstances.
 
The Beyond Sports Professional Development and Internship program was developed in 2017 to assist student-athletes for future success outside the fields of competition by giving them real-world experiences in their academic interests.

On March 3, 2021, South Carolina was one of the first schools to announce a partnership with Altius Sports Partners to aid the school with its NIL related activities. In addition to Altius, the Athletics Department is working with other companies, groups, and individuals to assist student-athletes with social media, branding, contracts, and other student-athlete development issues related to name, image, and likeness.
  
“Our student-athletes will have the benefit of having the spotlight of a passionate fan base, a large media following, being in the state capital, relationships with local, area and regional businesses,” said Tanner.  “These are all areas that will benefit our student-athletes to build and maximize their brand.”

Policies and guidelines for Gamecock student-athletes to participate in NIL activities are located at GamecocksOnline.com/NIL.