Southwest Florida In Focus
FGCU is Building Better Athletes with NIL
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Join Sandra Viktorova and the WGCU News team for the latest episode of Southwest Florida In Focus.
The FGCU Women’s Basketball is a modern dynasty after winning their ninth straight Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. As March begins to get mad, the focus on the student-athlete has focused on their earning potential with NIL (Name, Image, Likeness). As the college sports landscape continues to shift, Florida Gulf Coast University has gotten ahead of the curve, by offering entrepreneurship.
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Southwest Florida In Focus is a local public television program presented by WGCU-PBS
Southwest Florida In Focus
FGCU is Building Better Athletes with NIL
Clip: Season 2025 | 3m 11sVideo has Closed Captions
The FGCU Women’s Basketball is a modern dynasty after winning their ninth straight Atlantic Sun Conference Championship. As March begins to get mad, the focus on the student-athlete has focused on their earning potential with NIL (Name, Image, Likeness). As the college sports landscape continues to shift, Florida Gulf Coast University has gotten ahead of the curve, by offering entrepreneurship.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipThe FTC U women's basketball dynasty continues on as the Eagles knocked off Central Arkansas to win their ninth straight Atlantic Sun champions chip their 11th conference title overall.
As March Madness hits a fever pitch, the college sports landscape continues to navigate how student athletes are paid through nil or name, image, likeness while playing in marquee programs like Duke or Ohio State can lead to millions in endorsements.
Fgcu is utilizing the university's entrepreneur School to help student athletes build their own brand.
Teddy Brown has the story.
It became obvious to me that Nil is really about entrepreneurship for athletes.
It was only four years ago when the NCAA approved a policy that allows student athletes the opportunity to profit off their likeness.
In Florida, that means athletes can earn income through a variety of methods, including endorsements, sponsorships, and autographs.
Any person right should be able to capitalize on who they are.
If you have the ability to create a brand to capitalize on your own name, image and likeness, then you should be able to do that.
This has led to athletes in Big Ten and ACC programs to earn millions of dollars in endorsements for their likeness.
To stay competitive in recruitment.
Florida Gulf Coast University touts school resources for interested students to build their own brands.
We work with the entrepreneurship school, which I think is a huge advantage for us.
Having a school and a department like that on campus that can help our student athletes and understand what does it mean to be a startup.
Mark Boal is an entrepreneurship instructor who has worked with dozens of student athletes to build a sustainable business model.
It's more than building a short term presence on social media.
The aim is to help construct a career path using their likeness that can be carried post-graduation.
It's really setting their their own goals, like who they are.
You got to figure out who they are now, okay?
You can't you can't just say, I'm a D1 athlete because there's thousands of D1 athletes across all the sports.
But what makes you unique and that uniqueness, that passion that that you have for certain areas, you got to run with that.
So it's really helping them find their path when they get out and not just take advantage, you know, today.
And maybe they can build a business that's sustainable.
The Nil market is expected to generate over $1.6 billion in revenue and opportunities for college athletes nationwide this year, while Fgcu athletes will only see a fraction of that earning potential.
The opportunity means Nil will be a major part of the athletic program moving forward.
If we embrace Nil for for what it can be in the positive nature of it, it can have a great impact and a positive impact for our student athletes.
So if we continue to grow together, if we come together.
The sky's the limit for you.
For GCU news, I'm Teddy Byrne.
And the Eagles women's basketball team will be out for revenge as they take on the team that knocked them out of last year's NCAA tournament.
The Oklahoma Sooners.
That game will be on Saturday at 230.
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Southwest Florida In Focus | Episode 119 | Jan. 17 2025
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Southwest Florida In Focus is a local public television program presented by WGCU-PBS