Opendorse, Indiana Athletics Ready to Lead NIL Solutions for Athletes
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — When Opendorse Ready co-founder and president Adi Kunalic heard the NCAA approved the rule so collegiate athletes can profit on name, image and likeness, he saw opportunity.
Opendorse was already working with the professional sports leagues, and since April, they've added over 75 Division I colleges.
The new NIL legislation is expected to allow college athletes to be compensated in a variety of areas, including third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics; personal appearances; businesses they have started; and social media.
"Part of our, really half of our business, is to provide athlete marketing technology to athletic departments and universities," Kunalic said. "So that’s been something that’s been growing."
Kunalic said a big part of Opendorse is to now provide college athletes the opportunity to understand their NIL rights and receive hands-on assistance from experts to maximize their value while on campus. The program offers three core pillars to athlete success: Assessment, Education, and Performance — tailored to assist each individual athlete.
In early August, Indiana announced it would be signing a 3-year partnership commitment with Opendorse to better prepare its athletes to benefit from NIL.
Then on Wednesday, Indiana athletics announced a "first-of-its-kind Name, Image and Likeness Task Force" that consists of 14 members.
The 14-member task force, who is co-chaired by IU Senior Associate Athletic Director for Sport Administration Becky Pany and Senior Associate Athletic Director for Strategic Communications Jeremy Gray, will provide oversight and leadership in developing the core principles and direction for IU Athletics’ effort to support its students in understanding, assessing and capitalizing in NIL opportunities.
Kunalic said the biggest difference between helping professional athletes as opposed to college athletes is that most professionals have agents.
That's why Opendorse is partnering with so many universities, so they can provide resources, technology and information to colleges, which can be passed down to the athletes so they can maximize their NIL rights.
"Through our program, we’re set up to really be a resource and marketing tool that helps the athletic department engage with their athletes," Kunalic said. "They can keep focusing on the field to be a better player, focus in the classroom to be a better student and be able to make some dollars off their brand."
Something Kunalic stresses to point out is that the universities can't be involved in athletes making money, meaning they can't be a party that is a part of the transaction.
"The university is there to provide information and support athletes to make sure they know how to go about things the right way," Kunalic said. "People can’t reach out to universities to work with athletes, that would break rules."
The members on Indiana's task force are as followed:
- Tom Ostrom, Associate Head Coach, Men’s Basketball
- Mike Hart, Associate Head Coach, Football
- Ashley Williams, Assistant Coach, Women’s Basketball
- Kevin Robson, Assistant Coach, Men’s Soccer
- Emily Eaton, Assistant Coach, Swimming
- Lo Price, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Academic Services
- Kristin Borrelli, Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Services
- Tyler Harris, Assistant Athletic Director, Compliance Services
- Beau Bauer, Director of Development, Major Gifts, Varsity Club
- Lynnea Phillips, Assistant Director of Digital and Social Media
- Ash Soni, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Programs, Kelley School
- Dr. Galen Clavio, Associate Professor, Director of the National Sports Journalism Center, IU Media School
“NIL is an exciting and mutually beneficial partnership area for Indiana Athletics and the Media School,” said Clavio, who recently had a book publish about social media. “As NIL rights for college athletes expand, giving students the tools to effectively manage and leverage media will be a key element of the process.”
Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson is happy to have people like Clavio and Soni on the task force because they represent academic programs that can help the athletes outside of their athletic program.
"In addition to the contributions of our staff, I’m appreciative that Ash Soni and Galen Clavio have agreed to be a part of our task force," Dolson said. "They bring not only their enormous talents to our team, but also those of their students at the highly-regarded Kelley School and The Media School, creating a tremendous partnership that will benefit everyone involved."
With Indiana joining Opendorse, they are one of the first universities in the country to unveil an athletics department-wide NIL solution for its athletes.
They are joining programs from the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 as the first schools to adopt the program nationwide.
"NIL is an important part of what IU Athletics will do in support of our students for years to come, and we plan to be a leader in this area," Dolson said.
Related Stories:
- INDIANA JOINS OPENDORSE READY: Indiana athletics signed a 3-year deal with Opendorse Ready to prepare its athletes for name, image and likeness. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA EXCELLENCE ACADEMY OFFERING MONTHLY PROGRAMMING: The Indiana Excellence Academy is offering programming to educate and encourage its athletes to vote. CLICK HERE
