Maryland Hosts "Secure the Bag" NIL Networking Event
Maryland's NIL program, Momentum, hosted a NIL networking event in conjunction with Maryland Made on Tuesday, Dec. 5.
The "Secure the Bag" event provided University of Maryland student-athletes the opportunity to network with industry professionals and NIL companies. Maryland Made hosted a networking event in the past; however, this year's event was different because it incorporated a NIL focus as well.
"There are a lot of similarities in the way student-athletes can pitch themselves to companies, regardless of whether they are speaking to career opportunities or NIL opportunities," said Grayson Wagner, Maryland's Director of Name, Image & Likeness Services. "The goal of this event is to provide an environment where student-athletes can do both."
The event, which was open to all student-athletes, featured 20 employers, including the U.S. Secret Service, NBC Sports, CVS Health, DC United, SECU, and more.
Maryland has taken big steps this year to bolster its NIL program. This year, community leaders partnered with Blueprint Sports to launch One Maryland Collective which supports student-athletes across all 20 sports at Maryland.
In a recent interview, Maryland's Athletics Director, Damon Evans, shared his views on the current state of NIL and the transfer portal.
With regards to football players entering the transfer portal and the notion that some schools do not have the money to pay top recruits, Evans said:
"Well, you always know that at this time of the year you're gonna lose some kids. That's just the nature of the business right now. Kids leave for a variety of reasons. But let's make no mistake about it, a lot of it has to do with NIL and the opportunity to earn more money."
"I want to go out there and get the three-, the four- and the five-stars. And I know some of our fans may say that we can't compete at that level. Well, we got to find the resources to do so. That's something that we're going to continue to work on with our One Maryland collective and doing the things to drive resources to be able to compete in this NIL era. My job is to find a way. Our coach's job is to find a way."
With NIL undoubtedly playing a role in recruiting and keeping talent, schools with fewer resources are continuing to find creative ways to bolster their NIL program to keep up with the competition.
