University of Richmond Athletics

Spider Athletics Announces Spider NIL Initiative
11/15/2021 | General, Spider Leadership
RICHMOND, Va. – The University of Richmond athletics department, in collaboration with the Robins School of Business and the University of Richmond School of Law, is proud to announce the Spider Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) Initiative to aid Spider student-athletes in fully leveraging their NIL opportunities.
The initiative was built on the resources and collaborative culture of the University of Richmond to provide Spider student-athletes with tools necessary to succeed, whether they are actively pursuing NIL opportunities or positioning themselves for personal and professional success after graduation.
"Richmond student-athletes are well-positioned in this area as a result of their successes in intercollegiate competition, in the classroom, and across our community," Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt said. "The relationships with the Robins School of Business and the Richmond School of Law will provide our Spiders with an environment where they can fully realize their NIL value while providing educational opportunities that can aid them throughout the process and, most importantly, after graduation."
The Spiders' partnership with the Robins School of Business, a Top 25 undergraduate business school, uniquely positions Spider student-athletes in the NIL space. The partnership will provide programming to all student-athletes on topics including decision-making, strategy, marketing and communications, brand identification and management, prospecting, and negotiations.
"My faculty colleagues and I are excited to facilitate conversations among our student-athletes on these important topics," said Richard Coughlan, Associate Professor of Management and Faculty Athletics Representative. "Our aim will be to design content that is rich with real-life scenarios and centered on practical application of the material we discuss. We are eager to get started."
The partnership with the Richmond School of Law is another uniquely Richmond aspect of the Spider NIL Initiative. Spider student-athletes will be provided programming and education from Law School faculty and alumni on intellectual property law, basic contract law, the right to publicity and other areas of interest pertaining to the NIL space.
"The Law School is excited to support the Athletic Department in this initiative," said Jack Preis, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Law School. "The Law School's numerous connections with practicing attorneys gives the NIL Initiative the legal expertise that any top-flight NIL program should have."
"We are very excited that student-athletes at the University of Richmond are given the opportunity to create their own brand and benefit from it in a positive way through the Spider NIL Initiative," SAAC President and Women's Basketball student-athlete Molly Mraz said. "We are lucky to be at a University with highly ranked business and law schools that will help us navigate this process in an informed way."
In addition to collaboration with the Business and Law Schools, Spider student-athletes will also have access to the INFLCR Verified platform and education by Team Altemus through a partnership with the Atlantic 10 Conference.
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The initiative was built on the resources and collaborative culture of the University of Richmond to provide Spider student-athletes with tools necessary to succeed, whether they are actively pursuing NIL opportunities or positioning themselves for personal and professional success after graduation.
"Richmond student-athletes are well-positioned in this area as a result of their successes in intercollegiate competition, in the classroom, and across our community," Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt said. "The relationships with the Robins School of Business and the Richmond School of Law will provide our Spiders with an environment where they can fully realize their NIL value while providing educational opportunities that can aid them throughout the process and, most importantly, after graduation."
The Spiders' partnership with the Robins School of Business, a Top 25 undergraduate business school, uniquely positions Spider student-athletes in the NIL space. The partnership will provide programming to all student-athletes on topics including decision-making, strategy, marketing and communications, brand identification and management, prospecting, and negotiations.
"My faculty colleagues and I are excited to facilitate conversations among our student-athletes on these important topics," said Richard Coughlan, Associate Professor of Management and Faculty Athletics Representative. "Our aim will be to design content that is rich with real-life scenarios and centered on practical application of the material we discuss. We are eager to get started."
The partnership with the Richmond School of Law is another uniquely Richmond aspect of the Spider NIL Initiative. Spider student-athletes will be provided programming and education from Law School faculty and alumni on intellectual property law, basic contract law, the right to publicity and other areas of interest pertaining to the NIL space.
"The Law School is excited to support the Athletic Department in this initiative," said Jack Preis, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Law School. "The Law School's numerous connections with practicing attorneys gives the NIL Initiative the legal expertise that any top-flight NIL program should have."
"We are very excited that student-athletes at the University of Richmond are given the opportunity to create their own brand and benefit from it in a positive way through the Spider NIL Initiative," SAAC President and Women's Basketball student-athlete Molly Mraz said. "We are lucky to be at a University with highly ranked business and law schools that will help us navigate this process in an informed way."
In addition to collaboration with the Business and Law Schools, Spider student-athletes will also have access to the INFLCR Verified platform and education by Team Altemus through a partnership with the Atlantic 10 Conference.
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