University of Iowa announces Name, Image, Likeness program FLIGHT
FLIGHT will give Hawkeye student-athletes educational opportunities to capitalize on NIL earning potential.
June 25, 2021
The University of Iowa athletic department announced Friday a comprehensive name, image, likeness program for its student-athletes — FLIGHT.
The athletic department will expand its partnership with INFLCR — pronounced ‘influencer’ — to give Hawkeye student-athletes tools to utilize NIL.
“As we navigate this new era of college athletics and Name, Image, Likeness, we are fully committed to supporting our student-athletes throughout the process,” Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said in a release. “Our FLIGHT program equips them with the tools and knowledge to build their personal brands, allowing them to be at the forefront of NIL opportunities.”
FLIGHT will oversee educational programming for student-athletes across departments. All student-athletes looking to employ NIL will have access to training in branding, social media, entrepreneurship, networking, and finance through INFLCR+
INFLCR+ will also educate Hawkeyes on fair market and social strategy evaluations for their personal brands.
“It’s been great working with the Hawkeyes on building their student-athletes’ brands, and we couldn’t be more excited for the launch of FLIGHT,” INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale said in a release. “Iowa Athletics is positioning itself to be one of the most forward-thinking programs in the nation, and FLIGHT will help prepare current student-athletes and future recruits for success at Iowa.”
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Iowa Athletics already utilized a partnership with INFLCR in the past as student-athletes have accessed photos and videos through the platform to post on social media.
Through the partnership, INFLCR will track all student-athletes’ NIL deals to ensure it is in compliance with NCAA legislation.
“We’ve had a partnership with INFLCR for several years, and our student-athletes have successfully utilized its photo and video delivery system,” Barta said in a release. “We are thrilled to expand our relationship and give all of our student-athletes the opportunity to understand their NIL rights and receive training and resources to enhance their NIL potential.”
FLIGHT adopted a philosophy of ‘Empower, Educate, and Take Flight.’ Iowa athletics will use the program to encourage student-athletes to take advantage of the program through educational courses to capitalize on their earning potential.
Multiple Hawkeye student-athletes have voiced their support for NIL in the past months, including men’s basketball senior Jordan Bohannon, women’s basketball sophomore Caitlin Clark, and Iowa football junior Tyrone Tracy.
After the conclusion of the basketball season in April, Bohannon and Clark met with NCAA president Mark Emmert to discuss NIL legislation for student-athletes.
Currently, 20 states have passed laws giving NIL rights to student-athletes, with eight of them taking effect in July. Iowa is not one of them, as its NIL bill died this spring.
Emmert released a statement on June 18, pledging that all student-athletes in any state will have NIL opportunities by July.
“Our current rules, as you know, completely prohibit NIL activities and therefore are in conflict with state NIL laws,” Emmert said in the statement. “Schools and athletes following the NIL provisions of their state laws should not be concerned about eligibility issues. Nor should student-athletes in states without NIL laws be deprived of the opportunity to engage in appropriate NIL activities. We must not allow such obvious inequity to occur. We need to pass new rules.”