South Carolina and Garnet Trust are officially NIL partners
July 27, 2023
“This multi-year relationship will give the Garnet Trust access to gameday activations, events, and promotion throughout the college athletics season to help educate fans and enhance our student-athlete experience,” the news release explained. Added athletic director Ray Tanner in the release: “We are grateful for the commitment of the Garnet Trust to our student-athletes. As the ‘Official NIL Partner of Gamecock Athletics,’ our student-athletes will be able to build on their positive impact in the community by leveraging their NIL opportunities through the Garnet Trust.”
WHAT IS NIL AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) largely refer to the ability of collegiate athletes to profit off of their marketability. Such an idea was not allowed under previous NCAA rules, but the college sports governing body changed its stance in June 2021. That has since allowed for NIL collectives such as the Garnet Trust to sprout up around the country as a way for boosters and fans to contribute to a fund that is then disseminated to participating student-athletes through such obligations and deals as autograph signings and appearances, social media mentions, commercials or even larger promotional opportunities.
“Because what that does is, it allows us to create and generate exposure for them that may not have been possible prior to that.” The rules for such deals, though, have shifted multiple times over the last few years as college sports’ most prominent power brokers grapple with the ability of student-athletes to make money. The state of South Carolina, for example, previously passed a law allowing student-athletes to be compensated, but it outlawed schools from being involved in the process. That legislation has since expired, and there aren’t currently any laws on the books governing NIL in the state.
WHY DOES THE PARTNERSHIP MATTER FOR SOUTH CAROLINA AND GARNET TRUST?
Garnet Trust has operated as a separate entity from the university since its inception in November 2021 largely due to rules in the state and at the NCAA level that previously precluded official partnerships like that announced on Thursday. Last year alone, it worked with roughly 150 student-athletes at South Carolina and hopes to move that number over 200 this year, Smith said. Under the terms and conditions of the new agreement, the Garnet Trust will now be the exclusive NIL collective the school will market. (The other primary NIL collective that has procured deals for South Carolina athletes, Carolina Rise, will still operate independently of this deal.) “Being able to be the official collective of South Carolina is obviously very important because it shows that there’s one collective that people can rally around,” Smith explained. “And then it allows the school to be more proactive in their support. It makes it easier on them. Instead of supporting multiple (collectives), they can just put all their eggs in one basket, so to speak.”
July 27, 2023
“This multi-year relationship will give the Garnet Trust access to gameday activations, events, and promotion throughout the college athletics season to help educate fans and enhance our student-athlete experience,” the news release explained. Added athletic director Ray Tanner in the release: “We are grateful for the commitment of the Garnet Trust to our student-athletes. As the ‘Official NIL Partner of Gamecock Athletics,’ our student-athletes will be able to build on their positive impact in the community by leveraging their NIL opportunities through the Garnet Trust.”
WHAT IS NIL AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?
Name, image, and likeness (NIL) largely refer to the ability of collegiate athletes to profit off of their marketability. Such an idea was not allowed under previous NCAA rules, but the college sports governing body changed its stance in June 2021. That has since allowed for NIL collectives such as the Garnet Trust to sprout up around the country as a way for boosters and fans to contribute to a fund that is then disseminated to participating student-athletes through such obligations and deals as autograph signings and appearances, social media mentions, commercials or even larger promotional opportunities.
“Because what that does is, it allows us to create and generate exposure for them that may not have been possible prior to that.” The rules for such deals, though, have shifted multiple times over the last few years as college sports’ most prominent power brokers grapple with the ability of student-athletes to make money. The state of South Carolina, for example, previously passed a law allowing student-athletes to be compensated, but it outlawed schools from being involved in the process. That legislation has since expired, and there aren’t currently any laws on the books governing NIL in the state.
WHY DOES THE PARTNERSHIP MATTER FOR SOUTH CAROLINA AND GARNET TRUST?
Garnet Trust has operated as a separate entity from the university since its inception in November 2021 largely due to rules in the state and at the NCAA level that previously precluded official partnerships like that announced on Thursday. Last year alone, it worked with roughly 150 student-athletes at South Carolina and hopes to move that number over 200 this year, Smith said. Under the terms and conditions of the new agreement, the Garnet Trust will now be the exclusive NIL collective the school will market. (The other primary NIL collective that has procured deals for South Carolina athletes, Carolina Rise, will still operate independently of this deal.) “Being able to be the official collective of South Carolina is obviously very important because it shows that there’s one collective that people can rally around,” Smith explained. “And then it allows the school to be more proactive in their support. It makes it easier on them. Instead of supporting multiple (collectives), they can just put all their eggs in one basket, so to speak.”