Universities v. Collectives: Who Will Win?

According to Sports Illustrated, a group composed of diehard University of Southern California fans and wealthy donors are planning to start a third-party name, image, and likeness collective to “help the program compete with other premier schools with collectives in place.” We know what you’re thinking – “What’s the big deal? Collectives are everywhere!” Just look at one of the most notable collectives, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Spyre Sports collective. Spyre Sports aims to generate at least $25 million annually to put into student-athletes’ and recruits’ pockets, yet it wasn’t making headlines quite like this.

The issue is that the University of Southern California does not approve of this collective. According to The Los Angeles Times, the collective known as “Student Body Right” goes against the “school’s wishes” of keeping athletes away from donor-related collectives with hopes of preventing any future NIL issues between the school and the NCAA.

While this collective’s goal is to provide Trojan football players who are academically eligible with the “equivalent of a base salary” that they can earn through participation in community service and charity work in local organizations, USC athletic director Mike Bohn denies the existence of Student Body Right. In addition, this past June, USC announced its partnership with media company Stay Doubted and together created BLVD LLC, which was created to facilitate Trojan NIL deals. Bohn stands firm in that this is the main and only USC recognized NIL platform.

When asked about Student Body Right, USC Football head coach Lincoln Riley stated, “We very much believe in the BLVD concept, not only for what it can do for our student-athletes but also making sure that we stay within the rules and having people that have been in this business and are experts in this field is very, very important to us.” In addition, Riley was firm in his belief that one united effort would be more sound, and that he is not surprised that many people want to support the Trojans’ program.

However, Dale Rech, a devoted USC fan, and Brian Kennedy, a well-known donor for Trojan athletics, have stated that Student Body Right “does not plan to involve itself with the Trojans’ recruiting efforts or any “prospective Trojan athletes.” While Rech also has stated that this collective has “no affiliation or ties to the university,” the University still denounces its existence.

Even a year later, the world of NIL world is crazy as ever. It is no surprise that anyone and everyone wants to be involved, but it is clear that this excitement may cause some tensions. While it doesn’t appear that Student Body Right is going anywhere anytime soon, this example goes to show how hectic college sports are due to NIL.

To learn more about Universities and Collectives, check out the CleanKonnect NIL Certification Course.