Connor Bazelak, Bowling Green Football News: Draft Scout Player News

06/09/22 - QB Connor Bazelak, rSr/2025, Bowling Green

Almost a year before the NCAA finally voted to allow athletes to be able to profit from their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, Indiana struck an agreement with Opendorse, a social media marketing company, to prepare its athletes for what they would be dealing with when they finally had the ability to market themselves. It was an early sign of how IU would approach NIL. It would stay inside the lines and avoid inducements or pay-for-play, but look for every opportunity to make it easier for its athletes to navigate the NIL landscape and help guide them to opportunities when allowed and appropriate. Last week's announcement that IU had come to a "total school solution agreement" with Campus Ink marks a continuation in that approach.

Campus Ink is an apparel company that works in officially-licensed college gear. It created the NIL store so there would be a central online hub for athletes to be able to partner with designers to make apparel and be able to use licensed marks of their school and athletic department. Illinois and several other schools had already come to agreements with Campus Ink before Indiana became interested, and it was only then that the athletic department realized one of IU's most famous and wealthiest alums, Mark Cuban, happened to be one of Campus Ink's investors. "We are always looking to be on the forefront of NIL issues, this is the most basic NIL opportunity, and Campus Ink is an innovative leader in this area," IU senior associate athletic director and spokesman Jeremy Gray told the Herald-Times via email. " Obviously, (Cuban's) involvement is a bonus!" "I'm really excited that the leading NIL company, Campus Ink, and the best university on the planet, my alma mater, Indiana University, are working together," Cuban said in the statement. "The sky is the limit!" - Herald Bulletin

rSr/2025