Welcome to National Championship Monday!
The current collegiate athletics scene is exciting, scary, interesting and ever-changing with the new NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) landscape being implemented and utilized on all division levels of the NCAA.
None are bigger than Division I, however, as will be evidenced when San Diego State meets UConn in the men's basketball title game tonight. So, which colleges and universities are currently the best at utilizing NIL?
With Student Athlete Day on Thursday, April 6, BetOhio.com — your source for Ohio sports betting — decided to look at how colleges are utilizing NIL. We looked at using NIL to recruit athletes and to help them maximize their revenue potential while at the school.
Using On3.com, we were able to comb through the athletes who currently have the highest valuation in each sport, as well as the NIL collectives from each school that are bringing in the most revenue for student-athletes. Using an average ranking from those statistics, we were able to finalize the top 10 schools utilizing NIL.
Please note this research is not an exact observation that represents the study, due to lack of exact revenue details.
Schools That Have Best Utilized NIL
Ohio State Top Three in Nation
Ohio State currently operates 37 total sports (men, women) out of the Big Ten Conference and is tied with the University of Texas for third overall in the nation, with the University of Miami (Fla.) second and the University of Tennessee topping the list. Alabama rounded out the top five.
The Buckeyes are tied for third in Athletes Valuation Ranking and seventh in the School's Collective Ranking.
In January 2022, the Columbus-based university created its NIL Edge Team — one of the first in the nation to do so — that helps create best-in-class NIL opportunities for its student-athletes.
The Edge Team, an internal advisory group whose members can assist student-athletes with access and resources to successfully pursue NIL opportunities, might work with companies and brands to assist in the NIL process, and it also has the flexibility to monitor and adapt to changing guidelines and legislation.
For example, five of Ohio State's 2023 early-enrollee football recruits signed NIL deals in early January with The Foundation, which was started by former Buckeyes quarterback Cardale Jones and real estate developer Brian Schottenstein. Each of the players reportedly signed deals worth six digits.
Ohio State University football is always in the mix in the national ranks. At Caesars Sportsbook Ohio, the Buckeyes are the third pick, at +650, to win the next national championship, behind Georgia (+250 for a threepeat) and Alabama (+500).
It will be the first time residents of the state can back the Buckeyes in preseason on Ohio sports betting apps as wagering in the state became legal back on Jan. 1.
Folks, the NIL era is here to stay.
And stay with BetOhio.com for stories of interest on sports betting such as this as well as for Ohio sportsbook promos.
