Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech Athletics continues to explore additional avenues for its student-athletes to monetize their visibility as representatives of the Hokies' brand. In March, Tech Athletics announced an enhanced partnership with INFLCR, launching the Hokies Exchange platform for student-athletes and businesses to interact and arrange a variety of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) endorsement deals.
Once a business, collective or individual has registered and been approved for Hokies Exchange, it will be put into a database where student-athletes and the entity can connect for potential NIL deals. Businesses can filter through the index of student-athletes and narrow down selections using different criteria.
Additionally, director of athletics Whit Babcock, has confirmed that a trio of NIL collectives have offered their services to Virginia Tech student-athletes, businesses and donors. Babcock indicated the following three organizations have chosen to align with the Hokies:
Commonwealth NIL
Commonwealth NIL is a New River Valley based company founded by former Virginia State Delegate Nick Rush and Tech alum Forrest Rush. Commonwealth NIL specializes in comprehensive, diverse, and innovative NIL solutions. Commonwealth NIL is raising resources for NIL contracts through events, activities and special sales with a unique focus in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Hot Route Marketing, LLC
Hot Route Marketing has taken a different approach than other organizations in the NIL space. Under the leadership of Virginia Tech alum Kelly Woolwine, Hot Route Marketing, LLC represents a vehicle in which business, donors and fans can invest into a consolidated pool of resources from which NIL opportunities can be arranged for student-athletes.
Triumph NIL, LLC
Triumph NIL seeks to partner corporate clients with Tech student-athletes to build compelling campaigns that drive real results, in addition to offering platforms for donors and fans to support their favorite Hokies. This group is led by James Cowan, chairman at CowanPerry PC and also includes former Tech All-America running back, Kevin Jones.
The Hokies remain at the forefront of the rapidly-changing NIL landscape. Earlier this year, Virginia Tech Football, along with Fanatics and OneTeam, announced a partnership that will allow fans to buy customized jerseys that student-athletes will be compensated for.
Virginia Tech is not directly involved in making NIL introductions or the negotiations of any NIL agreements. Guidelines on NIL continue to evolve and Tech Athletics remains committed to providing our student-athletes with all the means necessary to maximize their overall experience and marketability while competing for the Hokies as we seek to amplify our competitive position across all our varsity athletics programs.
What Our Coaches Are Saying
"I appreciate Whit and our administration at Virginia Tech continuing to be aggressive in the quickly evolving NIL space. Launching the Hokies Exchange platform represented a vital first step to give our student-athletes direct access to business opportunities. The fact multiple NIL collectives have chosen to align with Virginia Tech indicates the marketplace is ready to collaborate directly with our student-athletes. NIL is changing college athletics and we want our student-athletes to maximize their value on the open market."
Brent Pry – Virginia Tech Football head coach
"I'm thrilled that Virginia Tech and our administration have provided our athletes with numerous opportunities in the NIL space. From education and the Hokies Exchange platform to these new NIL collectives, we are doing everything that we can to ensure our student-athletes have the resources to make informed decisions and have the confidence to approach NIL opportunities in a manner that will benefit them. Our mission is to support student-athletes in all of their endeavors on and off the court. This is another step in the right direction for our department and I'm delighted to see this put together with our athletes in mind."
Kenny Brooks – Virginia Tech Women's Basketball head coach
"There may not be a hotter topic on the recruiting trail than NIL right now. The NIL space is ever-changing, and I applaud our leadership within Virginia Tech Athletics for being proactive and continuing to bolster our NIL opportunities. Our guys have experienced first-hand some of those benefits. Now that we have multiple NIL collectives aligned with us, those opportunities will only increase. I appreciate the sense of urgency our athletics department has shown in enhancing our NIL programming. It's critical that our student-athletes have the education and tools to succeed in this space as we forge ahead in this new era of college athletics."
Mike Young – Virginia Tech Men's Basketball head coach
Virginia Tech Athletics announces plans to financially reward academic progress
Virginia Tech Athletics also announced on Thursday that it plans to make financial awards available to student-athletes as a result of the Supreme Court's decision last June in the Alston vs. NCAA case.
"We are pleased to be able to offer this financial incentive for our student-athletes to make the type of academic progress that will benefit them for years to come after graduation," Babcock said. "We are currently finalizing our criteria for this program and plan to roll out the details to student-athletes, their families and our coaching staffs this summer. We anticipate beginning this financial reward package beginning in Fall 2022. Thanks to the tremendous success of our Drive for 25 campaign and the generosity of our Hokie Club donors, we intend to be very competitive in this space to ensure Virginia Tech remains a very attractive destination for the nation's top student-athletes."