Syracuse Sport Group hosts nation’s 1st NIL Summit
Syracuse student-athletes participated in an NIL Summit on Friday at Grant Auditorium, marking the nation’s first event of its kind. Courtesy of Nate Gross
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After a three-year hiatus, the Syracuse Sport Business Conference returned to SU in September 2024 with its revamped inaugural forum. Its leaders, students Nate Gross, Jeremy Scott, Andrew Sender and Julia Cronin aimed to create a platform for students to connect with industry professionals and explore career opportunities in sports business.
Following SSBC’s first event, they rebranded to the Syracuse Sport Group, paving the way for the future to be broader while covering various events that can impact the entire school, Gross said.
Their next step was a workshop-based gathering directed toward student-athletes. With help from Falk College Dean Jeremy Jordan and associate teaching professor Dave Meluni, Sender, Gross and Scott planned a name, image and likeness summit to educate athletes on how to promote themselves and help Falk students learn about the growing part of the sports industry.
“This is a crazy time and a lot is changing, and I think a lot of student-athletes just don’t know where to start,” Gross, SSG’s President, said. “The goal for this event is that they realize how achievable it is for them to capitalize on their name, image and likeness.”
Held in SU’s Grant Auditorium on Friday, Syracuse Sports Group became the first student organization in the country to hold an NIL Summit. They hosted 10 speakers, held three panel sessions and had nearly 50 SU student-athletes from six different sports in attendance. The event included opening remarks from Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack and a presentation from keynote speaker Rachel Maeng Brown, the founder and CEO of GEN Agency and GEN NIL.
“Syracuse Athletics belongs to this community. (It’s) an incredibly important component to this community,” Wildhack said. “Sport is part of the DNA of this university.”
Rachel Maeng Brown (middle) coordinates a workshop during the Syracuse Sport Group’s NIL Summit. Courtesy of Nate Gross
As NIL continues changing college athletics’ landscape, Sender, Gross and Scott knew now was the time to educate SU’s athletes on it. The three, along with Wildhack, emphasized Syracuse will need to implement NIL to stay competitive on the field.
The group then reached out to Brown, who has experience helping student athletes understand content creation. Honored as one of Crain’s New York’s “20 in their Twenties” in entrepreneurship and sports in 2021, Brown has used her agency’s innovative program, Athletes Turned Creators, to reshape content generation for college athletes.
As a former rower at Rutgers University from 2015-17, Brown didn’t experience NIL like it is today. Still, she recognized its importance to athletes, serving as a representative for athletes at Rutgers.
She began Friday’s presentation by discussing student-athletes’ possibilities if they put themselves out there. She emphasized her time at the Super Bowl and NASCAR events with companies like Overtime, stating they could one day have similar opportunities.
“A lot of student-athletes don’t understand how to find brand deals. They don’t understand how to pitch themselves because they don’t understand what a brand is looking for,” Brown said. “It’s really early on, so the barrier to entry for (NIL) is pretty low.”
Brown engaged the athletes in the room by presenting case studies, such as a collaboration between Whataburger and @missbedhead, which featured a content creator’s work with the famous burger chain and how it got her unique benefits. She added lessons on scripting, feedback, filming and approvals with insights into legal and financial aspects relevant to student-athletes.
Following Brown’s presentation, the athletes split up. Football players entered the “Activation Zone” while other students attended a presentation from Morgan Stanley’s Global Sports & Entertainment division.
In the “Activation Zone,” players worked with Brown on their content creation, learning about SSG’s guest brands, W by Jake Paul and JLab Audio. Brown stressed content creation is a promising way to promote themselves, despite potentially feeling embarrassed.
“We want (student-athletes) to understand how easy it is. They can use their own cell phone. They can hype each other up,” Brown said. “Overall, we just want them to get the education so we can democratize the (NIL) space.”
“This is creativity, and I think a lot of times, athletes are afraid they’re going to be taken advantage of,” Meluni added. “I don’t want any of our student-athletes to be fearful.”
While football players created brand videos, other athletes learned about financial literacy and seizing opportunities in sports and budgeting. The group learned about unnecessary spending habits via various demonstrations.
Earl Crockett (left), Ahkiel White (middle) and Jeffrey Kotalik (right) from the Global Sports & Entertainment Wealth Management sector of Morgan Stanley helped facilitate a financial literacy session for student-athletes at the Syracuse Sport Group’s NIL Summit. Courtesy of Nate Gross
“It was really helpful with the finances. Getting to know how to use your resources, budgeting and learning to invest is really good for athletes,” SU ice hockey freshman Laura Leitner said.
Some athletes and other students attended a third panel session in Grant Auditorium, a seminar with representatives from Apex Entertainment, NILENT, Influxer, The Network Advisory and Sydney Moore, an SU volleyball player with her own podcast. The five spoke about their business experiences and how they can help Syracuse athletes secure brand deals and represent companies.
“Knowledge is power. That’s a value that I hold really dear. I think as the industry changes, student-athletes should know what’s happening,” Moore said. “Decisions are being made about our lives and things that directly impact our future.”
With Syracuse Sport Group’s second event complete, Sender, Gross and Scott are optimistic about the conference’s continued growth. Strengthened relationships with SU Athletics via Friday’s summit indicate the group is heading in the right direction.
“I think opportunities will keep coming up and keep growing, so just to know our athletes at Syracuse University are staying up to date on the opportunities and taking advantage is going to keep our athletic department and student-athletes ahead of other schools,” Gross said.
