Just over two weeks after the July 1st deadline that opened the NIL floodgates in college athletics, numerous student-athletes have already taken measures in signing major endorsement deals to fully take advantage of this new opportunity to profit off of their names, images, and likenesses. These major changes have continued to occur despite the absence of a federal NIL bill, which has yet to be passed by Congress. Various reports over the course of the spring suggested that a federal NIL bill would be passed, with many hoping that such a bill would be passed before the July 1st deadline. As of now, though, no such bill has been approved, and the debate appears to have stalled for now.

Here in mid-July, however, a wide variety of athletes push on, having reached deals with organizations for profit. The Gainesville Sun reported that more than 40 athletes at the University of Florida have reached endorsement deals. According to 247 Sports, Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz has already created and trademarked his own logo, with the intent to profit by selling apparel with this logo. Clearly, college athletes have wasted little time in taking advantage of these new regulations.

That said, there is still very much about the effects of NIL rules on college athletics that remain uncertain. As mentioned above, Congress has still not passed a federal NIL bill, and the NCAA’s policy to allow all athletes to profit from their NIL, including those not in states with NIL laws, has been announced as an interim policy and not a long-term solution. In addition, the uncertainty of the effects of NIL laws on college athletics during the athletic season will undoubtedly play a role in how the upcoming fall athletic season goes.

Most notably, there is still much uncertainty as to how these new NIL laws will affect the college recruiting process as well. Indeed - college recruiting - especially from the potential athlete’s perspective, will definitely become a significant business decision in addition to being an athletic one. Suddenly, recruiting will involve the question of how a student-athlete may profit at different colleges, based on the marketability of the college and its location, in addition to existing wrinkles about scholarship opportunities and strength (and/or tradition) of the athletic program. Indeed, of all the collegiate aspects impacted, the world of recruiting may very well be the one most affected by NIL legislation. As we at LAC continue to keep a watchful eye on the NIL, its updates, and its developments, we maintain our work with high school students, now inclusive of an understanding of the vast NIL ecosystem: working to determine what schools and locations may best benefit them, providing insight into the legal aspects behind these decisions, connecting them with marketing and branding knowledge, and a reminder that college as a whole is still about an education, an experience, and a valuable step towards building a bright future.

How can LAC help you to determine your next steps not only as it pertains to the NIL, but to your college admissions experience as a whole? Do not hesitate to contact us today!

The date finally arrived.

On Thursday, July 1st, the new name, image, and likeness (NIL) laws for college athletes in various states went into effect, signaling a massive paradigm shift in the world of college athletics in America. Earlier last week, news broke that in wake of Congress’s failure to pass a federal NIL law, the NCAA implemented rules that allowed student-athletes in states without NIL legislation to profit off of their NIL (Hess, “Here’s How College Athletes Can Now Make Money, According to the NCAA’s New Policy”). The NCAA’s change of their rules regarding NIL for student-athletes occurs simultaneously with the long-awaited July 1st date, in which the NIL laws of 16 states, including Georgia, Florida, and Texas, officially went into effect (Goldman, “A New Era Dawns in College Sports, as the NCAA Scrambles to Keep Up”).
           
Despite being only a day removed from the July 1st date, numerous college athletes had already jumped at the chance to reach endorsement deals. Two SEC quarterbacks, Auburn’s Bo Nix and LSU’s Miles Brennan, reached their own endorsement deals with Milo’s Sweet Tea and Smoothie King, respectively (Cobb, “As NIL Rules Go Into Effect, These NCAA Athletes Moved Quickly to Profit from Name, Image, and Likeness”). Two star women’s basketball players, the twin sisters Haley and Hanna Cavinder, reached endorsement deals with Boost Mobile (Cobb, “As NIL Rules Go Into Effect, These NCAA Athletes Moved Quickly to Profit from Name, Image, and Likeness”). 
           
Yet it is not merely student-athletes who are taking advantage of the new opportunities provided by the recent NIL rule changes. Dave Portnoy, the president of Barstool Sports, the popular yet controversial media organization popular among college students, announced last week that his organization was going to start sponsoring college-athletes, including providing them with free Barstool apparel, and according to Axios, have already signed notable athletes such as Villanova men’s basketball star Collin Gillespie (Baker, “College Athletes Cash in on Day 1 of NIL Era”). Despite these seismic events, the full effects of these changes remains to be seen.

The NCAA’s rule change is not a long term solution, as they have already suggested that their adjustments are meant to serve as a temporary solution while the organization waits for a federal NIL bill (Hess, “Here’s How College Athletes Can Now Make Money, According to the NCAA’s New Policy”). In addition, it should be very interesting to observe how these rule changes play out come August and September, when the first semester and season of college athletics under the new NIL laws will take place, most notably with regards to the college football season, long one of the NCAA’s most profitable sports. Nevertheless, only one day into this new period of college sports, student-athletes appear to be all in.
 
Sources Used:

• Hess, Abigail Johnson. “Here's How College Athletes Can Now Make Money, According to the NCAA's New Policy.” CNBC, CNBC, 1 July 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/07/01/how-college-athletes-can-make-money-according-to-new-ncaa-nil-policy.html.
• Goldman, Tom. “A New Era Dawns In College Sports, As The NCAA Scrambles To Keep Up.” NPR, NPR, 28 June 2021, www.npr.org/2021/06/28/1010129443/a-new-era-dawns-in-college-sports-as-the-ncaa-scrambles-to-keep-up.
• Cobb Jul 1, David. “As NIL Rules Go into Effect, These NCAA Athletes Moved Quickly to Profit from Name, Image and Likeness.” CBSSports.com, 1 July 2021, www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/as-nil-rules-go-into-effect-these-ncaa-athletes-moved-quickly-to-profit-from-name-image-and-likeness/.
• Baker, Kendall. “NIL Era of College Sports Gets off to Roaring Start as Athletes Cash in on Day 1.” Axios, 2 July 2021, www.axios.com/nil-deals-college-sports-92d1993c-982b-45dc-8e5f-cd3c04d94499.html. 

While numerous state and federal legislators have faced increasing pressure to act on NIL legislation proposals before July 1st, when the NIL laws of 8 different states will go into effect, the Supreme Court issued a major decision on Monday that will have massive implications on the national NIL debate, finally issuing its long-awaited opinion for NCAA vs. Alston.

Almost 3 months after oral arguments were held for NCAA vs. Alston, the Supreme Court, in a major 9-0 ruling, rejected long-standing NCAA regulations against colleges giving academic-related benefits to student-athletes. According to The New York Times, the Supreme Court unanimously held that the NCAA’s policies against student-athletes receiving compensation violated federal antitrust laws, and that the possibility of college-athletes receiving academic-related compensation did not taint the amateurism usually associated with college athletics (Liptak, “Supreme Court Backs Payments to Student Athletes”). Justice Neil Gorsuch issued the opinion of the Court, writing that, “The NCAA accepts that its members collectively enjoy monopoly power in the market for student-athlete services, such that its restraints can (and in fact do) harm competition”, which the Court found to be illegal under antitrust law (Gorsuch, “The Opinion of the Court: NCAA v. Alston”).

NCAA vs. Alston is not the be-all, end-all judgement on the debate of amateurism in college athletics. As The New York Times writer Adam Liptak stated in his report on the case, the Supreme Court’s decision does not answer the question of whether college athletes can be paid, and as Justice Gorsuch noted in the Court’s opinion, it is not intended to. Rather, the Supreme Court’s decision is highly significant because of the pushback against the NCAA’s historic rejection of such benefits to student-athletes. Forbes’s Marc Edelman opines that Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurring opinion suggests “that many other NCAA rules may one day similarly fall under antitrust law” (Edelman, “As Earlier Predicted, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against NCAA, 9-0”). As the ongoing debate over NIL legislation and federal NIL bill continues, the Supreme Court’s decision in NCAA vs. Alston may prove influential for its rejection of the NCAA’s emphasis on amateurism. While Justice Gorsuch notes that the primary question in the decision was whether the NCAA’s policies violated antitrust laws, he also notes the importance of the supposed amateurism in college athletics on the decision in his opinion. Most significantly, the Court’s decision in NCAA vs. Alston seems to assert that the NCAA’s emphasis on amateurism in its athletics are not enough to outweigh antitrust law.

This, of course, holds major implications for the debate on NIL legislation. Despite the NIL laws of many states set to go into effect on July 1st, the federal government has stalled in its attempts to pass a federal NIL bill. However, with the Supreme Court’s recent decision calling long-standing NCAA policy on student-athletes and amateurism into question, the stage may be set for a dramatic legal showdown on the permissibility of the NCAA’s rules on NIL profiting and various states’ rejection of these rules. Ultimately, all of these events will have wide-ranging effects on prospective student-athletes and the college recruiting process at large, the true effects of which remain to be seen. One thing is for sure; the recruiting process is going to change immensely. From this point forward, college athletic programs may have more to offer prospective student athletes than a roster spot.

Sources Used;
- Gorsuch, Neil. “Opinion of the Court: NCAA vs. Alston”. Supreme Court of the United States, 21 June 2021. https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-512_gfbh.pdf
- Edelman, Marc. “As Earlier Predicted, U.S. Supreme Court Rules Against NCAA, 9-0.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 21 June 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/marcedelman/2021/06/21/as-earlier-predicted-us-supreme-court-ru les-against-ncaa-9-0/?sh=496b5f5f824b.
- Liptak, Adam. “Supreme Court Backs Payments to Student-Athletes.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 June 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/06/21/us/supreme-court-ncaa-student-athletes.html

Recently, ACT Inc., the organization responsible for organizing, proctoring, and scoring the ACT test for prospective college students, announced a major change in its regulations. As of this year, ACT Inc. will automatically take the results of all students who have taken the test multiple times after 2016 and superscore them. Superscoring is the practice of combining the highest scores on each of the four subject sections on the test from every individual test taken to create a single uniform “superscore.”

Up to 2 years ago, students were given the choice of sending colleges superscores of ACT test results, or merely their best total score on a single test. Now, according to the ACT website, ACT Inc. will automatically superscore your test results for you, simplifying the process of sending standardized test results to colleges for future applicants. While some schools have differing rules on superscoring tests, ACT Inc. has already stated on their website that they will still send composite scores to colleges that do not accept superscores. As a business, Leonard-Andrew Consulting follows the train of thought that, in time, colleges will find a way to shift to a different process than the traditional standardized testing methodology. However, ACT Inc.’s decision to automatically superscore test results will certainly make it easier for prospective college applicants to put forth their best work to colleges.         

Do you know how to calculate your superscore if you wish to do it yourself?

1. Gather all ACT score reports since 2016
2. Identify your best score in each of the 4 subjects
3. Calculate the average by adding these 4 scores together, dividing by 4, and then rounding to the nearest whole number

For example, 23 + 24 + 25 + 23 = 95, and 95/4 = 23.75. Rounded up to the nearest whole number, your ACT superscore is 24.
           
> Superscores are available as soon as scoring is completed on at least a second ACT test.
 > And, while not all colleges will superscore, many do, and that number is steadily increasing. LAC recommends that you review a college’s test score policy under admissions requirements on their website.
 > Also note; the writing score is not part of a superscore or your composite score. 

​Questions on standardized testing? The college admissions process? Do not hesitate to contact us today!

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While prospective college athletes dedicate much of their time towards improving their raw skills and performance on the field (or court, or ice), some forget that academic accomplishments are just as significant (if not more!) to making that next step from high school athletics to collegiate athletics. Here at the start of June, as high school seniors are winding down the school year, many student-athletes with promising potential college careers - including those  with commitments to major programs - have seen their hopes dashed by not devoting enough time to ‘All-American’ performances in the classroom as well. There are a number of things to remember when it comes to the balance of academic excellence with athletic achievements. Two of the biggest are:

• Your classroom stats are just as important - if not more - than your in-game stats: You are likely not going to commit (and stay committed) to the school of your dreams, no matter how impressive your game-time statistics may be, if your academic statistics are not impressive also. The same consistency that you devote towards your sport should be applied to your work as a student. People always discuss that the word “student” comes before the word “athlete” in the phrase “student-athlete”, and it’s true. Take the time and effort to focus on earning and maintaining strong grades, which segues into our next step;
• "All Gas, No Breaks." Don’t be afraid to “run up the score” in the classroom; If you’ve finally committed to the school of your dreams, you’re ready to take your talents to the next step of your athletic career. Great job! But do not get too cocky. You still have time left as a high school student, and it cannot be spent slacking off just because you’ve committed and signed. You need to get your grades up as high as you can...and then keep them there. The best athletes have an obsession with being consistently great at what they do. You must apply this championship mentality to your work in the classroom as well. So, once you sign your letter-of-intent, or once you get to the second semester of your senior year, you cannot limp to the finish line. If anything, keep pushing harder and finish strong.

For additional insights on the college prep process for student-athletes, do not hesitate to contact us today!
 

While last summer was a summer unlike any other, these next few months will see the return of camps, combines, clinics and showcases for student-athletes across the country!  While you’re on the field (or court, or ice) you know you want to put on a show – play hard, play smart and hustle – but keep in mind that ‘in the moment’ is not the only place to showcase yourself! Here are our five tips to make sure you’re making the most of an in person camp this summer:

1. Register and sign up for camps and showcases that optimize your experience, show off your abilities, and will provide a clear resource and understanding for your future. Review camps to know who the coaching staff on hand will be, how - if at all - your information is shared with colleges, what information is shared with you, and what your take-away will be (insights or data, things to practice and hone, highlights and footage for sharing).
2. About a month prior to the event, work to find out who the coaches, recruiters, and program representatives will be in attendance. Generate a list of the contact information (emails, phone numbers) for those that you’d consider your top schools and ‘best fits’.
3. Reach out to those who you are interested in potentially playing for – via email, phone – to introduce yourself, to share initial information (highlights, resume), and to let them know that you are excited to perform for them. If you are given a certain jersey or number, be sure to share that information with them as well.  Above all – keep in mind that this ‘introduction’ will serve as a solid base for communications throughout the process (both for the event as well as potentially after and during any recruiting progressions) and enables them to touch base with you at the camp/showcase.
4. Carry yourself like an ultimate professional (which you should be doing at all times anyway!). Make sure that your play on the field matches your conduct off of it. Someone is always watching you, analyzing your abilities and your character, so any immature behavior could be a deal-breaker. Programs want players who are disciplined, have a good work ethic, and have high standards for themselves. They want athletes who are coachable, who listen and execute – or do their absolute best to - on what they’re told.
5. A few days following the showcase, reach out to the representatives (coach, recruiter) of your top schools. Display gratitude, especially if the coach formally introduced themselves to you at the showcase. Inquire as to any potential next steps, requirements the team may have, as well as the school’s admissions needs. Do not hesitate to ask any questions you have!

And if you have any questions on this process - both athletic recruiting or college admissions as a whole - do not hesitate to contact us!
 
 

For high school student-athletes, their parents, as well as consultants, coaches and trainers >>

Our office has created a bi-weekly email newsletter which features insight and news on the NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) legislation as well as athletic recruiting and college admissions. With this, we aim to:

- keep student-athletes updated on the NIL legislation; how they can benefit, how they should approach it, etc.
- how student-athletes can best market themselves to coaches, recruiters and teams.
- we'll include interviews with alums of various programs as well as athletic departments and the NCAA.
- provide information on college admissions tips and tactics.
- there will also be a mix of nutritional information, fitness and wellness content, and even discounts, promotions and giveaways!

Interested in this newsletter? Send an email to chad@leonardandrew.com for additional details and to register!

Know a student-athlete or family that would benefit from this information? Be sure to share this blog with them or have them send an email!

What should students who need to borrow money do to reduce their loan costs?
There are a few things that students could do to reduce loan costs, and they are actually quite easy to do!

Many lenders will offer an automatic payment option – with that enabled, students will receive a reduction of the loan’s interest rate. This can often lessen the rate by around .25% and is certainly helpful in another way – you won’t have to worry about missing a payment!

Another step to consider taking is to make payments while in school! While deferring payments may be a great option if you cannot make any payments, the deferment will be increasing the total cost of the loan over time. Of course, paying a full installment while taking classes will result in the lowest overall cost, but some may find it difficult while being a full-time student. Keep in mind though: something is better than nothing! Even making minor payments will help.

Any questions? Be sure to contact us today and we'll set you up with our financial aid experts! 

We had a great opportunity to connect with How To Study In College recently to learn about their tremendous Shovel App!

This app is a calendar, to-do list, planner, and time calculator ALL IN ONE! It was built to help students get better grades with a smile on their face and we're excited to introduce it to our clients of past, present and future! In Shovel, you have all your tasks organized right next to your calendar, and you can plan exactly what task you will work on, when, and for how long. You can plan each task into multiple study times, and if you don’t work on a task when you planned to, Shovel will remind you to re-plan!

By planning in Shovel, a student will:
Mentally commit to getting a task done at a specific time
Know you’ll have enough time to get it done
Eliminate procrastination and anxiety

We look forward to collaborating with the team and we're going to be working with students, families and schools to grab their Shovels and dig into that pile of assignments, sports and homework!
For details or to download the app, click here.