The Univ. of Tennessee, working in tandem with Altius Sports Partners, has expanded its curriculum with a deeper focus on NIL issues for its athletes, ranging from advertising and PR to marketing, electronic media, law and entrepreneurship. When completed, the NIL-enhanced curriculum and other courses in the Haslam College of Business will provide athletes with a minor in Entrepreneurship, directly tying together the educational component of NIL with actual course credit hours. The Vols are thought to be the only NIL program that offers credit hours leading to a minor.
Altius Founder & CEO Casey Schwab: “I hope this does become a model for schools across the country, because I think it makes a lot of sense to incentivize athletes with actual course credit. A lot of people are doing the education piece in workshops or standalone sessions, and that is perfectly fine. The athletes at Tennessee will be as well-equipped as any in the country to maximize their name, image and likeness.”
The Volunteers signed Altius to provide a national roster of NIL consultants who will share their expertise on personal branding, media, marketing and how to start a business. Altius, which has been consulting with the Volunteers since last year, also conducted a full review of the Entrepreneurship minor and delivered course-by-course feedback. “The goal has always been to build something unique and then show it to the world, as opposed to talking about what we’re going to do,” Schwab said. “What Tennessee is offering its student athletes is a fully baked product, a for-credit track and an actual minor that we helped them build.”
The for-credit courses start with an introductory course on NIL as well as personal branding, business formation, the basics of making money and managing it, and weighing business opportunities and potential legal implications. UT Senior Associate AD/Regulatory Affairs Andrew Donovan: “We don’t have a plan; we have a product. ... We have refined and strengthened an educational platform that will prepare current and future Vols to maximize their NIL opportunities in a responsible and effective manner.”
