CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) — On Thursday, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Athletics Department announced a new collective consolidating groups “providing Name, Image and Likeness opportunities to student-athletes.”
According to the department, the collective, called Carolina NIL, will bring together Carolina Athletics, The Rams Club, the North Carolina Hall of Fame and a new “all-sport marketing and student-athlete services entity” named Old Well Management to provide a one-stop shop for UNC athletes looking for NIL services.
“Supporting Name, Image and Likeness opportunities is crucial to ensuring that Carolina attracts and develops the very best student athletes in the world while continuing to build on our championship tradition,” UNC Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham said in a release. “We are committed to providing championship opportunities for our student-athletes, and consolidating and enhancing our NIL services through Carolina NIL is our next step in this new era of college athletics.”
Since NIL was approved a few years ago, lucrative deals have allowed college sports programs to lure top student athletes both out of high school and through the transfer portal with the promise of opportunities to make money while maintaining their eligibility. Being able to offer NIL has become an important tool in recruiting and retaining top talent.
“With the launch of Old Well Management and the increased cohesiveness and support from the University and Department of Athletics, Tar Heel fans and student-athletes can have confidence in our infrastructure,” said Kevin Rice, the executive director of NCHOF who will now lead Old Well Management. “This partnership ensures we can adapt to the ever-changing landscape of college athletics and maintain our programs’ competitiveness moving forward.”
The success of UNC’s men’s basketball program has meant that recruiting top players to Chapel Hill is not usually a tough sell, but head coach Hubert Davis said the “new era” of college sports makes NIL “critically important.”
“College athletics is operating in a new era where maximizing NIL opportunities is a needed and necessary step in retaining our current student-athletes as well as future Tar Heels, whether from high school or the transfer portal. This is critically important in allowing us to consistently compete for ACC and NCAA championships,” Davis said. “Carolina NIL is committed to helping our men’s basketball players use their Name, Image and Likeness in two ways: service and education. The foundation of our men’s basketball program is about giving back to the community and partnering our players with internship opportunities to better prepare them for life after basketball.”
The UNC Athletics Department’s NIL efforts will be led by Kara Cannizzaro, who has been promoted to assistant athletic director for NIL and Leadership Development, the department said.
More information about Carolina NIL can be found on their website.