Buffs With a Brand
Turning Student-Athletes
into Entrepreneurs
While universities scramble to teach athletes how to profit from the new 鈥渋mage and likeness鈥� law, Leeds Deming Center for Entrepreneurship and CU Athletics launched year two of their successful NIL business program this fall.
It was a seminal summer for college athletics. In July, after decades of debate, student-athletes gained the right to profit off their own name, image and likeness (NIL)鈥攖oppling a system that once prevented them from making endorsement deals, monetizing their social-media followings or getting paid for signing autographs.
So now that the NIL law is official, how are schools preparing student-athletes to take advantage of these opportunities?
In anticipation of the new legislation, the University of Colorado launched the Buffs With a Brand (BWAB) program in fall 2020 to give athletes an edge in this unchartered territory. One of the first programs of its kind, BWAB was born of a partnership between the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at Leeds School of Business and the CU Athletic Department鈥檚 Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program.
鈥淲e wanted to鈥mpower our student-athletes to create successful careers, whether it鈥檚 in athletics or starting a business.鈥澨�
- Erick Mueller, Executive Director | Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
鈥淲e wanted to get ahead of the curve back when the NIL legislation was pending, so we created an innovative educational program to empower our student-athletes to create successful careers, whether it鈥檚 in athletics or starting a business,鈥� said Erick Mueller, instructor and executive director of the Deming Center.
BWAB helps CU student-athletes capitalize on their personal brands while also building their business skills. They learn personal brand management, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through workshops, videos, mentor sessions and classes.
鈥淧art of Buffs With a Brand is learning you don鈥檛 have to capitalize on just being a student-athlete,鈥� said Lauren Unrein, associate athletic director and director of the Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program. 鈥淚t is the ability to use your platform to build a voice around issues that are meaningful to you. It鈥檚 a holistic approach that we think helps build the entire student-athlete.鈥�
Last year, athletes were paired with venture coaches based on their entrepreneurial interests. These professional mentors鈥攊ndustry partners and entrepreneurs from the Boulder area鈥攈elped guide the Buffs through the process of creating their own mock businesses.
This past May, approximately 20 student-athletes concluded the pilot year of BWAB with a 鈥淪hark Tank鈥�-style presentation of their own business plans, presented to a panel that included venture coaches, class instructors and athletics coaches.
There was no shortage of inspired ideas. One student-athlete dreamed of putting music recording studios in urban areas. A volleyball player studying astrophysics pitched a plan to put a hotel on the moon. And a track-and-field star was inspired to produce athletic clothing made of silk.
On the heels of a very successful inaugural year, Buffs With a Brand 2.0 rolled out this fall with an increased focus on leveraging NIL opportunities and best practices, now that the law is a reality. But most importantly, Mueller said, 鈥渢hey will learn key tools that will help them in their careers on whatever path they choose.鈥�
