The inaugural Allen Sack National Symposium Advancing Integrity in College Sport was a symposium event hosted by athletic advocacy organization, The Drake Group, and held in Washington, D.C. According to the Drake Group, the purpose of the symposium was to “educate the public about Congressional legislative initiatives that could advance improved educational outcomes and the health and safety of college athletes while retaining all of the positive individual development effects and campus/community camaraderie we all love about intercollegiate athletics. The event featured expert sports journalists, lawyers, politicians, and academics over a span of three panels, all of which will be featured on the 2aDays website on separate days this week.
Today, we are highlighting Panel #3: Name, Image, and Likeness: Chaos or Opportunity? NIL has been a hot topic since July 1st, 2021, when the NCAA was forced by state laws to relinquish its control over its own NIL restrictions. Since then, NIL has been governed by a slew of state-level laws and university policies. This landscape, while beneficial to college athletes, has left many athletic departments confused, especially when it comes to Title IX, collective bargaining, and group licensing. This panel discussed NIL and its impact on gender equity, potential future guardrails and restrictions, booster involvement, and pending federal legislation. Panel details are below.
Moderator: Kevin Blackistone, Award-Winning national sports columnist now at The Washington Post, a panelist on ESPN's Around the Horn, and a professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland.
Lori Trahan, Congresswoman for Massachusetts' Third District, leader in the House on intercollegiate athletics issues, currently sponsoring H.R. 850, the College Athlete Economic Freedom Act and co-sponsoring H.R. 3895, the College Athlete Right to Organize Act and H.R. 7336, the Gender Equity in College Sports Commission.
Tom McMillen, President and Chief Executive Officer of the LEAD1 Association
Casey Schwab, CEO and Founding Partner of Altius Sports Partners
Julie Sommer, Attorney, member of The Drake Group Board of Directors; expert on the status of state NIL bills, The Drake Group liaison to the Uniform Law Commission that developed a model NIL statute, and author of a comparative analysis of current federal NIL bills.
For full panelist bios, click here.
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* Originally published on June 1, 2022, by Katie Lever, Ph. D
