College athletes in Florida are set to be compensated for the use of their name, likeness, and image now that the NIL Bill went into effect on July 1.
The University of South Florida is trying to help its student-athletes take advantage of this new opportunity by partnering with INFLCR Inc., a software platform for top-level athletes.
The pair have launched BOOST, a program aimed at assisting student-athletes with their education, financial literacy, brand building, and more.
In a press release, USF Vice President of Athletics Michael Kelly said that the partnership will allow the nearly 450 student-athletes to better understand the new options available to them.
“We are excited to expand our relationship with INFLCR's technology, educational resources, knowledgeable team and streamlined delivery system to further enhance our student-athlete experience and provide our Bulls with access to additional resources to elevate their brand and take advantage of the new opportunities open to them," said Kelly.
The Tampa Bay Business Journal reports that having such a program in place could help the school have a stronger pull recruiting new talent, and in turn, improve on field performance as well.
With BOOST, athletes can analyze data for their personal brands and use content created by USF to elevate their social media channels.
USF Athletics reported that their social media channels generated more than 53 million impressions, 2.6 million engagements and 3.4 million video views in 2020-21.
The CEO of INFLCR, Jim Cavale, said that USF has one of the most impressive cross-departmental name, image, and likeness strategies he has seen.
"From marketing, to communications, to compliance, every member of the University of South Florida athletic department has rallied around providing resources for their student-athletes to maximize their brand value, and do it compliantly in the NIL era,” said Cavale.
He also said that the BOOST program will help things grow heading into the future.
"INFLCR Plus will be a valuable resource to further educate student-athletes on the things they can do to grow their brand value and realize it in the NIL era," he said.
"We've been using INFLCR together for the past few years and had a lot of success, and those building blocks will only take things to the next level as we go into the new era."
In addition to Florida’s name, image, and likeness law going into effect on July 1st, the Supreme Court last month struck down NCAA rules that limit educational benefits for college student players as part of their scholarships.
