Ball State, Opendorse Partner on Cardinals NIL Program

Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., is working with sports marketing company Opendorse to provide Cardinal athletes with a tool to capitalize on name, image and likeness opportunities. 

In a news release, Ball State said the university's NIL program will be called Ball YOU, and is guided by three focal points

• The Starting Line:>Features education around NIL policies and legislation, along with leveraging opportunities, student-athlete brand assessments, content and asset offerings including photo and video sessions, along with talent assessment by professionals.
• Nest Tool Chest:The tool chest will include contract education, business creation insights, licensing and endorsement best practices, intellectual property education, media training, how to conduct camps, clinics or lessons along with a vault of assets and storytelling education.
• Take Flight:Take Flight is an established leadership development initiative and will continue to include career exploration, resume and LinkedIn workshops, the Gainbridge Leadership Series focusing on financial advising and literacy in the NIL age, professional communication, how to nail interviews, building confidence and ergonomics along with programming around the talent assessment.

Opendorse said it provides technology to the athlete endorsement industry and serves the lifecycle of supporting athletes: educating, assessing, planning, sharing, creating, measuring, tracking, disclosing, regulating, listing, browsing, booking and more.

Opendorse said it is working with more than 100 college athletics teams, athletics departments and conferences. The platform is used by more than 75,000 athletes to build and monetize their brands in the NIL era.

In addition to the NIL marketplace, Ball State student-athletes receive full access to Opendorse's all-in-one NIL platform, providing best-in-class compliance, content and education tools.