The University of California on Monday announced that Justin DiTolla has been named the first Associate Athletics Director for Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) at Cal.
"Sometimes just the creation of a new position tells you more than the person who will fill that role," wrote Jake Curtis for Cal Sports Report, part of Sports Illustrated's FanNation. "DiTolla has nearly 15 years of experience in intercollegiate athletics, so he seems qualified. But the fact that Cal thought it necessary to create an associate athletic director position to oversee athletes’ NIL concerns at the school speaks volumes about the importance of NIL."
“In the current climate of intercollegiate athletics, few things are more paramount than a successful Name, Image & Likeness program," Cal director of athletics Jim Knowlton said in a statement provided by Cal. "Not only do we now have a full-time administrator whose sole mission is to support our student-athletes as they engage in NIL activities, but we have the perfect person in place to lead our efforts. Justin's extensive background in compliance and student services gives him the tools necessary to navigate the challenging and rapidly evolving world of NIL, and we are fortunate to have him in this role as we look to enhance the student-athlete experience for all of our current and prospective Golden Bears."
DiTolla has spent the past two years as Cal's associate athletics director for compliance and student services. In that role he worked closely with Cal athletes in their NIL ventures, Curtis reported. As associate AD for NIL, he will manage all aspects of NIL to include consulting with athletes, meeting with recruits, working with campus partners and developing methods to provide additional resources to athletes.
"I could not be more excited to start my new role solely devoted to Name, Image and Likeness," DiTolla said in a statement provided by Cal. "This new position will provide tremendous value to our student-athletes in providing additional educational resources, brand building and stimulating NIL activities. The future of NIL at Cal is bright as we have some very exciting projects that will lead to more NIL activities for our student-athletes that will be launched in the near future. I look forward to the opportunity to engage with student-athletes in NIL as I believe it is crucial to our success at Cal."
Kat Brown, a former All-Pac-12 volleyball player at Cal who received a law degree at the University of San Diego, replaces DiTolla as Cal's Associate Athletics Director for Compliance, Curtis reported.
