Indiana’s New Deal with Campus Ink Benefits All Its Student Athletes

One issue with name, image, and likeness (NIL) is that not every college athlete gets the opportunity to maximize their NIL by using the institution’s intellectual property (logos, trademarks, etc.) in their individual NIL deals. Indiana University is helping its students leverage the power of the school’s intellectual property with the help of Campus Ink.

Who is Campus Ink?

Campus Ink is an apparel printing company that has created officially-licensed college gear since its founding in 1947. In 2021, they decided to create the NIL Store, which gives student athletes aa space to create and sell NIL merchandise.

According to The Daily Hoosier, Indiana built a platform in 2021 for IU men’s basketball players to earn money through jersey and custom apparel sales. Reportedly, they were able to make the athletesmore than $70,000 in the first six months.

What is unique about this partnership?

Campus Ink and IU have partnered up so that all student athletes have an opportunity to use their NIL. This partnership changes the NIL landscape because historically most NIL opportunities have been reserved for the most popular athletes at an institution, or the most visible sports. With this new partnership between Campus Ink and IU, all student athletes, regardless of team, athletic performance or social following have an opportunity to utilize their NIL for profit.

How will the partnership work?

Each student athlete at IU will have digital locker room that will hold their merchandise. Consumers will be able to buy that specific student athlete’s merchandise, which includes officially licensed jersey shirts and other apparel.

Campus Ink will take care of designing and marketing for student athletes. The company will also take care of product fulfillment and customer service so student athletes can focus on building their brand. To further help student athletes build their brands, Campus Ink will additionally teach them skills on merchandising, marketing, and sales.

When will the merchandise be available?

The online store will launch this fall. For IU student athletes who want to participate, follow the link here. For those who want to learn more about the partnership, please see IU’s announcement here.