https://www.ricethresher.org/article/202...-nil-world

Quote:Rice athletes are increasingly agreeing to sponsorships with a variety of businesses. Student-athletes have had the opportunity to partner with everything from clothing stores, to food and drink brands, to restaurants. ...

Rice has implemented a number of measures to help ease the process of landing deals. According to Marco Regalado, who oversees Rice football’s recruiting operations, the athletics department has collaborated with Opendorse, a centralized portal where athletes and businesses can contact each other, and The Brandr Group, which allows student-athletes to use the university’s registered trademarks.

Aside from these collaborations, there has been an increase in the number of initiatives from Rice available to student-athletes.

... Adidas has an “Athlete Ambassador Program,” which gives Rice student-athletes the opportunity to earn money by promoting Adidas products in their social medias. Opendorse and the SOAR program, which helps prepare student-athletes for life outside of Rice, also offer NIL information sessions for first- and third-year student athletes. However, unlike some larger athletics departments, Rice does not have a public NIL collective that directly sets up ways for athletes to get paid.

... Last year, Morgan Bates (‘22) created Main Street Consulting Group, while she was an undergraduate, to represent several Rice student-athletes in pursuit of NIL endorsements. She said that the process of landing deals with businesses has gotten much easier over time.

Those quoted in the article include athletes:

Quincy Olivari (junior/men's basketball)
Arielle Hayon (sophomore/swimmer)
JoVoni Johnson-McCray (redshirt junior/football)

... and also:

Genny Volpe, volleyball coach.
Marco Regalado, executive director of player personnel & recruiting innovation
Taurian Houston, senior associate athletics director.