Axe ’Em, Jacks!
NACOGDOCHES, Texas –– Through Stephen F. Austin State University’s “Sports and Entertainment Entrepreneurship and NIL” course and Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship, students and student-athletes are building personal brands, pitching partnerships and managing real client relationships before they ever leave campus.
The course offering is partially driven by the NCAA’s name, image and likeness policy that took effect in 2021, said Dr. Rob McDermand, course instructor and senior lecturer of sports business and management in the Nelson Rusche College of Business.
“SFA’s curriculum is evolving in real time with this fast-changing environment by adapting class discussions to reflect new NCAA rulings, state legislation and emerging brand-strategy trends,” McDermand said. “We want students to graduate understanding that NIL is not just a rule change — it’s a business revolution.”
According to Opendorse, a technology company that helps athletes build their personal brands, the total NIL market climbed sharply from $917 million in 2021-22 to a projected $1.67 billion in 2024-25.
Dr. Raymond Jones, associate professor of entrepreneurship and strategy and director of SFA’s entrepreneurship program, works with ACE faculty and staff to ensure the course meets the directives of the program and center.
“The goal of this course is to give students and student-athletes real, hands-on experience in personal selling and brand development,” Jones said. “We want them to approach NIL with an entrepreneurial mindset rather than just as a marketing exercise.”
Throughout the semester, students in the course collaborated with Athletepreneur, a company that connects student-athletes with professional branding and business development opportunities, to gain hands-on learning NIL experiences. Students built comprehensive brand lists for their athlete clients by identifying potential companies and organizations for partnerships. Collectively, the class engaged with more than 80 businesses, both in person and online, through social media campaigns and brand ambassador programs. These efforts led to a range of introductory brand relationships, including in-kind sponsorships and social media marketing collaborations, and helped students learn about content creation, contract discussions and campaign execution.
“What stands out in working with SFA is that despite having fewer resources than many Power Five programs, they’re leading the charge in NIL education,” said Mike Fingado, co-founder of Athletepreneur and a former Florida State University student-athlete. “Collaborating on this course has been incredibly impactful because SFA is proving that innovation, mentorship and hands-on learning are the foundation for what’s next in NIL education.”
The class also hosted a virtual discussion with Patrick Langhorne, talent agency partnerships manager at Millions.co, who demonstrated the company’s NIL marketplace platform and showed how athletes can use it to create content, collaborate with other creators and monetize their brands. Building on that lesson, students were divided into three teams and paired with eight SFA student-athlete clients representing football, baseball, tennis and volleyball. Each group applied what they learned to help their clients and classmates develop and activate NIL strategies.
Emily Dewinne, a public health junior from Stockdale, said she was surprised at how much time and communication building real partnerships requires.
“Some companies showed interest but couldn’t commit right away, while others said they’d save our information for future opportunities,” Dewinne said. “Even without full activations, getting responses and learning how to navigate those conversations felt like real progress.”
Reid Bowyer, senior business major and SFA baseball student-athlete from Nacogdoches, said that meeting local business owners in person and educating them about NIL was key to establishing relationships with them.
“A lot of local businesses didn’t know much about NIL, so part of what we did was just start that conversation,” Bowyer said. “When we were able to connect in person, the outreach felt more genuine. Now we’re moving forward with businesses including Aperitivo Café and Gelato, Timber and Tweed Outfitters, and Roma’s Italian Kitchen.”
Mike Talbert, senior sports business major and SFA football linebacker from Port Jefferson Station, New York, agreed with Bowyer.
“Once we started asking questions and having real conversations, things opened up,” Talbert said. “It wasn’t as intimidating as it seemed at first — just about being authentic and building trust.”
Ian Padilla, sports business sophomore from Austin, also emphasized how important authenticity is when talking with businesses.
“Even when they were hesitant, those conversations expanded our network,” he said. “Reaching out early and giving companies time to respond made a real difference.”
Erin Banks, senior sports business major from Georgetown, said time management was one of the biggest challenges of the course.
“We were trying to balance in-person outreach, direct messaging and ambassador applications while figuring out the right timing to approach each brand,” she said. “Some national companies were quick no’s, but others, like Evry Jewels, and local business Texas Size Bling Boutique, offered discount codes and commissions, which made the process feel rewarding and real.”
During the semester, SFA Athletic Director Michael McBroom and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Matt Braeuer visited the class for in-depth conversations about the university’s ongoing NIL challenges and its strategies for navigating this evolving space.
Other guest speakers included Kerrianne McClay, a former Ball State University field hockey player recently featured by the NCAA for her NIL success as a midmajor Division I athlete; Dr. Amy Mehaffey, owner and founder of Small Town Socials in Nacogdoches and lecturer of marketing at SFA, who discussed strategies for connecting authentically with brands, especially those sharing similar values and identities; and Andrea Khan, director of marketing at DrinkZYN, a hydration brand that partners with college athletes to reach new audiences.
Students also visited with Ryan Collins, head of Americas Sports Marketing at Under Armour, which hires college athletes as models and brand ambassadors across premier programs like Notre Dame; Robert Judin, lecturer of communications at the University of Florida and faculty advisor for the student-led Two Bits Creative agency; Dominque Price, counsel at Scharf Banks Marmor and former NFL cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys who focuses on the legal history of NIL; Matt Brown, an entrepreneur and journalist at Extra Points known for examining the larger forces guiding college athletics to help students understand how to leverage their NIL power; and Jamie Wood, entrepreneur at Hyphenated Athletics and former athletic administrator from The Ohio State University and Texas A&M University who now works directly with athletes to help them build their brands.
Students also spent the semester networking at Nacogdoches Rotary Club events and the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce’s Alive After Five gatherings to help bridge the classroom with the East Texas business community.
McDermand said the semester will conclude with student NIL pitches to brand and entrepreneurship leaders.
“Students are realizing that securing and executing NIL deals is far more complex than it appears in the headlines,” he said. “Identifying the strengths of their athlete clients, developing authentic brand alignments and engaging with businesses has challenged their assumptions but has also been incredibly rewarding. The experience has fundamentally changed how they understand the NIL landscape.”
For more information on SFA’s sports business and entrepreneurship academic programs, visit sfasu.edu/mgtmkt. For more information on SFA’s Arnold Center for Entrepreneurship, visit sfasu.edu/ace.