NIL paying off for Horizon League female athletes
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowThe commissioner of the Indianapolis-based Horizon League says many of the league’s female athletes are taking full advantage of the NCAA’s rules surrounding name, image and likeness. The league has partnered with Opendorse, an online NIL deals marketplace, which Julie Roe Lach calls an incredible opportunity for student-athletes. Lach, who began her tenure as commissioner in 2021, said the league’s top three NIL earners since the partnership began are all women.
Lach talked about the NIL efforts, as well as hosting the only college basketball tournament in Indianapolis this year, on our special Influential INdiana Women edition of Insde INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.
“It’s been [very] entrepreneurial in terms of, ‘Here’s how I build my brand,’ Lach said. “They’ve made some money, and then now they’ve got it. And we also provide financial literacy education through that platform.”
The top three earners from the Horizon League are all basketball players from Youngstown State University in Ohio, earning a combined $40,000. One of the players, Mady Aulbach, signed with World Wrestling Entertainment earlier this year through the WWE Next in Line program.
But Lach said the trio has been helping other student-athletes take advantage of NIL as well.
“They had gotten together and frankly talked about how to build their brand, and then they really learned how to take advantage of this marketplace,” she said. “And…once we as the Horizon League had promoted their success, other student-athletes have come to them and said, ‘Hey, how’d you do that? Can you teach me?’ That’s part of it. It’s not a competition in that sense. It is a real learning opportunity and our women student-athletes, they are our highest earners right now.”
The Horizon League crowned its 2023 men’s and women’s basketball champions last week at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis. The event was the first since the league signed a deal last year with the Indiana State Fair Commission to keep the basketball championships at the coliseum through 2026.
It was the Indy’s only college hoops tournament this year, and Lach said the city is the perfect home for it.
“It’s a great place for our tournament because we said we want to be in a central location and a destination city,” she said. “Our headquarters has been here for now 40 years. Our city has really embraced the Horizon League and helped us make not just this championship – we host other championships here, too – make them community events that amplify. So we couldn’t be happier to call this home.”
While Indianapolis won’t host any more college basketball championship events this year, the city of Evansville is gearing up to host the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball quarterfinal, semifinal and championship games March 22-26 at the Ford Center.
It will be the third consecutive year the DII championships will be held in Evansville.