Division II Perspectives on Name, Image, and Likeness

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MOGL recently spent some time at Winona State with athletes, staff, and alumni onboarding them to MOGL and learning from them. From the beginning, our partnership with Winona State was grounded in our belief that NIL activity is for all athletes, and our time spent there just furthered our commitment to our mission.

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We started our day at Winona at Blooming Grounds coffeehouse. While at Blooming Grounds we spoke with Eric Schoh and Breana Larsen about the itinerary for the day, including an exclusive podcast interview with AD Schoh. Both Eric and Bree reiterated their excitement for MOGL to be on campus educating Winona State athletes, staff, and alumni on our partnership and how they can support Winona State athletes during their NIL journey. During a session with the student athletes, we announced that Winona State and MOGL had partnered to facilitate the first school wide NIL deal for Division II athletics with Force Factor. The energy in the room was palpable. Between these coffee chats, podcast recordings, meetings, and smaller one-on-one interactions, we came away with some important learnings.

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1.     NIL is still new, and it’s up to us to define education. We’re almost at the two-year mark for NIL and yet there is still ample opportunity to decide what equitable and justice focused NIL education should be. Working alongside Winona State leadership, we are excited to shape the present and future of NIL education through innovative programming.

2.     LinkedIn. Coaches emphasized LinkedIn as a social media platform for athletes to tell their story and build their brand - we agree! LinkedIn is home to more than 900 million users from around the world, each user with their own sphere of influence. Athletes who adopt LinkedIn sooner than later will not only secure quality brand deals, but will also be preparing for life after competition as well. NIL is more than monetization. NIL is career development.

3.     Start close. Go far. There is a huge focus on partnering with big brands. These partnerships are not impossible, but there are so many brands in one’s local community or campus that athletes should be considering as well. Athletes have elevated influence with local businesses and brands. While waiting to hear back from larger brands, athletes should connect with their local coffee shop or clothing store to explore options for NIL activity.

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Thank you, Winona State, for welcoming MOGL into your community! We are thrilled about this partnership and can’t wait to visit campus again soon.

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If you are one of our university partners and are interested in having MOGL visit your campus, reach out to our Director of Athlete Education, Tim Bryson, at tim.bryson@getmogl.com.

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Get paid. Get MOGL.

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