NCAA Student-Athletes: How will you create the best version of yourself this new school year?

With classes starting up across the country this week, student-athletes are headed back into classrooms, in-person, for what seems like has been a decade. In the time since many NCAA student-athletes were last on campus, one of the most historic changes in college athletics took place.

NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) legislation went into effect across NCAA member schools and provided a new frontier of opportunity to student-athletes. While NIL will be a great asset to athletes based on the on-field product they display, the off-field version of themselves will be just as important when deals are being placed on the table. Being the most marketable version of yourself will always lead to success.

Whether it is going through the recruitment process, talking with the media, interacting with fans, or negotiating deals with companies at the local and national level, branding yourself is something that you have complete control over every single day. There are not many things in life that don’t involve an external factor playing a role in the outcome. But, the power to choose is a person’s greatest decision they will ever make because they are completely in control of it. It isn’t always easy making the best decision, because it isn’t always the most popular or glamorous option at any given time.

However, as student-athletes, the spotlight is placed on you in a far greater manner than it is on most people. So as you approach a new school year, view it as an opportunity. When arriving in a classroom on the first day, sit in the front row, introduce yourself to your professor. Take time to have a conversation with the dining hall staff or janitor cleaning the hallway. Meet people, connect and network with them, because you never know who they may know. When everybody has something positive to say about you, it goes a long way.

Companies will do their due diligence when deciding which college athletes they want to work with. When they associate your name to their brand, it is their responsibility to be sure it would never create a negative perception of their company because of who you are or what you did. Just like a professional sporting team would do before deciding to draft you, companies will be sure you are worth their investment. Whether it is coaches, professors, tutors, your landlord, or any other people who have frequent interactions with you, be sure they have nothing except flattering and positives things to say. The harder you work to create the best version of yourself possible, the more money will land in your pocket.