BYU launches Web3 platform CougsRise.com focused on NFTs, NIL

BYU and Web3 developer Ocavu announced Tuesday the launch of CougsRise.com, a fan engagement platform owned and operated by Ocavu. The platform will be used in part by BYU athletes for NIL opportunities through the sale of NFTs, and digital and in-person experiences. A percentage of the revenue generated from each athlete’s NFT, or non-fungible token, will go to a team pool, which will help compensate the athlete’s teammates.

The revenue sharing component of the platform continues the team-first approach to NIL by BYU and its third-party sponsors. A handful of BYU’s corporate partners made headlines last year for signing team-wide NIL deals. One company provided NIL deals that covered the cost of attendance for every walk-on football player and another offered deals to all of the school’s female athletes.

BYU’s athletic department staff believes the application of Web3 technology, which refers to a decentralized, blockchain-based version of the Internet, can also benefit the university in numerous other areas. Its application could range from fan and donor engagement to the recruitment of future athletes.

“Aside from just looking at Web3 as a tool, we actually see it as something that is going to help us develop deeper relationships and help strengthen our fan base, help strengthen our revenue streams, help strengthen the connection points for those that we want to be here,” BYU Associate Athletic Director, Corporate Sponsorships Casey Stauffer said during a Zoom call with On3.

A press release from BYU and Ocavu claims CougsRise.com is “the world’s largest fan engagement platform that allows fans to support athletes through NFT experiences.” Fan experiences could include running out of the tunnel with the football team on a game day or playing a round with BYU golfers.

“I can probably run down a rabbit hole real fast of the things that are going on in our minds,” Stauffer said.

How CougsRise.com revenue will be shared

Ocavu is a corporate partner of BYU and the Web3 developer has IP rights for BYU’s marks and logos, Stauffer said. Ocavu has an agreement with the Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) as well. Athletes can individually sign up for the platform with Ocavu.

Stauffer said each participating athlete will receive the same percentage of revenue from the sale their respective NFTs.

When a CougsRise.com user purchases an NFT, Ocavu will split the revenue between Ocavu, the athletic department (through its licensing agreement with Ocavu), the individual athlete or team (if it’s an individual or team-wide NFT), and the athlete’s team pool, if applicable.

Ocavu will distribute monthly payments to the parties involved.

“There is a pool grouping that Ocavu is helping to manage that these student-athletes are willingly and knowingly buying into to say, ‘You know what, if we have a star player that’s just really cranking out the highlights and these transactions are coming in, he’s also helping his teammates,'” Stauffer said. “He’s taking money that could’ve gone into his bank account or her bank account and paying it forward to help those teammates. That creates a very strong bond.”

YOKE, a company that provides technology to players to create membership-based communities, has popularized NIL revenue sharing. Football players at roughly 20 schools have launched a YOKE-backed NIL club and each player in a given club receives an equal share of 82% of the club’s revenue.

Stauffer said BYU’s approach was ask, “‘How can we do the most good for the most people?’ and then recognizing that [for] the stars, those opportunities are going to come to them.”

Last August, protein bar company Built Brands agreed to an NIL deal with every BYU football player, including compensation for every walk-on that was valued at the cost of attendance. SmartyStreets, an address verification company, then signed an NIL deal with every female athlete at the university.

Combining digital and in-person experiences

Through CougsRise.com, there will be randomized NFT player packs, which allow fans to receive NFTs of players from any of BYU’s athletic programs. Additionally, the members of BYU’s Cougarettes cheer and dance team have chosen to mint NFTs as a team. They’ll share the revenue.

Athletes can work with Ocavu to decide what — if any — memorabilia or in-person or digital experiences they want to provide along with an individual NFT they mint, Stauffer said. An NFT package could also include a personalized video shoutout or an opportunity for a video call.

“That is not location-based but it is benefit-driven,” Stauffer said.

As On3 learned from a trip to Michigan State‘s campus while reporting on the YOKE-backed East Lansing NIL Club, proximity and location can often be critical factors in how fans choose to contribute money to organizations or on experiences.

“Where I think this is headed is based off of utility more so than just the NFT itself as a store of value,” Stauffer said. “I think people are looking at that as, ‘What is the utility that helps support the value of why I’m purchasing this?'”

CougsRise.com designed for tech-savvy fans

The lead-up to, and the implementation of, the NCAA’s NIL era generally overlapped with the large scale popularization of Web3 technology, such as cryptocurrency and NFTs. While not inherently linked, the pair of three-letter acronyms are often mentioned in the same breath within the college athletics ecosystem.

A few months before state laws regarding NIL and the NCAA’s interim NIL policy went into effect, former Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs minted an NFT called “Jalen Suggs: The Shot” in honor of his half-court game-winner in the 2020 Final Four.

Now, current college athletes can do the same.

What’s the allure of Web3 technology to an athletic department?

As Stauffer explained, the goal is to cultivate engagement with the next generation of BYU fans. The press release did say, however, “the user experience will feel comfortable for people of all ages.”

“That’s not to say that an older generation is not relevant,” Stauffer said. “They certainly are but you talk about individuals who grew up in an environment that was maybe pre-social media, pre-Internet, pre-cell phone. Technically, in the theory of the fusion of innovation, those would be laggards in adapting to technology. They only use it when they feel like it’s been vetted, tested and trustworthy. For many of those that are in that demographic, whatever that age might be, they go to the game and they enjoy it.

“They experience it for different reasons than a younger generation or a highly tech-savvy generation does, who has grown up with instant access, instant answers to questions that they have.”

BYU fans who engage with the new platform will receive a Cougar Score, which increases as a fan collects more NFTs. There’s a tiered benefit structure that offers in-person experiences based on a user’s Cougar Score.

CougsRise.com to help BYU athletes, athletic department

Stauffer frequently mentioned phrases such as “connection points” and a “different plane” for younger or more tech-savvy fans to engage with BYU.

How can an athletic department blend in-person and digital experiences?

One BYU-specific example is the Cougar Tail. It’s a 16-inch Maple bar — “a huge, wonderful donut,” Stauffer said — that is only sold at BYU athletic events. He said it sells out at every home football game, often by halftime, leading to second halves where “people are really, like, shaking down each concession stand trying to find one of these.”

BYU athletic department staffers brainstormed an idea of minting a Cougar Tail NFT series that guarantees owners of the NFTs the opportunity to receive a Cougar Tail at BYU athletic events.

“That’s an iconic thing that everybody looks for when they come to a game but not everybody can get because they always sell out,” Stauffer said.

In preparation for the launch, BYU and Ocavu scanned every one of BYU’s national championship trophies, plus former men’s basketball player Danny Ainge’s jersey from when his buzzer-beater knocked off Notre Dame in the 1981 NCAA Tournament. There are also 10,000 renderings of BYU’s Cosmo the Cougar mascot.

Fans will be able to view BYU memorabilia and artifacts in 3D and augmented reality.

The Web3 rabbit hole

Like other Web3 platforms, the goal for CougsRise.com is to blend digital collectibles and experiences with those that are tangible and in-person, respectively. There will be an NFT marketplace where fans can buy an NFT minted by an individual athlete, a team or the athletic department.

However, continue far enough down the rabbit hole that Stauffer alluded to and the potential of the platform becomes grander.

“We have the opportunity to take it away from just being location-based at the stadium, whether it’s hospitality or tickets or VIP access,” Stauffer said. “That’s still going to be a key part of it because people are fans of the sport and the sport has to get played and that has to be played at a location. So I don’t think that we’re ever really going to remove the tangible, physical game, unless you get into next-level stuff with playing the games in the metaverse and then you can include people actually playing as one of their NFT players.

“Yeah, I would say those are some thoughts that we’re having but I don’t think we’re really ready to cross that bridge yet.”