Michigan expands NIL framework with Learfield, Altius Sports Partners

After a recent stretch of scrutiny surrounding the NIL operations at Michigan, the Wolverines are taking major steps to build out their in-house NIL framework.

The athletic department is building on its relationship with Learfield while bringing Altius Sports Partners into the mix, which will support the creation of an in-house NIL executive general manager position. Learfield has previously worked with Michigan, helping launch brand campaigns with athletes with companies like Cheez-It, Ford and Peloton.

In a college sports landscape that is ever-changing with new legal forces arriving by the day, Michigan is taking steps to strengthen its NIL department while supporting its NIL collectives, which are crucial in retaining and attracting talent. Simply put, collectives are the stopgap until college sports to an employment or revenue share model.

“I will assure you we’ll be as aggressive as we can be within the rules in making sure our current student-athletes and our prospective student-athletes know Michigan’s focus in investment in providing NIL opportunities to them,” Michigan Athletic Director Wade Manuel said in a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday.

Learfield and Michigan have been working together since 2001. That relationship has changed over the years, now moving away from solely multimedia rights management. According to Learfield executive vice president Solly Fulp, the company now has 76 NIL collective partnerships and 14 Allied+ programs, which work specifically in NIL relationships with brands. A senior manager of business development is being added to Learfield’s Michigan staff.

“Up until two years ago, this is the first time that you can incorporate human beings into the value proposition which that influencer marketing and packaging it with all our other assets, just deepens engagement,” Fulp said.

“And it’s a new tool to the toolkit that I think everyone was a little bit nervous about. The brands were nervous about it at the start. The schools were nervous because there was broad NCAA guidance that was really undefined and everyone, as well as us, we wanted to approach this responsibly.

“It’s one thing if you don’t get a print ad right, that’s one thing. But if you incorporate a student-athlete into a partner agreement, you got to make sure that’s additive to their experience.”

What does Altius partnership for Michigan collectives?

Champions Circle emerged as the premier NIL collective in the Ann Arbor market, running the major campaigns that have been key in bringing back NFL talent the last two seasons. The organization is an official partner with Learfield, too. Manuel hasn’t limited his support to just one collective, however, also vocally supporting Stadium and Main and Hail! Impact.

The athletic director has also been emphatic that NIL is additive at Michigan, not the sole reason for being a Wolverine. The executive general manager for NIL will be in direct communication with Manuel and hired by Altius.

“That person is going to be a senior leader on Michigan’s campus, living in Ann Arbor, and being the center of the wheel for all things NIL and stakeholder management,” Altius CEO Casey Schwab said.

The NCAA is currently working through a future model, dubbed Project D-I, that could include institutions paying athletes directly beyond scholarships. No matter how the future is shaped, Schwab made it clear the executive general manager will be working daily with collectives.

“We’re going to be business partners with all of the collectives that support Michigan,” he said. “Our job is to maximize opportunities for all student-athletes at the University of Michigan, and that includes Learfield, of course, it’s why we’re here and includes all the other partners. It includes education, but it certainly includes, on Valentine’s Day of 2024, for the support of collectives.”