Q&A with Garnet Trust's Jeremy Smith

GamecockCentral.com recently spoke with Garnet Trust Director of Operations Jeremy Smith, who updated South Carolina Gamecocks fans on the latest on the name, image, and likeness (NIL) in Columbia.

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Q: The IRS recently came down with some clarifications on nonprofit statuses for NIL collectives. The Garnet Trust Foundation obviously exists as a 501(c)(3). What are yourr thoughts on the foundation’s existence and how it’s operating, given that?

A: I would say first, always check with your accountant on any type of donation to any charity. But we have been approved by the IRS as an operating 501(c)(3). We took the process extremely seriously and did it very carefully to ensure that we were doing things the right way, which is kind of our mantra for how we do things at USC.

Not only are we utilizing the athletes to go in person to work with local charities, but we also are giving money on every dollar back to the local charities. This ensures that how we’re set up aligns with how other nonprofits operate.

Q: Another piece of the NIL component at South Carolina is Garnet Trust as a membership platform, which was established first in 2021. What are your thoughts on the need to grow membership through Garnet Trust?

A: A huge part of the sustainability of NIL at South Carolina is going to be based on memberships through the Garnet Trust. It’s an opportunity for the fans to get closer to the athletes through special events, autograph signings, media, et cetera.

Our goal is to have 5,000 members, and we’re still not there.

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Q: With you paying attention to what other collectives are doing and in all your NIL-related conversations, how much are you seeing NIL have an impact in the recruiting world in terms of being able to attract talented athletes to a school?

A: I think it’s becoming more important by the day. That doesn’t mean athletes are looking
to go to a school that pays them the most, but it is a factor in their decision making.

We leave it up to the coaches to recruit the players they feel fit the culture and program that they’re building, which thankfully has NIL third or further on most athletes’ lists, but it’s still a factor.

Q: Given that, do you feel like the amount of funding is in place that’s needed for Shane Beamer, Dawn Staley, Lamont Paris, Mark Kingston, and other coaches at USC to have a successful NIL pitch on the recruiting trail? A championship level pitch?

A: Absolutely not. In the short term, we are significantly behind where we need to be or our competitors in the market are.

My thinking long term is the overall number and need for NIL will go down a little bit.

Q: Fans are already counted on to join their booster club, the cost of attending sporting events has gone up over the years, and some fans may say, hey, it shouldn’t be up to us to participate in NIL. Can you explain your thoughts on this, and then any rules that are in place that necessitates fans being the ones that are at the forefront of the NIL movement at each school?

A: I would, first of all, say that we are very cognizant that money doesn’t grow on trees. Very cognizant that money doesn’t grow on trees and everyone operates within a budget.

Adding a different need to an established budget means there’s going to be money taken away
from some other bucket. Like it or not, NIL is here to stay, and we have to do our part and re-evaluate our personal expenditures to decide if this is something you want to participate in.

It shouldn’t deter you from giving because you don’t think your 10 dollars a month goes very far. If the crowd at Williams-Brice Stadium joined for 10 dollars a month, that’s 8 million dollars. That exceeds our goals.

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Q: From your perspective, the coaches at South Carolina, you have talked with them about Garnet Trust and NIL. They’re not interested in buying a roster, but they are interested in having access for the players they recruit to resources that are being offered by other schools they’re competing against?

A: Absolutely, and I would go as far as saying that the majority of the money that comes into sports
outside of football and basketball are supplementing tuition for these players who are not full scholarship.

The coaches are supportive of our efforts now. Every sport is being hit. Every coach that we have dealt with has lost a recruit or current roster player to NIL. Luckily, to date, we haven’t had a major disruption. But, if our funding doesn’t start to grow considerably, things could be different.

There are some very big announcements coming in the next couple of weeks that I think fans will really enjoy. And we hope that helps jumpstart more people becoming members of Garnet Trust.

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