Plano, Texas – Today, LEARFIELD announces the launch of LEARFIELD Allied™, a first-of-its-kind initiative enabling brands to join with both universities and student-athletes creating opportunities around their name, image, and likeness (NIL). This groundbreaking NIL offering provides national and local brands the first-ever opportunity to create deeper fan connections by combining university intellectual property (IP) with the brand’s own engagement with student-athletes.
LEARFIELD Allied builds upon the company’s market-leading college sports marketing services, which have connected local and national corporate brands to universities and college sports fans for nearly 50 years. Now for the first time, those brand partners can leverage the combination of student-athlete engagement and NIL with school IP for even greater appeal to fans and consumers. LEARFIELD does not represent student-athletes but its Allied initiative leverages the company’s nationwide footprint to enable the largest commercial framework to assist university partners and their student-athletes in growing exposure and revenues, where it is permitted by law and school policy.
“From the very first stages of NIL, our job has been simple – to listen, learn, and help schools, brand partners, and student-athletes maximize opportunities,” said Cole Gahagan, President and CEO, LEARFIELD. “By building a nationwide, consistent framework, we’re ensuring that the invaluable IP of our school partners remains under the highest level of commercial safeguard, while at the same time, significantly widening the opportunities for student-athletes, universities, and corporate brands alike. LEARFIELD Allied is truly a solution that benefits all stakeholders in NIL.”
“LEARFIELD Allied is a win for all parties involved and I am especially happy that this will expand NIL opportunities for our student-athletes,” said Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics, University of Wisconsin. “Our athletic department is deeply committed to helping our student-athletes and corporate partners maximize opportunities in this space. This new initiative will greatly help and I am pleased to have Wisconsin Athletics at the forefront.”
“As a leader in intercollegiate athletics, we have a responsibility to listen to the market and lead with solutions. Our brand partners are interested in utilizing student-athletes in their marketing campaigns, but there hasn’t been a secure and turnkey way to facilitate those opportunities using school IP, until now,” said John Brody, Chief Revenue Officer, LEARFIELD. “The unveiling of LEARFIELD Allied is a gamechanger for those brands who are leaning in on student-athlete NIL, and we are proud to be at the center of the industry’s evolution and development.”
By taking this next step, LEARFIELD continues to provide leadership in the NIL era. In 2021, the company launched COMPASS, a comprehensive student-athlete education, disclosure, compliance, and monitoring platform for NIL. In October, the company joined with OneTeam Partners to provide opt-in licensing opportunities for student-athlete inclusion in merchandise programs.
About LEARFIELD: LEARFIELD is a media, data and technology services leader in intercollegiate athletics. The company unlocks the value of college sports for brands and fans through an omnichannel platform with innovative content and commerce solutions. LEARFIELD services include licensing and multimedia sponsorship management; publishing, audio, digital and social media; data analytics; ticketing, ticket sales and development services, and professional concessions expertise; branding; campus-wide business and sponsorship development; and venue technology systems. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.