CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Athletic Department and its multimedia rightsholder, LEARFIELD’s Bearcats Sports Properties, have announced a new relationship with locally based Medpace, a leading global organization committed to clinical research.
As a 2022-23 corporate partner, Medpace has had visibility with the Bearcats through social and digital campaigns, in-venue signage and use of Cincinnati Athletics’ official marks and logos. Medpace also directly engaged in name, image and likeness (NIL) activation with football student-athletes Deshawn Pace and Ivan Pace Jr. in the fall.
Notably, eight additional student-athletes now have NIL opportunities with Medpace as a component within its sponsorship agreement via Bearcats Sports Properties. Ashley Barron (soccer); Sydney Ballew (Lacrosse); Dontay Corleone (football); Carmela Henning (track and field); Carlos Kouassi (track and field); Calista Manns (track and field); Zach Segal (baseball) and Dan Skillings (basketball) were individually contracted by Opendorse on behalf of Medpace – and selected according to variables such as their academic major, hometown, international connections and overall desire to be creative with their NIL.
“We’re pleased to have Medpace as a new corporate partner, and we appreciate their commitment to supporting the growth and success of Cincinnati Athletics and these outstanding student-athletes,” said Director of Athletics John Cunningham. “Without a doubt, NIL integration is of great interest to brands, and we know Bearcats Sports Properties plays a significant role in helping them understand the nuances and what is permissible while working directly with our compliance and other internal teams. It’s certainly a unique way to connect with our fans, particularly when done right like Medpace, leveraged with our official IP.”
Working in collaboration with Bearcats Sports Properties and Altius Sports Partners (ASP), UC’s in-house NIL department, these student-athletes will engage in social media posts for Medpace and make appearances at the company’s Cincinnati headquarters. Additionally, on “Medpace Monday” the 10 student-athletes will wear on campus a University of Cincinnati-approved, co-branded quarter zip featuring university and Medpace marks. As part of its sponsorship, Medpace also has use of IP for NIL, making its campaigns more authentic with student-athletes in official Bearcat marks.
“We’re excited to work with Medpace and grateful for the opportunity to participate in this growing partnership,” said Barron. “It’s great to see a company investing in student-athletes and recognizing the value we can bring to the table.”
“Our initial introduction into NIL was birthed out of the idea of partnering with Deshawn and Ivan Pace to creatively play-on the Pace/Medpace names and together build more awareness of Medpace on the University of Cincinnati campus,” Nick Salyers, Director of Clinical Monitoring at Medpace, said. “We knew we made the absolute right decision following the instant buzz it was generating.”
“This partnership between the student-athletes and Medpace is how you would dream up an NIL deal, and they were chosen for certain reasons that pair best with the brand objectives,” Greg Harrell, ASP NIL General Manager, said. “It’s been awesome to work with the team at Bearcats Sports Properties on this, and we thank the Medpace team for their commitment to not only trying NIL, but also showing real thoughtfulness in how they are growing in this space.”
“Medpace is a diverse organization with top talent from varying backgrounds,” Salyers said. “I believe these student-athletes embody that and will help us continue to recruit top talent from the University of Cincinnati and surrounding areas as they represent us on campus with ‘Medpace Mondays’ and through social media platforms.”
All athletics sponsorships are managed by LEARFIELD’s Bearcats Sports Properties, which does not represent student-athletes. LEARFIELD separately represents Cincinnati Athletics and its intellectual property (IP) as part of the company’s exclusive multimedia rights agreement.