How Career Services Can Support
Student-Athletes in the NIL Era

Join Us for a Groundbreaking Webinar on NIL Strategy!

The Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) industry has rapidly changed the landscape of college athletics by providing financial opportunities for student-athletes to capitalize on their personal brands. However, while NIL focuses on delivering financial remuneration, the reality is that 98% of student-athletes will not get drafted into professional sports.

They will need to secure meaningful employment once their athletic careers end, just like their classmates. As professionals in career services, you understand better than anyone that student-athletes have demanding schedules, leaving them little time to visit the career center. Yet, these students deserve the same level of career preparation and support that their peers receive.

In this webinar, we’ll explore critical strategies your career center can adopt to help student-athletes prepare for their futures beyond sports. You’ll learn how to provide the support they need without requiring their physical presence in your office, ensuring they’re as prepared as possible for life after athletics.

4 Key Strategies We'll Cover:

Teaching student-athletes to leverage their NIL businesses to gain valuable business, marketing, and entrepreneurial skills that are transferable to future careers.

Embedding career development workshops within athletic team meetings or practice schedules, allowing student-athletes to receive essential career training without sacrificing time away from their sports commitments.

Facilitating career networking events tailored to student-athletes that connect them with alumni who understand both the challenges of balancing sports and academics and the transition to professional life.

Collaborating closely with coaches and athletic departments to embed career services support directly into athletic programming.

4 Reasons the Career Center Should Be Part of Campus-Wide NIL Strategy:

1

Direct Impact on Student-Athlete Success

Career services can play a vital role in ensuring that student-athletes, who often miss out on traditional internships and career prep, receive the guidance and tools they need to secure employment after graduation.

3

Developing Entrepreneurial Skillsets

Career centers can highlight the unique entrepreneurial skills student-athletes develop through building their own sports marketing businesses. These skills, such as initiative, self-discipline, and market analysis, are highly valued by employers across various industries.

2

Building a Campus-Wide Network of Support

By being involved in the NIL strategy, career services can bridge the gap between athletics and academics, ensuring student-athletes are supported holistically—both on the field and in their professional development.

4

Strengthening Institutional Reputation

Institutions that provide well-rounded support for their student-athletes—including career services—are seen as leaders in the collegiate athletics space, enhancing their reputation with prospective students, alumni, and donors alike.

Lastly, we’ll dive into a crucial topic that has gained momentum——the concept of giving student-athletes internship credit for their athletic participation. During the webinar, we’ll explore how athletic departments and career centers can work together to recognize the real-world business, marketing, and leadership experience student-athletes gain from managing their NIL activities and athletic commitments. You’ll leave with actionable insights into how to advocate for and implement this groundbreaking approach at your institution.

Reserve your spot now!
Thursday January 16th 2 pm EST

Click To Register

Questions? jack@athletecareertraining.com
805-334-5559

Presentors

01

Stuart Mease, Career Services Consultant

Stuart Mease brings over 20 years of expertise in higher education, recruiting, sports, workforce development, and Christian-based organizations, with a proven track record in relationship building, public speaking, coaching, and data insights. As a former Executive Director of Employer Relations at Wake Forest University, Executive Director of Student Advancement and Career Services at Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business, and Director of North Carolina Operations at ROCS Grad Staffing, Stuart has successfully served students, alumni, recruiters, and employers in their talent searches. His unique experience on both sides of the desk gives him a deep understanding of the challenges career centers face, while remaining sensitive to the needs of employers. Stuart’s ability to connect people and create impactful strategies makes him an invaluable leader in navigating the evolving career development landscape, particularly in the context of supporting student-athletes in the NIL era.

02

Don Philabaum, CEO

Don Philabaum, CEO of Athlete Career Training, a leading expert in career development and higher education. Don is the author of influential books such as Change IT: Create a Career-Centered College Culture and The Unemployed Grad: And What Parents Can Do About It. His extensive work includes creating and managing four higher education businesses, two of which were sold to billion-dollar venture funds. Renowned for his insights into the NIL industry, Don has also developed a popular webinar series that drew 400 higher education professionals and authored the impactful report Create a Campus-Wide NIL Strategy. Through his firm, Athlete Career Training, Don provides specialized NIL bootcamps and career development programming for the 98 percent of student-athletes who will not be drafted, ensuring they are well-prepared for their professional futures.