Through our Viewpoints series, Riveron experts share their opinions on current topics, business trends, and industry news.
Until now, US colleges have enjoyed an unusual advantage in their business models by not having to compensate players. Like the weather when playing golf, that's about to change. In case you haven't read about it, it's Name, Image, Likeness (NIL).
Unlike football and basketball, golf is one of the non-revenue generating sports and will need to come up with novel ideas to navigate the new financial landscape. Creative partnerships can provide opportunities for athletes, universities, and corporations.
If you've ever watched professional golf, you see corporations enthusiastically doling out sponsorship dollars to align their brands with the prestigious and affluent audience. CEOs and CMOs show up eager to build brand loyalty and impress customers. What if these corporations double down and look at college golfers and athletes as a pipeline of candidates for their recruiting strategy?
With summer rapidly approaching, I've had the pleasure of interviewing several summer interns. The athletes I've interviewed have stood out. They consistently demonstrated our core "DELTA" values: Drive, Excellence, Leadership, Teamwork, and Accountability. These were undergraduate students with no professional experience. I checked every "align with our values" boxes, one after the other, eagerly, and with delight. Two other essential skills stood out: resilience and adaptability. As a professional focused on building and leading high-performing teams, I had light bulbs going off in my head. As a mother of an elite athlete heading off to play Division I golf at a Power Four Conference school, I've seen the outcome of living these values and developing these skills firsthand.
While seeing and communicating your goals can be as simple as a slide in a PowerPoint, consistently doing the hard work to achieve targeted results is critical. The combination of values that drive positive behaviors and an appreciation for the process required to reach desired outcomes is where athletes have an edge.
Let's look at the numbers to put some perspective on how disciplined a junior golfer needs to be to earn a coveted spot on a Division I roster. There are over 2 million male junior golfers worldwide vying for approximately 2,600 spots. If you want to play in a Power Four Conference, there are 612 spots and only 306 scholarships. I don't think I have to spell out the commitment required to make it to this level.
If you're a corporation already sponsoring professional golf, why wouldn't it make sense to explore a college golf sponsorship as a recruiting strategy? Over 98% of college golfers will not make their way to the PGA Tour. This is a fertile recruiting ground for companies looking for candidates with strong values and an understanding of the link between processes and outsized outcomes.
If you're a Division I golf coach looking for a novel revenue stream and a professional recruiting path for your athletes, consider talking to corporations that currently sponsor professional golf. It sounds like pretty good alignment all around to me.
Final approval of a $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit is imminent, paving the way for college athletics programs to share revenue with their players. The rule change could mean up to $20.5 million of direct payments to student-athletes per school, per year, starting in the 2025-2026 academic year. But since most Division I programs operate at a deficit, there will be a meaningful gap between college athletics programs' immediate cash needs and their coffers. "Schools will have to find ways to increase revenue to compensate for these new costs, and to do that universities and conferences will need to take on capital partners to fund investments and unlock new revenue streams," said Matt Rosenberg, head of sports, media, and entertainment at Monroe Capital, in an interview with LCD. "Institutional capital will be needed."
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