Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #47: Gill1918 presents Olympian Tanya Hughes “What Every T&F Coach Needs to Know About NIL” Powered by Coach O

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#47: Gill1918 presents Olympian Tanya Hughes “What Every T&F Coach Needs to Know About NIL” Powered by Coach O · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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Welcome to the Gill 1918 Project, a podcast series by
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coaches for coaches, powered by Gill Athletics.
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Think of it as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
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Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
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you grow as a coach. This episode is part of the
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Youth and Beginner Series, brought to you by Coach O.
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In this series, we focus on topics relating to coaching
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youth athletes, coaching beginner athletes of any age,
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and supporting brand new coaches as they find their way.
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With that in mind, let's grow. This is Tanya Hughes, Olympian
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NIL coach and consultant. On today's podcast, I want to
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highlight a few things that every track and field coach
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needs to know about the approved house versus NCAA settlement and
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how it's going to completely change the game starting July
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1st, 2025. This new era of NIL and revenue
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sharing isn't just about football and basketball.
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It touches every sport, and that means it touches us in track and
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field. If you're coaching right now,
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this is your moment to get ahead.
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I hope to provide some information and insights that
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will help you lead with clarity in an environment that many
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believe is the new Wild, Wild West in college athletics.
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Let's start at the foundation. NIL stands for Name, Image and
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Likeness. In 2021, the NCAA changed the
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rules which gave student athletes the right to profit off
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of their personal brand. This is done through
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endorsements, appearances, social media, camps, merchandise
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and more. And yes, this does apply to
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track and field athletes. In fact, many are already
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building personal brands, launching fitness businesses,
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partnering with sponsors, and doing it all without a national
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spotlight. We've seen distance runners with
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running blogs, hurdlers hosting youth clinics, and even throwers
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becoming fitness influencers. NIL doesn't discriminate by
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event. It actually rewards creativity,
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consistency and visibility. Your role as a coach now
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includes helping them navigate these opportunities not by doing
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the deals for them, but by creating a culture of education
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and support. When your sprinter lands $1000
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speaking gig or your thrower partners with a local gym,
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that's nil in motion. But it also means helping them
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understand red flags, like signing deals that could impact
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their eligibility or promote products that conflict with team
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values and institutional policies.
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This isn't just about cashing in, it's about student athletes
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shifting to think like entrepreneurs, or as I like to
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say, sportspreneurs, all while protecting their eligibility and
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making the most of their platform while they're
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competitive. Even if they never GoPro, they
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can still leave school with a network of relationships, a
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brand and a business. NIL can be a training ground for
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the real world. As a coach, you set the tone.
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If you encourage exploration and support their efforts, you'll
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not only elevate your student athletes, but you'll build a
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brand and reputation as a program that develops the whole
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person, not just the performer. Now let's talk about the house
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versus NCAA settlement. A few weeks ago on June 14th,
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the NCAA put out a 36 page Q&A guide and I highly recommend you
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familiarize yourself with the mechanics.
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Here I'll share a few key data points.
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Starting July 1st, 2025, schools that opt into the settlement can
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now share up to 20.5 million a year in revenue directly with
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student athletes. That means, for the first time,
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schools can legally pay student athletes beyond scholarships.
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These benefits could include direct NIL payments from the
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school or other types of incentives as additional
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benefit. And while this may sound like a
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Power 5 only conversation, it's not any Division One school can
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opt in, and many will because opting out could mean losing
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competitive ground and recruiting and retention.
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And here's the nuance. Opting in makes your school a
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participating institution, and that is going to come with
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additional rules. These schools will need to use a
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centralized platform called CAPS to track and report all direct
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NIL compensation. They'll have to pre declare
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rosters, manage new scholarship structures, and ensure all
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benefits fit under the 20.5 million annual CAP for 20/25/26.
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If your school participates, you'll be operating within this
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controlled system where compliance, documentation and
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transparency are mandatory for track coaches.
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This means your student athlete could now be part of
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institutional marketing campaigns or benefit from
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internal partnerships. But you'll also be dealing with
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heightened compliance pressures. Late roster submissions,
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unreported NIL activity, or out of bounds types.
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Payments could put your program and student athletes at risk.
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There is an NCAA tracker of schools which tracks which
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schools have opted in. One thing to note is that if the
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school opts in, all sports are now under these new rules, even
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if that team doesn't initially get revenue share allocation.
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As I've taken a look at the NCAA tracker of participating
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institutions, you can have a school that has opted in and
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they are going to do revenue share with football, basketball,
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and possibly a few other sports, and that will still mean that
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the track and field team at that institution will have to comply
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with this extra set of compliance.
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Even if they're not getting the direct revenue allocation, that
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whole school and all of their sports are now deemed
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participating institutions. So here's another layer to this.
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Even if your school does not opt into the settlement, third party
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NIL deals can still continue. So as a coach, you must be ready
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to support both paths. Student athletes may rely on 3rd
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party or businesses you know to do endorsements or appearances.
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Any of that third party branding may be something that they
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participate in, and others may also still receive institutional
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support. The more you understand, the
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better position you'll be to help your team navigate this
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landscape. It's also going to be important
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for you to be able to manage team dynamics because not all
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student athletes will get an IL deals from internal partnerships
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or third party sponsors. Another area where this
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settlement gets real for track and field it's with roster
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limits. Starting this year,
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participating institutions must submit final rosters by early
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December for spring sports. After that date, if a student
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athlete is not on your roster, they cannot practice, compete or
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receive institutional benefits. That could mean no weight room
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access, no travel team activities, even if they're on
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scholarship. This represents a major shift
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from how you may have managed teams in the past, especially in
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track and field where large rosters, developmental athletes,
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red shirts and walk ONS are common.
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The only exemption in 2025 to 2026 is for Designated Student
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Athletes, or what's known as Dsas, those who were already
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recruited or on your team before the settlement and were removed
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due to the roster cap. But to get that exemption, you
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must declare them by July 6th, 2025.
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Coaches must now think strategically about how many
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sprinters, throwers, jumpers, distance runners, how many
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student athletes they carry on the team, and at what stage of
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their development. Walk guns could be squeezed out.
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Freshmen may be held to higher performance standards.
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Even mid year transfers could complicate your numbers.
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And it doesn't just affect competition, it affects
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training. A student athlete left off the
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official roster won't be able to participate in workouts and team
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lifts or even team travel. And that can create tough
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decisions and tough conversations.
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As a coach, you'll need to be upfront with student athletes
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and their families around these changes from day one.
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Being able to talk about the new structure, setting clear
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expectations, and educating student athletes on what it
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means to earn and keep a roster spot in this new framework.
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This is where trust and transparency matter more than
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ever. Your program culture will either
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support or be strained under the weight of these changes.
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Preparing now will help you avoid the chaos later.
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Let's be real, today's coach isn't just a recruiter or even
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an educator. I'd like to give the analogy
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that you are now the general manager of your program.
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You're responsible for training, compliance, recruiting,
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retention, culture, roster, caps and now whether your school opts
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into revenue share or not, you're managing how benefits
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flow to your student athletes. That includes helping student
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athletes navigate Nils impact on their training.
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Because when you sign an NIL deal, that could mean
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appearances or there are commitments that they're making.
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And so it takes it above just being the student athlete to now
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being ACEO. And as a coach, you're going to
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need to have to understand reporting tools like CAPS and
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NIL go and staying up on whether an athlete is eligible for
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benefits based on their roster status.
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You're now thinking not just about practice schedules,
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recruiting business, but also about deal disclosures,
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institutional policies and compliance calendars.
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Think about what that means. You're developing a long jumper
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who might be launching their personal brand, a multi event
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athlete juggling media appearances and training.
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You're fielding calls about NIL from parents, reviewing team
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social media guidelines and making sure you aren't crossing
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compliance boundaries. Coaches in 2025 are expected to
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understand how institutional and 3rd party NIL deals interact
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with eligibility. If your athlete accepts free
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gear from a local sponsor, does it need to be reported?
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If your institution offers a paid appearance, does it fall
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within the cap? You've got to have these
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answers, and if you don't, you at least need to know where to
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find them. And let's not forget, you're
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also the one trying to build team culture.
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In all of this. You're protecting locker room
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dynamics as student athletes receive different levels of
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attention and income. You're setting expectations
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around what it means to be a student athlete in this new NIL
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driven era. The good news is you don't have
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to figure it out alone. That's why I created the Coach
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GM program. It's a training and consulting
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experience designed to give coaches the tools, confidence
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and clarity to lead well in this new NIL world.
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This isn't about replacing your coaching.
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It's about empowering you to own the bigger picture.
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Because when you understand the full scope of your impact, you
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can stop reacting and start building something sustainable.
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So what do you need to do right now?
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First and foremost, talk to your administration.
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Have you opted into the house settlement?
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Who's handling our caps in NIL? Go compliance.
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What support is available for coaches and student athletes?
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One of the things that I've noticed over the past year is
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that a lot of resources and support has gone to revenue
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producing sports like football and basketball.
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And I tend to find that Olympic sport coaches don't seem to have
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the same level of understanding of the rules even though they're
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impacted by them. So you've got to understand what
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is available for you as a coach so that you can be informed and
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give proper information to your student athletes.
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Second, get proactive with your team.
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Create a space, host AQ and a invite a guest speaker.
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The earlier you start these conversations and understand
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which of your student athletes are engaging in NIL activity,
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the better off you'll be in understanding how to craft a
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strategy that promotes and grows your culture of your team in a
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positive way. 3rd update your recruiting pitch.
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Parents and student athletes are asking about NIL.
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As I've worked with parents and student athletes, I can say
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first hand that NIL isn't the only factor to a kid committing
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to a school. They really do want to be
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developed and they want to know that they can be a winner and be
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part of winning programs. But you still must be able and
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ready to speak confidently about how your program is positioned
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when it comes to NIL and to be honest, explain how roster
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limits will affect scholarships, training, access and
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opportunity. Transparency is a recruiting
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asset. Fourth, be prepared to document
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everything in IL activity. Roster decisions, benefit
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structures. These things are all going to
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now be under scrutiny, and you'll have to have a strategy
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around them. Whether your school opts in or
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not, having a written plan and communication process can
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protect you, your student athletes, and your institution.
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Finally, invest in your own development.
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Most coaches didn't go to school for NIL compliance, and that's
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OK, But that does mean you have to treat this as part of your
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continuing education. If you want your student
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athletes to grow, you've got to grow with them, and you're going
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to have to understand the implications of NIL and this new
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collegiate landscape. And that's where I can come in.
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The Coach GM program I've built is to help coaches like you step
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confidently into this new world, A world that includes revenue
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sharing, NIL literacy, parent education, and student athlete
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empowerment. We'll walk through scenarios and
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work with you so that you have the language and even a strategy
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to help you lead with confidence.
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Remember, your ability to adapt is what makes you elite, and
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understand that NIL is not just a phase, it's the new
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foundation. NIL has changed the college
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athletics landscape and what you don't know can hurt you.
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While this update has been heavily focused on college
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coaches, high school coaches need to understand the
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implications as your kids are being recruited and you're
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helping them make one of the biggest decisions for life.
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Thank you for spending time with me today.
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I'm Tanya Hughes, founder of Sports Preneurs, a division of
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Activate International NIL coach and consultant and creator of
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the Coach DM program. For more information on NIL
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programming and education, visit sportspreneurs.com or reach me
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directly at contact@sportspreneurs.com.
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One final thought, coaches, you are one of the most influential
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people in your student athletes lives.
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Let's make sure they leave your program not only faster and
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stronger, but smarter about their future.
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Your student athletes are in the race.
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Let's help them win on the track, the field, and most
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importantly, in life. Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here.
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Thanks for joining us for this episode in the Youth and
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beginner series Powered by Coach O Powered by Coach O is more
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than a platform. It's a movement to benefit track
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and field by supporting coaches, athletes, parents, officials and
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event directors in countless ways.
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Find out more and get yourself plugged in to the Powered by
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