Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 J U N E 2 9 , 2 0 2 6 F O C U S H I G H E R E D U C AT I O N / P RO F E S S I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T A thousand dollars per athlete isn't going to change the national recruiting landscape, but it can matter locally. — Dan Lobring Stretch PR "Amateurism is over, but it was over in my mind long before NIL," in part because of the money that athletes and parents spend on train- ing and travel, he says. When the door opened to compensate athletes for those expenses, that drew atten- tion to how colleges had been using athletes for self-promotion for years. Anticipating similar momentum in younger grades, he adds that "if you're looking for amateurism, go support your high school. And in five to 10 years when NIL really starts to take hold on the high school level, go sup- port your youth sport program." Glynn, a former sports broad- caster who's worked in marketing for close to 20 years, represents 35 athletes who've racked up more than $115,000 in NIL contracts over the past five years. Clients include Maine football player Noah Carpenter, who recently signed a national deal with Dr. Pepper, and Maddie Niles, a field hockey player at the University of Southern Maine and freshly minted brand ambassador for Crumbl Cookies. Glynn's clients also work with Maine-based companies like Aroma Joe's, a Scarborough-based coffee and energy-drink chain with a target demographic of 15- to 35-year-olds. e company has teamed with Glynn to create a Community Ambassador program that pays high school and college athletes to promote the Aroma Joe's brand on their social media channels while raising awareness of fundraisers and causes they support. For Crystal Brown, community marketing manager for Aroma Joe's in Maine and New Hampshire, the program goes beyond marketing. She says it's an investment in young lead- ers who may someday own businesses of their own. "Yes, we are building our brand," she says, "but ultimately, it's about the people. ere's also loyalty – maybe they'll be a customer for the rest of their lives. Kind of like a trifecta." Lulu Rucinski, a 19-year-old rising sophomore who plays ice hockey at the University of Maine, was already a fan of Aroma Joe's signature energy drink when she connected with Glynn to land an NIL deal with the company. Since then, she has hosted fundraisers at Aroma Joe's locations benefiting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine and launched an "I Love Orono" merchandise fundraiser for the charity, selling T-shirts and other items online she designed with Glynn and raising around $1,000 to date. e slogan pays tribute to her college town as well as her hometown in Orono, Minn. e sports management major is selective about the brands she works with. "I'd be useless partnering with a dog food company," she says, "but a woman's hockey product or Aroma Joe's getting fuel and coffee – that's where I can bring value and connect." Looking ahead to bigger spon- sorship prospects, Glynn quips that "we've got to go for Lululemon. "at's my next one." 'Wild West' College sports experienced another major shift last year with a landmark settlement — stemming from three antitrust cases against the NCAA brought by Arizona State University swimmer Grant House — that allows schools to distribute up to $20.5 mil- lion annually to athletes. In addition, the Power Five athletic conferences agreed to pay nearly $3 billion in back damages and adopt new policies per- mitting direct revenue sharing. As larger schools continue to bankroll athletes, particularly in high- profile sports such as football and basketball, a separate antitrust suit pending in California is seeking to lift caps on college athlete pay in 17 states. "Everybody expected the House settlement was going to settle things, but it didn't," says Paul Greene, founder of Portland-based law firm Global Sports Advocates, who notes that schools in the Big Ten and Big 12 conferences are still paying mil- lions per player and laments the lack of legal clarity for athletes. "A lot of schools are giving athletes money, then cancelling the contract before they pay them. It is the Wild West," he says. UMaine's game plan While the University of Maine initially held off on revenue sharing, it shifted course a few months after the House settlement and began compen- sating Black Bears for the use of their name, image and likeness. Maine's only Division I school works with Van Wagner, a New York-based sports advertising and entertainment agency, and the Icon Source digital marketplace to con- nect student-athletes with branding opportunities. e university's NIL policy, last updated in January, requires student- athletes to disclose all deals of $600 or more once a contract is signed and to ensure NIL activities do not interfere with academic obligations. Athletes are also responsible for man- aging their own NIL arrangements, including legal, tax and immigration matters, with the university providing only general support and guidance. On the direct compensation side, the school has raised more than $500,000 from private donors for University of Southern Maine field hockey player Maddie Niles is a brand ambassador for Crumbl Cookies. If you're in it for the transaction and for the higher dollar value, then you probably don't fit our culture. — Jude Killy University of Maine Jude Killy P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F U N I V E R S I T Y O F M A I N E P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F P L I A B L E M A R K E T I N G C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E »

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