Virginia Tech announces new NIL partnerships and a plan to pay academic bonuses to athletes
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Virginia Tech on Thursday announced an enhanced partnership with INFLCR, launching the Hokies Exchange platform for Tech athletes and businesses to interact and arrange a variety of Name, Image and Likeness endorsement deals.
Once a business, collective or individual has registered and been approved for Hokies Exchange, it will be put into a database where athletes and the entity can connect for potential NIL deals. Businesses can filter through the index of athletes and narrow down selections using different criteria.
Additionally, athletic director Whit Babcock confirmed that a trio of NIL collectives have offered their services to Hokies athletes, businesses and donors.
The school also announced Thursday that it plans to make financial awards available to its athletes as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision last June in the Alston vs. NCAA case, with plans to start the program in Fall 2022.
“We are pleased to be able to offer this financial incentive for our student-athletes to make the type of academic progress that will benefit them for years to come after graduation,” Babcock said in a statement. “We are currently finalizing our criteria for this program and plan to roll out the details to student-athletes, their families and our coaching staffs this summer.”
Earlier this year, Tech’s football program, along with Fanatics and OneTeam, announced a partnership that will allow fans to buy customized jerseys for which athletes will be compensated.
Virginia Tech is not directly involved in making NIL introductions or the negotiations of any NIL agreements, the school said in the announcement.
“The fact multiple NIL collectives have chosen to align with Virginia Tech indicates the marketplace is ready to collaborate directly with our student-athletes,” football coach Brent Pry said. “NIL is changing college athletics and we want our student-athletes to maximize their value on the open market.”
David Hall, david.hall@pilotonline.com
