Name, Image and Likeness legislation has reshaped the college sports landscape, and one group of South Alabama supporters has formed an organization they hope will help the Jaguars stay competitive in the NIL world.
Jags Impact, Inc., was formed late last year, and launched its website last month. A non-profit organization with pending tax-exempt status, Jags Impact will look to pair South Alabama student-athletes with various charities, with the goal of benefitting both.
“We think that when you allow athletes to use their notoriety, their social media platform, and then also to use their time to partner with various charities in the community, that it’s teaching them how to be community leaders,” said Mark Spivey, Jags Impact board president. “When you take an athlete that might be passionate about a certain cause, and then you allow them to use their influence in the community to promote that particular cause, and at the same time being able to earn an income as a student-athlete, we feel like it’s a win-win, for the charity and for the athlete.”
Many Division I universities have created “collectives” since the June 2021 U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, though what is required of the athlete to receive compensation varies from school to school. At some major programs with deep-pocketed boosters, it appears that simply signing a letter of intent results in payment, no strings attached.
Jags Impact is different, however, in that athletes who sign contracts with the collective will be required to partner with specific charities for a certain number of events and promote those events and the charities’ causes via social media. The athlete would receive a portion of their compensation up front, the remainder upon completion of their contract.
Spivey — a South Alabama alum who works in commercial banking — said the model for Jags Impact is heavily borrowed from Hoosiers for Good, the NIL collective for Indiana University.
“We know NIL is here to stay,” Spivey said. “We’re getting close to two years post-Supreme Court ruling, but I think the first year people were just trying to figure out, ‘what’s this going to look like?’ And so we started looking around the country at different schools within that — different alumni groups, different collectives, and (exploring) how they were doing it.
“… Hoosiers for Good really resonated with us. It’s the 501c3 model, where we as a collective get donors from alumni, from businesses, from individuals. And then we turn around and partner with student athletes, and allow them to use their NIL in direct relationship with charities in the community. And so we felt like for us in this market, for our community, for our athletic teams, and what we’re trying to do, that that really resonated with us.”
Spivey said Jags Impact is still in the organizing stages, having launched its website and applied to the federal government for tax exemption status. Fund are currently being solicited and collected, with hopes of launching the first “class” of student-athletes in the coming months.
South Alabama’s athletic department and administration has no direct role in Jags Impact, though the collective must remain in compliance with NCAA rules prohibiting “pay for play.” Spivey said he has regular conversations and meetings with various USA officials, including athletics director Joel Erdmann and members of his senior staff.
“To the extent that we’re allowed and able, we have been in communication with and have been interacting with the leadership of Jags Impact,” Erdmann said. “We deeply appreciate their willingness to lead in this regard. The key component from our point of view is that what is being done is being done within the rules, and that the people that are involved are highly professional and ethical people who are also very active members of our community and who have an affinity for the Jags.
“I do think what has been built and is beginning to get on its feet has been done the right way. We look forward to helping it be successful, to the best of our ability.”
For more information Jags Impact, email info@jagsimpact.org or visit JagsImpact.org.