top of page
Search

NCAA Written Feature Story

nelscwilliams

For NCAA athletes, the summer off-season is chock-full of mandated conditioning and training, sprinkled in with some relaxation and maybe a vacation if the schedule permits.


But the dog days of summer did not apply for Virginia Tech lacrosse star Olivia Vergano, thanks to her involvement as a coach and representative with Ko17 and TBD Lacrosse.


“This summer was a lot. I was home a collective three weeks total, Vergano said.


“I looked at it more as an internship rather than like a burden or like just work in general because I was having fun doing it and traveling.”


Vergano was able to tour the United States as an assistant coach at lacrosse camps run by and partnered with those organizations thanks to the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness policy.


Per IconSource, NIL is a term that describes the means through which college athletes are allowed to receive financial compensation. NIL refers to the use of an athlete’s name, image, and likeness through marketing and promotional endeavors. This can include autograph signings, product endorsements, social media posts, and more. 


During the season and school year, Vergano checks in with Ko17 and TBD lacrosse administration to provide updates on how she is performing during the season, how she can be of assistance to younger lacrosse players who aspire to play division one lacrosse, and overall talk to her friends, with whom she’s made many of within both programs.


But at its core, Ko17 and TBD are there to make her the best lacrosse player she can be.


“They definitely push me to like get better each day. … They always check in and go like ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ … They're always pushing me to be the best I can and to get better,” Vergano said.


Other former/current athletes have jumped at the opportunity to work in the NIL space, including former Virginia Tech lacrosse forward Kendal Williams, a junior, who recently started working within Triumph NIL, the main NIL collective for Virginia Tech, in its content creation and marketing dept.


What separated Triumph from other NIL collectives for Kendal is how they treat their athletes off the field.


“[Triumph looked at me like I was] an athlete, but your ability on the field isn't what makes us interested. It's your talents that you have outside of your sport. … Like, you know, you play on the lacrosse team here, but what is it that makes you other than that? What do you want to do one day [after graduation]?”


Triumph has worked hard to ensure that student-athletes not only make good changes off of their name but also connect them with real-world opportunities.


“The beauty of NIL is not just the ability to help athletes profit off of their brand but also expose them to opportunities to work with brands or businesses that interest them,” Billy Ray Mitchell, founder of the “Sons Of Saturday” podcast, said. Mitchell has partnered with and works with Virginia Tech athletes to create content for their platforms all over social media.


“Most athletes don’t have the opportunity to do internships over the summer, so connecting them with businesses that align with their interests can help them in their life after [college].”


After Vergano graduates from Virginia Tech, she hopes to continue pursuing lacrosse if possible.


“If a really good job that allows me to play as well as work then [I would keep playing], but if my job says no, like ‘you can't have the six weeks off during the summer or take six weekends off’ per se, I think I'd be okay with hanging up the cleats.”


But for now, Vergano enters her junior year focused on becoming an All-American for the third straight year and beating renowned ACC teams such as UNC and Syracuse.


And Ko17 and TBD Lacrosse will be right beside her throughout the entire journey. 

1 view0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

コメント


bottom of page