Gonzaga School of Business to teach student athletes on personal branding amid new NIL rules

Gonzaga University’s Next Level program, which aims to help student-athletes build their brands as they look to profit from their name, image and likeness rights, is getting a boost from the university’s School of Business Administration.

The business school will provide on-campus instruction to student-athletes on topics including personal brand management, entrepreneurship and financial planning, Gonzaga announced Thursday.

“Providing an excellent business education informed by our university’s mission and values is what we do,” Ken Anderson, dean of Gonzaga’s School of Business Administration, said in a statement. “We are so excited to be a part of the Next Level initiative.”

The Next Level program was unveiled late last month, just over a week before the NCAA announced rules allowing student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness rights (also known as NIL rights) during their collegiate careers. The rule change took effect July 1.

In creating Next Level, Gonzaga has also partnered with INFLCR (pronounced “influencer”), a Birmingham, Alabama-based company that offers a platform for student-athletes to market themselves while remaining within NIL regulations.

“We are incredibly grateful to the School of Business Administration for providing NIL and business education to our student-athletes as part of the Next Level initiative,” Chris Standiford, Gonzaga’s incoming athletics director, said in a statement. “The knowledge they will gain from the SBA will help them grow personally and professionally and serve them well beyond their college experience. We are excited to launch this partnership with the SBA.”