As programs look for a way to bring in every dollar possible, there is a new possible source of revenue.
On Tuesday, Ohio State and Notre Dame sent minor shockwaves through college athletics by announcing that they have agreed to deals for "jersey patches," similar to those that are seen in Major League Baseball and the NBA.
Ohio State's deal is with JP Morgan Chase and is worth $17 million in total. The patch will appear on all uniforms, for all teams, and the deal also includes NIL opportunities for athletes.
While not explicitly stated, it's fairly obvious that Ohio State will use the money from this deal to help fund its athletic department, and to help support its athletes financially. Notre Dame's deal is worth $18-20 million, reportedly, and comes from SoFi.
In Ohio State's case, the direct NIL opportunities will clearly help support individual athletes as well.
So, should the University of Connecticut be looking into this same idea?
Of course they should
The quaintness of college sports went out the door years ago. It's no longer just your source of hometown pride: College sports are big business, and you have to play big if you want to win big, and UConn does, especially in men's and women's basketball.
1) Every dollar of extra revenue that is brought in helps the non-power sports that are under constant threat. At several institutions, the emphasis on football and basketball are so great that the Olympic sports are having trouble surviving. Every dollar that a program brings in can help keep those kind of sports around, which would be good for UConn and its future athletes.
2) On the basketball front: UConn wants to remain at the top of the food chain in both men's and women's basketball. If deals like this help bring in additional dollars that can be given in NIL - and there are direct NIL opportunities for players and high-priced recruits - it's a no-brainer. If they aren't, some of their opponents certainly will be.
3) UConn wants to continue growing its entire athletic department. If a move like this can help football, or men's and women's hockey? Then it has winning tentacles beyond just basketball.
Has all this gone too far?
You can certainly make the case that NIL-era has skewed far away from its intended desires, to treat athletes fairly, but this is the world we are in. And this is the world that UConn is playing in.
If they want to thrive in that world, it doesn't really matter.
And furthermore, we're already used to seeing a "NIKE" patch, or a "Big East" patch on a jersey, so it's not like its something we aren't already seeing.
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