BELTON-The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced a partnership with the NIL Platform Opendorse on Tuesday morning, per a news release from the UMHB Athletics Department. UMHB becomes the third known American Southwest Conference institution to reach a partnership with Opendorse, one of the nation’s leading NIL platforms.
The partnership features the creation of UMHB’s official NIL marketplace, which can be found at cruathletics.com/opendorse. The platform is already used by over 75,000 collegiate student-athletes, ranging across all divisions of the NCAA, as well as in NAIA and the NJCAA, and includes D-III institutions East Texas Baptist University, Clarkson, Pacific Lutheran, Sewanee, and Hardin-Simmons.
“We are excited for our partnership with Opendorse and the opportunities that it presents for our student-athletes in the ever-evolving world of NIL,” Mary Hardin-Baylor Vice President for Athletics Randy Mann said in the news release. “Our staff, coaches and student-athletes are thankful to have an NIL platform that is safe, educational and compliant, which allows them to confidently engage in NIL deals.”
By establishing an official NIL marketplace for the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, fans, supporters, vendors, and potential companies now have a pathway that allows them to make secure pitches to UMHB student-athletes who have interest in NIL opportunities.
Per the news release, “Opendorse’s dynamic platform allows student-athletes to work directly with individual inquiries as well as reach out and apply for NIL deals that pique their interests. The UMHB Crusaders Marketplace will also provide third parties with the ability to instantaneously pitch, book and compensate UMHB student-athletes for NIL events and activities in one compliant and secure platform.”
The option is available for each student-athlete to develop an Opendorse profile, which is customized to their respective interests, and goals, while staying in-line with UMHB’s Christian values. It will allow UMHB’s student-athletes to increase and advance their personal brand in addition to being “readily accessible as potential clients for NIL opportunities.”
