'Buffs With A Brand' Wraps Up First Year, Readies For NIL Changes Ahead

BOULDER — With Name, Image and Likeness legislation inching closer and closer to reality every day, the University of Colorado Athletic Department continues to develop innovative ways to help CU student-athletes prepare for the opportunities that await.

In May, approximately 20 Buffs student-athletes wrapped up the inaugural year of "Buffs With a Brand," a groundbreaking program designed to help them maximize their personal brands. The student-athletes finished the year by presenting final projects that consisted of either a compilation of the information and skills they developed over the year, or a "Shark Tank"-style presentation of a "business" they created in the class.

The presentations were delivered in front of a panel that included venture coaches, class professors and instructors. Chris McGowan, president and CEO of the NBA's Portland TrailBlazers, also spoke to the group as part of the finals program.

"The pitch night brought me out of my comfort zone, but the work we did throughout the year gave me confidence in front of the panel," said track and field athlete Ryan Ganson. "My venture coach was just as excited to hear about my idea as I am to make it happen. I now have a network of like-minded people to talk to. BWAB is a community of positive change."

Lauren Unrein, assistant director of CU's Scripps Leadership and Career Development Program, has helped shepherd Buffs With a Brand since its inception.

"It was inspiring to watch the final presentations," Unrein said. "Many of our venture coaches are serial entrepreneurs who have had great success in that industry. It was great to see our student-athletes have the opportunity to get professional, real-time feedback on the projects they have been developing over the year."

Buffs With a Brand was introduced in June 2020 with the goal of focusing on three key pillars: personal brand management, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. The program enlists the help of venture coaches — successful industry professionals — with direction provided by Erick Mueller, an award-winning adjunct professor and faculty director of Entrepreneurial Initiatives in CU's Leeds School of Business.

In most cases, 2020-21 NCAA legislation prohibits student-athletes from using their name, image and likeness to promote commercial products and services.

"I've been inspired throughout this entire program," Mueller said. "Here you have student-athletes who are juggling school, sports, social and work commitments and are perhaps the busiest students on campus. And yet they jumped into learning about how to take advantage of the pending NIL legislation and  how to create amazing careers and lives, whether that includes sports or not. I was very proud to be a part of such an innovative program and see the impact it's had on our student-athletes."

The program is open to all current CU student-athletes in the school's 17 intercollegiate sport programs. 

"I didn't really know what to expect coming into the program, but by the end it was inspiring to see all the potential a good idea can have," said Buffs lacrosse player Sydney Zimmerman. "This program showed me I can create and control my own future."

A key development over the course of the year was the relationship building between the student-athletes and their venture coaches. The successful professionals bonded quickly with their student-athletes and proved to be mentors in more than just the entrepreneurial world.

"What the athletic department has created in conjunction with the business school is really on the forefront of what all student athletes are going to be looking for when it comes to figuring out the opportunities revolving around Name, Image and Likeness," said venture coach Becky Gamble, president of Dean Callan and Co. "When you factor in the holistic approach, this program exposes and challenges the student-athletes to critically think about real life business applications which in turn, becomes win/win for all.  It was so fun to be involved and watch the student-athletes morph into business people."

Buffs With a Brand is one of the first programs of its kind in the nation to be offered in a working environment. With 18 states already having passed NIL legislation and the NCAA expected to follow suit this summer with its own set of rules and guidelines, the importance of having focused instruction and assistance in developing personal brands will become an integral task for athletic departments.

Buffs With A Brand's successful first year is a clear sign that CU plans to be a leader in that process. When the program embarks next fall in its second year, it will be prepared to fully embrace the necessary changes related to NIL legislation.

"Once again, CU is leading the charge with the launch of this first-of-its-kind program," Mueller said. "Our student-athletes have developed ideas from music studios for inner city youth to a hotel on the moon. And most importantly, they learned and experienced key tools that will help them in their career in whatever path they choose. I can't wait for Buffs with a Brand 2.0."

Unrein also said the program stresses that NIL is far more than a connection to a specific sport.

"Part of building within a brand is learning you don't have to capitalize on just being a football player or soccer player," she said. "It is the ability to use their platform to build a voice around issues that are important. How do they build a media presence around things that are meaningful to them?  It's a holistic approach that we think helps build the entire athlete."

Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu