For many universities with elite athletic programs, the advent of NIL felt like a loose ball on the court. There was a mad scramble to grab it and figure out where to run next.
After the initial alarm, it didn’t take Duke long to pick up the ball and completely reimagine the game plan. Recognizing the opportunity inherent in the chaos, Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship (I&E) created paths for students to understand what NIL means to their career and how to make the most of it.
“NIL is just entrepreneurship, and you’ve already got a world-class entrepreneurship program here,” says Aaron Dinin ’05, a senior lecturing fellow at I&E. “We’re already doing all these things and teaching people how to build and operate a monetized business. You don’t need to create anything new. That’s the Duke difference.”
Housed at the Fuqua School of Business, I&E added an NIL Studio under Dinin’s existing Creators Lab program. It also shifted adjunct professor Ezra Kucharz’s sports entrepreneurship class to focus solely on NIL. Kucharz and Dinin teach opposite sides of the I&E coin: Dinin (“Learning What Makes TikTok Tick,” DukeMag Summer 2023) shows students how to create a personal brand and cultivate an audience to whom they can sell products. Kucharz instructs students on how to structure and operate a business, using time-tested best practices and examples from college peers and professional sports.
“There is a tremendous opportunity in this market,” says Kucharz, who has worked at DraftKings, CBS and NBC Universal. “The department and Duke University have a unique position in the marketplace in that we’re one of the few schools teaching this. So, students, whether they’re athletes or not, have this opportunity to come and learn from some of the best people in the industry.”
Both instructors are focused on the long-term goal of building business leaders and industry innovators. They acknowledge that NIL is, at the maximum, a five-year opportunity for college athletes, while its professional possibilities are vast and essentially uncharted.
Spring 2024 marked the first offering of Kucharz’s reimagined course. Football letterman Brandon Hersh ’24 is considering a career in sports, and the class seemed like a great opportunity to learn how NIL functions in the business world. Hersh especially appreciated the knowledge shared by the array of guest speakers, including a rep from LeBron James’ SpringHill Company. And most importantly, he learned the right questions to ask.
“What makes the most sense for your brand and your business to move in that direction?” Hersh says. “Does it align with your values? Does it align with your goals? And then how are you going to do it? It’s not necessarily sitting back and waiting for companies to come find you. Anyone who’s trying to grow a business has to think more strategically.”
Julia Magliaro, an All-ACC javelin thrower with Olympic aspirations, felt fortunate to take the course her freshman year. She says that the principles and skills she learned feel applicable for the rest of her college athletics career and into the future.
“It opened the door,” Magliaro says. “I learned so much about myself and my interests. Being a little bit of a hustler and having a network is super important. Also, creativity when it comes to problem solving. With any startup, that’s a super important quality.”
While it’s very early in the life of the NIL startup, one thing seems clear: Duke has a firm grip on the ball.
