Erika Watt



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DOES NIL NEGATIVELY AFFECT COLLEGE ATHLETES MOTIVATION?

By Kol Popkin, Carter Moran and Erika Watt

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (Nov. 5, 2024)

Kai Connor massages his temples as he looks over the list of multiple colleges that have reached out to him for the third time. The countless years of memories on track teams throughout his life playing in his head. Alabama, IU, Purdue, Columbia, and more had invited him for unofficial visits offering him differing athletic scholarships and promises. Ideas of money, publicity, and deals swarmed his mind, the dim lighting of his room starting a slight headache. Connor knew prospects of making money off of himself in college could be a genuine factor in picking his future.

His fingers tapping the desk as he took in every coach and teammate’s opinion that’s been said to him. Through all the confusion of the picking and choosing recruitment process, the only thing that provided clarity was remembering his love for running. The dedication and passion he’d put in to get where he is today further leading his motivation to continue past high school. With his competitive nature and love for track, he finally knew what college he wanted to pick and why. 

In 2021, the NCAA changed its rules to allow college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness. Taking away these restrictions after so many years of them being in place left many athletes and professionals in the field questioning whether this will change the motivation of athletes. Will effort levels decrease or increase if the ability to make money is available to them? Are athletes performing for the wrong reasons? We talked to multiple athletic experts on their understanding and thoughts on this.

athlete kai doing warmups
Kai Connor, junior track and cross country athlete at the University of Alabama, completes his warmups before practice. Connor expresses that making money based on name, image and likeness makes the sport more enjoyable. Photo by Jacob Lucas

Junior track and cross country runner at University of Alabama, Kai Connor, shared his own NIL experience and gave us his take on how making money affects college athletes. He has had involvement in deals with brands such as Reebok, CVS, and HeyDude. With the many opinions surrounding enjoyment, motivation, and pressure with NIL, we asked him how he thinks deals have affected the way athletes enjoy they’re sport. Connor said, “Not too many downsides when it comes to making money because that’s how it always should’ve been. You always should’ve been able to promote yourself on your own and reach out to companies. In sports you can only have a certain amount of scholarships, but now with NIL you can put more kids on full scholarships which is helpful. Taking away financial stress definitely increases being able to enjoy your sport.” While it could be believed that having the ability to make money at a younger age would add more pressure, Connor highlights how helpful NIL can be with financial burdens for college students. The recruitment process is also very controversial given schools that can offer more money would get the best players. However, players’ reasoning for picking colleges and motivation for their sport cab be a lot more complex than that. We see that in Connor’s situation. Knowing Alabama just finished 4th in the nation last year in track and is a top 10 program in cross country, Connor came to be pushed athletically. He said, “I wanted to be challenged, you know I didn’t want to be like the best guy coming in. It definitely makes you compete harder.” He further points out that his reasoning for picking such a competitive program was related to passion and work. 

Tyler Cherry tossing a football up in the air
Tyler Cherry, Freshman quarterback at Indiana University, tosses a football in the air to pose for a picture. Cherry is familiar with NIL and shares positive feedback on the matter. Photo taken by Erika Watt

As well as track, NIL deals are very popular in football. We interviewed IU Bloomington’s backup quarterback Tyler Cherry. He described how since he’s only a freshman, his personal experience is limited. However, he still has a lot to say around the controversy of college athletes making additional money. When asked if he thinks NIL deals will impact the future of college athletics he said, “I think NIL deals are the entire future of college athletics. I think that’ll affect a lot of recruiting situations if the schools are close, like whoever offers more money might end up getting the recruit to come to their school.” Cherry believes, like many others do, starting to make money at that age will affect the process surrounding applying and choosing schools for high school seniors. However, his beliefs for college athletes such as himself differ. While he believes NIL has completely changed the game of football, when he was asked if he feels NIL opportunities have affected his motivation to compete he said no. “I approach it the same, just want to do my best and if you’re playing good you can get some opportunities. I think some athletes may be more focused on NIL, but it doesn’t really affect the way you train. Like in high school, it’s just football that you love to do and want to do. But in addition to that, you can make good money and get opportunities off the field.” This simple statement describes how love for a sport can outweigh money-making aspects. 

Professor Clavio guest lecturing a room full of students
Galen Clavio, Professor at Indiana University and NIL expert, guest lectures students during a C250 StoryLab class. During his lecture, Clavio addresses the rights athletes have to make money based on name, image and likeness. Photo by Emma Pearce

Many professionals working in the athletic area believe regardless of the motivation behind someone’s work, they have the right to be able to make money off of themselves. This is the case with Galen Clavio, professor at Indiana University and NIL expert. He said, “Everybody in this room as an adult has rights of publicity. You have the right to profit off of your name, what you look like, and how your likeness is utilized within any form of media or advertising or business.” It could be said that the age of college athletes is too immature to be able to make a certain amount of money. That they’re too impressionable and may prioritize the potential deals that could be made instead of their passion for the sport. However, does that make it okay for other people to decide if they can or can’t brand themselves? Clavio believes this is a right that already exists and is not granted, “This is not a case of new rights being granted to college athletes. It is instead the removal of restrictions that were being imposed by college athletic departments upon college athletes. Essentially telling those people you do not get the same rights as the other people that are college students.” Athletes like Tyler Cherry and Kai Connor uphold this notion that the passion for a sport exceeds the prospect of making money in college. This freshman football player and junior track competitor provide the same insights that getting deals is just an additional prospect to the hard work, dedication, and commitment put into college athletics. In addition to the fact that according to Clavio, this restricted right should be given regardless of the motivation. These professionals point to incentive and effort not being an issue within NIL.

Interviewees express their opinions on NIL. They explain why or why not they like NIL, along with how they think it affects a college athlete’s motivation for their sport.

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Public Relations Story

Apple Watch Announcement–The most personal device

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contacts
Erika Watt
Titan Williams
Sukari Williams

CUPERTINO, California (Sept. 9, 2014) – Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, revealed the new and innovative Apple Watch early September to a large crowd of enthusiasts at an event in Cupertino, California. 

After unveiling the new iPhone 6 and 6 plus, Cook announced Apple’s first device in the smartwatch realm. Just after showing a montage of the square-faced new device, with no explanation on the device given, Cook received a standing ovation. The Apple Watch was enthusiastically presented by Cook, who casually appeared in a purple button down and jeans featuring the new Apple Watch on himself.  

This new, precise timepiece took careful deliberate consideration when being created. Each feature is extremely intentional and personal for each person using the device. It is customizable so each person can find one that reflects their own style. You can choose between three collections including Apple Watch, Sport, or edition—each featuring stainless steel, steel 60% stronger than the average steel, or 18k gold. The watches also come in two sizes and have interchangeable wrist bands.  

Customize your Apple Watch to complement your unique style and meet your needs with different colors, bands, faces, and complications. Jenna has a unique stack with her watch.

The face of the watch is also customizable with multiple different options. When holding down on the screen, an option to edit what is displayed pops up. The appearance of the watch’s face can be changed to what you want to see when just tapping on the watch or holding it up to your face. For example, the “astronomy” watch face has the option to display an earth, fly to the moon and its phase, or show the positions of planets in our solar system at that time. 

The Apple Watch is a major step for the company. Design Chief, Jony Ive, explained certain features of this new device in a voiceover of a visually appealing montage. “I think we are now at a compelling beginning” Ive said. “Designing technology to be worn, to be truly personal.”  

Apple paid close attention to making the Apple Watch easily functional. The apps are displayed on the face of the watch. Because of how small the device is, Apple wanted to make sure no one had an issue with their finger blocking their view. The watch features a digital crown, or dial, that acts as a navigator when scrolled and home button when pressed. You can also interact with this device by lightly swiping and tapping at the screen.  

Never be late with the convenience of a clock display that appears from the “Wake on Wrist Raise” feature on the Apple Watch.
Here’s an IU student checking the time so they make it to class. Never be late with the convenience of a clock display that appears from the “Wake on Wrist Raise” feature on the Apple Watch.

The Apple Watch is a “new innovative, intimate way to communicate directly from your wrist, and it’s a comprehensive health and fitness device” Cook said.  “And, it is so much more.” 

Project Leader Kevin Lynch displayed the Apple Watch and showed off many of its key features. The watch notifies you with a vibration or sound by your choice and has many options regarding what you want to reply with. When in need of a quick response, the watch analyzes the text received and comes up a list of responses that align. You can also record an audio message—translate that to text—use customizable emojis, draw a picture, or even respond with an animation of your heartbeat.  

The Apple Watch contains activity and workout apps that can help you reach your fitness goals. “We think it’s going to help a lot of people live a better day and a healthier life” Cook said. The activity app helps track activity throughout your day with the goal of helping you sit less and move more. The workout app helps you set specific goals during your workout like the length of your workout, how far you want to run, and how many calories you want to burn.  

Starting at $349, the Apple Watch comes with a magnetic charger and requires an iPhone 5c, 5s, 6 or 6 plus. Apple paid close attention to the development of this device to make it the personal device it is. The apps and customizable features make this watch special to Apple. “Apple Watch, the most personal device we’ve created, will redefine what people expect from a watch” Cook said.  

Cook describes how the Apple Watch is very diverse from anything that Apple has ever created. The watch itself is very responsive and extremely precise when looking into the world time.

Cook explains why Apple believes the Apple Watch will be something that customers rely on using often throughout their day. Apple has created a brand new charger, exclusively for the Apple Watch, that will be very effective and easy for customers to use.

 

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