Ryan Banks

My name is Ryan Banks and I am from New York. I am in the media school and I am a journalism major.



Projects by Ryan Banks

News Story

Club Sports Could Pay The Price For NIL

By Makenna Piatkowski, Ryan Banks and Matthew Mason

BLOOMINGTON, IN (Nov. 5, 2024)

The buzzer sounds and hockey players storm the ice to celebrate with teammates. Indiana University is officially bringing home some hardware as the club hockey team wins the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) National Championship. A team with so much talent finally wins it all, and they didn’t even pay the players to do it.

An athlete’s name, image and likeness (NIL) allows for college players to be paid for anything attached to their brand, such as personal merchandise, camps and clinics or any type of affiliate roles. Before NIL was put into effect, athletes were prohibited from profiting off of their personal brand, and could even face punishments if it occurred. One example of this is Reggie Bush, who had his Heisman Trophy taken away (it has since been returned in the wake of athletes getting paid) after he was illegally compensated. Collegiate athletes are now allowed to hire outside expertise to advise them in deals surrounding NIL, and most college athletes are benefiting from this law change. The biggest advocates for NIL argue that athletes that spend countless hours in practices and games should be compensated fairly for their time and inability to acquire a job outside of school and sport. 

Many have spoken up about NIL and the effect it has had on student athletes, including Indiana University Media School professor, Galen Clavio. Clavio uses his many years of experience as a broadcaster and reporter in the sports industry to speak on various topics, both in his own classes and in guest speeches to students in other media classes. In a press conference held in a C250 Story Lab class, students were able to ask questions about NIL and what the future holds.

Professor Galen Clavio conducts a press conference with C250 students about name, image, and likeness.
Professor Galen Clavio talks with students at IU Bloomington about NIL. Clavio has spent years in the sports industry and currently works at IU as the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Media School. Photo taken by Mike Badrov.

“What keeps the boat in the water is the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations coming from the alumnus who feel positive emotions towards their university.”

However, some people have some issues with how NIL works. NIL deals only benefit those in high level collegiate sports, and tends to ignore other sports, like the 40 club sports at Indiana University. When asked about how new collegiate funding ideas would affect smaller sports, Clavio noted that a lot of lower level sports could see major cuts.

“The NCAA has been throwing everything they can at trying to get some kind of antitrust exemption or some kind of carve out from the government because if they don’t get that…it’s going to be a fundamental reorganization of a lot of what we see in college athletics where you could see a lot of college athletic programs kind of convert back down to what we would consider to be ‘Club Status’.”

Due to the underfunding of collegiate club sports, athletes like Peter Faust, a club lacrosse player at IU, have had to sacrifice personal time and money to the sports that are played. 

Peter Faust, a club lacrosse player at IU, celebrates on the field.
Peter Faust, a club lacrosse player at IU, celebrates on the field. Faust is a student athlete at Indiana and receives no NIL money. Picture Courtesy of Peter Faust

“Club sports run pretty similarly but lacrosse in particular is rather expensive to be a part of. Each member of the team owes dues each semester and that only covers field time and travel. The uniforms and their equipment are further expenses out of their pockets.”

Without funding from the university, athletes that want to continue to play the sport they love continue to cost them. Although the high level sports seem like an unattainable schedule, Andrew Gus, IU Club Hockey Forward Coach, does not think that they are all that different. 

“We practice 4 days a week and have to travel on weekends. We have given up on some big things in college because we had to travel that weekend, but it’s all worth it. It would be nice to see the school compensate for that.”

Gus also acknowledges the discrepancy between the recognition that some sports get over others and what the university chooses to prioritize, in terms of media coverage. 

Andrew Gus, the IU Club Hockey Forward Coach, cheers on his players.
Andrew Gus, the IU Club Hockey Forward Coach, looks on as his team plays. Gus believes the club hockey team is not all that different from a division one level sport. Picture Courtesy of Andrew Gus

“Look at the football team right now, it is awesome. But the hockey team won the national championship last season and not as many people know about that. The school could have helped with spreading that news.”

NIL has greatly affected the culture when it comes to collegiate sports, in both positive and negative ways. However, it is notable that club sports and the lower level division sports may face many challenges due to this new era in college athletics.

People on the street speak their mind about whether NIL is fair for club level sports and consider the effects that a lack of funding could have. Multiple perspectives were administered during the afternoon interviews.

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Public Relations Story

Apple Watch New Era of Technology

PRESS RELEASE: APPLE WATCH NOW AVAILABLE

Ryan Banks
Peyton Cooperstein
Payton Bryant

 BLOOMINGTON, Indiana (Sept. 9 2014)  Apple Computer, inc., CEO Tim Cook announces the release of Apple’s newest product, the Apple Watch. The new Apple Watch device is Apple’s first step into the wearable technology world, offering customers a new way to interact with their technology.

Apple has become extremely popular amongst customers for all of the products that they have released. Each new technology of theirs brings much excitement to the public as they are one of the most popular providers of technology. From the Mac to the iPod, to the iPhone and iPad, Apple seems to always succeed in their production of their products. The announcement of these products is just as amazing, as they have a high attendance to see what is next for Apple, almost looking like a movie premiere.

Throughout the woman’s busy day at the front desk in Franklin Hall, she uses her Apple watch to keep in touch with her family via iMessage.

The Apple Watch looks and performs like an actual watch, including many more amazing features.  Tim Cooks said “With Apple Watch, we are redefining what a watch can do.” The innovative design of the watch makes it appear sleek but also stylish, with its smooth rounded screen and interchangeable bands with a variety of options to choose from. Apple also made this product perfect for those looking for a wearable fitness tracker. There is a wide variety of fitness and health features including a workout tracker, step counter, and heart rate monitor. And those who choose to wear their Apple Watch to bed will wake up to information on how they slept. Many of these health metrics get measured by what Apple is calling the “rings.” These rings are empty at the start of the day but fill up as users incorporate more fitness and activity throughout their day, encouraging people to “close their rings” each day. Encouraging this activity Tim Cook agreed “We believe this is the future of health and fitness, your health information is right on your wrist.”

This is great to see from Apple as they are primarily providers of technology that makes our lives easy, not more active. But applies pushing the envelope and diving into the world of fitness. Aside from the great health and fitness the Apple Watch provides, there are many other great functions that the watch can perform. Anything on the user’s iPhone can be integrated into the watch.

This young man Logan was on his way to game day and needed Indiana apparel. His Apple Watch made sure he got it in a fast and efficient way via Apple Pay.

Including notifications, camera functionality, Apple Pay, apps, and the ability to receive and make calls. Driving directions from the Apple Maps app will send the directions to the Apple watch, making drivers able to keep their eyes on the road, with only a glance at their wrist to see where they need to go.

These functions can all be accessed with the Apple Watches touch screen, along with its power and manual function button, the digital crown. This digital crown is a push button but also a rotating knob that can be used to select and scroll on the Apple Watch. Charging the watch is also extremely simple, with a magnetic circle charger that magnets the back of the watch. The watch only needs a few hours before it is fully charged and can last up to 18 hours on a single charge. Allowing users to track their entire day of activity and sleep if they choose to wear the watch to bed.

The Apple Watch is made for everyone, being beneficial to people of all different ages and demographics. These many great functions allow there to be something for everyone, just like Apple always has tried to do. “Apple Watch is the most personal device we’ve ever created.” -Tim Cook. Apple has helped bring great innovations and technologies to this world, to ultimately make our lives easier. But Apple still realizes the importance of staying active. This is the best of both worlds for Apple. A great piece of technology that also serves a great fitness benefit.  The Apple Watch is extremely exciting for the company along with its customers, hoping the future of Apple in wearable technology is bright.

 

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