University of Oklahoma Athletics
OU Leads Big 12 With Three NIL Awards Finalists
May 18, 2023 | Athletics
NORMAN – For their efforts and successes in Name, Image and Likeness, the University of Oklahoma Athletics Department, current OU quarterback General Booty and former OU men's basketball forward Tanner Groves have been selected as finalists for the upcoming NIL Awards, as announced by Student Athlete NIL. OU's three finalists lead the Big 12 and are second most in the country to Stanford's four.
The awards will be presented on Saturday, June 3, at the NIL Awards gala ceremony at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta as part of the second annual NIL Summit, sponsored by INFLCR. Oklahoma Athletics will be represented at the three-day summit by women's basketball guard Nevaeh Tot and volleyball student-athletes Taylor Preston and Sydney Thompson.
OU is one of eight NCAA Division I athletics programs and one of two in the Big 12 that has been nominated for Best Institutional Program. The award recognizes the top college or institution that has displayed a commitment to NIL and provided opportunities for student-athletes to maximize their NIL through education, resources and industry-leading innovation.
"To manage a great NIL program, there must be support and alignment from campus leaders," said OU Executive Associate Athletics Director for NIL Toby Baldwin. "(Athletics Director) Joe Castiglione was at the forefront of NIL by being one of the first ADs to create a strategic plan and place NIL staff in a leadership role within athletics. He was also a first mover when he envisioned an NIL business manager for our multimedia rights partner, Sooner Sports Properties, creating an innovative NIL program that continues to progress and positively impact OU Athletics."
Booty is one of six student-athletes nominated for Innovator of the Year, which is awarded to the individual who best uses innovative and creative ideas to promote their brand and partners through NIL. Booty partnered with veteran-owned Prohibition Soap to create a body cream called The General's Crimson Cream. He also leveraged his name, image and likeness to raise money for OU's Children's Hospital and the Wounded Warrior Project.
A two-time College Sports Communicator Academic All-America Team selection, Groves was recognized for his work on the court and in the classroom as one of six finalists for the Scholar Athlete of the Year award. The award is presented to a student-athlete who maximizes their NIL for the greater good, excels in the classroom and in their respective sport.
"General Booty's partnerships with the OU Children's Hospital to share his financial gain to help children in need is worthy of this great honor," said Baldwin. "And Tanner Groves' recognition is a great example of a student-athlete who can excel in the classroom, on the court and maximize his NIL opportunities.
"We are so grateful for the recognition these nominations bring to our student-athletes and athletics department. They underscore the creative and unselfish approach to NIL of General and Tanner, as well as shine a light on the constant efforts of numerous athletics department staff members who support NIL opportunities for OU student-athletes."
OU's three nominees are the most among Big 12 schools. The June 3 awards ceremony can be viewed on Brinx.TV starting at 6 p.m. CT.
SOONER WOMEN LEADING THE WAY
Unrelated to the NIL Awards but also a reflection of OU's success in the NIL space, On3 recently conducted a voluntary survey of collectives from across the country that found that almost 23% of the total number of student-athletes with whom the collectives partnered are women, and that the collectives have worked with an average of 17 female student-athletes in the 2022-23 academic year. Survey results showed that the OU-focused Crimson and Cream Collective far exceeded that average, as the group signed 74 female Sooner female student-athletes this school year, most among respondents (the next-highest total was 59 by Arkansas).
