Tag: Name

Dear Old Clemson launches NIL collective

Clemson, South Carolina – June 2, 2022 – Two Clemson graduates and area business owners have launched Dear Old Clemson, a name, image and likeness collective to bring Tiger fans, businesses and student-athletes together to make sure they all win …

Clemson, South Carolina – June 2, 2022 – Two Clemson graduates and area business owners have launched Dear Old Clemson, a name, image and likeness collective to bring Tiger fans, businesses and student-athletes together to make sure they all win together.

Robert MacRae, a 1987 Clemson graduate, and Jason Beaty, who graduated from Clemson with a bachelor’s degree in 1997 and an MBA in 2002, founded Dear Old Clemson, LLC. Jay Courie, a lawyer and longtime Clemson supporter, serves as the legal counsel and advisor for Dear Old Clemson.

“Our mission is to do NIL the ‘Clemson way’,” MacRae said. “Dear Old Clemson was created to benefit the student-athletes, the Clemson business community, and the best fans in the nation.”

For businesses and fans that just want to contribute to football, they can hop on the Roy Bus and have their contributions dedicated to football. Two club options will be available: the Clemson Athletic Club and the Lady Tiger Club. Contributions from subscriptions to the Lady Tiger Club will go exclusively to support the athletes of Clemson’s women’s sports. The Clemson Athletic Club will support football and other sports with a majority of the funds going to football.

Club members will have access to exclusive events with student-athletes, receive early access and discounts on collectibles and other exciting benefits. Dear Old Clemson has a road map of new benefits planned for club members in order to continue to add value to the memberships.

“Dear Old Clemson’s initial focus will be on football, baseball, softball and basketball but will extend to other sports in the future,” said MacRae, CEO of MacRae Consulting Corporation and owner of The Clemson Insider Media Group. “We believe we can be a game changer for the partial scholarship sports of baseball and softball.”

One of the goals of Dear Old Clemson is to help the Clemson business community. Some of the funds raised will be used to compensate student-athletes in exchange for appearances at Clemson area businesses. Dear Old Clemson will match portions of funds from local businesses that pay student-athletes to help promote their businesses.

“When the Tigers are successful on the field, it certainly helps the local business community. We plan to do our part to help,” said Beaty, owner of Clemson Variety & Frame in downtown Clemson.

A number of former Clemson athletes have already agreed to serve as advisors to Dear Old Clemson. These former Tigers will help determine the best way to raise and distribute funds for the sports they starred in at Clemson. Kyle Parker, Shaq Lawson, Adam Humphries and Sam Russ have all agreed to help in this capacity and several others will be announced in the near future.

“The Clemson community has always raised to the occasion to help the Tigers compete at the highest level,” MacRae said. “It will take a grassroots effort for the Tigers to compete in NIL. Dear Old Clemson will provide a platform to allow all fans to do their part and enjoy an experience that is sustainable and repeatable.”

About Dear Old Clemson

Dear Old Clemson, LLC was established in April 2022. The collective compensates Clemson student-athletes for attending events, promoting businesses, signing collectibles, sales of collectibles and interacting with members in person and virtually. Dear Old Clemson is fully compliant. The only athletes compensated for use of their name, image and likeness are ones that are currently enrolled at Clemson University.

Clemson fans and businesses are encouraged to visit DearOldClemson.com for more information.

Changes to NIL could be announced this week

Big changes are on the horizon for Name, Image, and Likeness!!

Multiple media outlets have reported that significant changes coming to Name, Image, and Likeness, known as NIL, could be announced as soon as Monday. Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated and Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic have reported in the last week that guidelines to clarify booster engagement related to recruiting and inducement are in the works. Ohio State AD Gene Smith and Colorado AD Rick George have been leading working groups on new guidelines for NIL. Smith told Auerbach that they “have to begin to crack down on bad actors and behavior that is inappropriate.” Those guidelines, according to Dellenger, could lead to retroactive punishments for schools found to violate NIL policy. Essentially, a NIL deal could have been made since the practice became legal in July of 2021, and if violations are found the NCAA could investigate those schools for possible sanctions.

Nebraska has been at the forefront of this new NIL movement. The athletic department has already launched a website that will allow individuals and businesses to send support directly to Nebraska athletes. Back in early April, we reported that the company behind the NIL website, Athlete Branding & Marketing, announced that since the company’s partnership with the University began in August of 2021, more than 90 Husker athletes in five different sports have received combined payments of $850,000. The Lincoln-based company also announced that they had raised an additional $3.5 million for NIL-related activities. There’s no evidence and talk that Nebraska would be at the center of any investigation or has done anything improper since NIL became legal. However, it’s clear that significant changes are coming to Name, Image, and Likeness, or the NCAA is attempting to make big changes. An announcement could happen as soon as Monday, and everyone is anxiously awaiting.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinion.

[listicle id=1035]

NFL won’t recognize Deonte Harris’ name change until after 2021 season

NFL won’t recognize Deonte Harris’ name change until after 2021 season

Well that’s frustrating. All-Pro New Orleans Saints returns specialist Deonte Harris changed his legal name to Deonte Harty in respect to his stepfather on Christmas Day last week, but that won’t be reflected on his jersey — NFL rules stipulate that a player’s name and number are fixed after the season starts. NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill first reported the news. He’s still identified as Deonte Harris on the Saints’ official online roster, and the wide receiver continues to use his old name on Twitter and Instagram. We’ll still be using it here at Saints Wire, too, to avoid confusion.

It’s a disappointing move by the NFL, if not unexpected. The No Fun League’s officiating crews aren’t any good at managing games as it is, so allowing players to complete a beautiful gesture to their family near season’s end would just overcomplicate things for the referees. How could they be expected to keep up if the name, not the number, changed on a player’s jersey in the season’s closing weeks?

All jokes aside, this does track with the NFL’s anti-individualist stance in limiting how players may represent themselves and their families during games. There are restrictions on everything from personalized eye black tape to embroidered towels and messages written on undershirts. Players even get fined for not wearing their socks high enough. The NFL puts a lot of value in how players dress and look when the cameras are on them, and the league office is unfortunately eager to punish anyone who steps out of line — or tries to change his name plate at the wrong time.

[listicle id=61726]

Deonte Harris changes his legal name to honor his stepfather

All-Pro Saints return man Deonte Harris changes his legal name to honor his stepfather

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CX6hl-WFdVe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

New Orleans Saints All-Pro returns specialist Deonte Harris gave his stepfather a great Christmas gift on Saturday, announcing from his official Instagram account that he has legally changed his name to Deonte Harty. A sergeant in the Baltimore Police Department, Marlon Harty has been in Deonte’s life since he was 7 years old. Now he’s making a permanent move to honor someone who’s had a profound impact on him.

It’s really cool to see Harty sharing this special moment with his family. He’s had a difficult year, struggling with deaths in the family and his battle with depression, and bottoming out in an offseason DUI charge. He’s serving the final week of an NFL suspension for that arrest now and will rejoin the Saints for their final two regular season games.

And Harty is determined to come out the other side of this stronger. Changing his surname to tighten those familial bonds and illustrate a new direction to take his life is commendable. Saints fans should keep an eye out for No. 11 in next week’s home game with the Carolina Panthers — and be sure to call him Harty from now on, not Harris.

[listicle id=61607]

Ross, Rencher All In with NIL

Justyn Ross thinks the change in NCAA policy to allow student-athletes to profit of off their name, image and likeness is long overdue. The Clemson wide receiver hosted a meet and greet event in Greenville, S.C. on Sunday afternoon with his teammate …

Justyn Ross thinks the change in NCAA policy to allow student-athletes to profit of off their name, image and likeness is long overdue.

The Clemson wide receiver hosted a meet and greet event in Greenville, S.C. on Sunday afternoon with his teammate Darien Rencher at Charleston Sports Pub. Fans trickled in from noon until 2 p.m. toting Clemson memorabilia, 2018 national championship Sports Illustrateds and received signed photos as they sought an opportunity to meet the two Tigers and perhaps pose for a few pictures.

The sight exemplified the recent shift in college athletics that college athletes across the country have welcomed with open arms.

“It’s basically something that everybody has been waiting on for a long time and we are happy that it is finally here. This is something you can build your brand with and use in the near future,” Ross told The Clemson Insider. “It’s definitely at least seven years overdue.”

The NCAA formally removed rules that restricted student-athletes from profiting in exchange for promotions on July 1 this summer.

Since then several prominent stars in college football announced NIL partnerships. Last week Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei announced a deal with Bojangles at the ACC Kickoff in conjunction with North Carolina signal caller Sam Howell.

At SEC Media Days, Nick Saban estimated that Alabama’s Bryce Young signed close to $1,000,000 in endorsements before taking his first snap. Miami’s D’Eriq King launched a branding agency with Florida State quarterback Mackenzie Milton called Dreamfield and signed several deals of his own including a deal that will allow up to 90 Hurricanes to pull $500 a month from America Top Team in exchange for advertisements.

Even though Rencher serves as a behind the scenes catalyst for the Tigers he participated in two events on Sunday as a result of the NIL including throwing out the first pitch for the Greenville Drive game after the event with Ross.

The two Tigers agreed that the change allows student-athletes to prepare for life without football.

“I think it’s huge and long overdue for us to be able to make money or profit off our brands. Obviously, the market is there for it and I think both of us are trying to maximize it while we’ve got it,” Rencher said. “And we want to do more things after we leave football after we leave Clemson but to make money and build our brands while we are here means the most.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

Miami already seeing ‘early returns’ thanks to NIL

Since the NCAA allowed student-athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness on July 1 perhaps no school has seen early returns as favorable as Miami. Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King cashed in almost immediately with …

Since the NCAA allowed student-athletes to earn compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness on July 1 perhaps no school has seen early returns as favorable as Miami.

Hurricanes quarterback D’Eriq King cashed in almost immediately with the launch of Dreamfield, an agency that connects businesses with student-athletes, and deals that will earn him more than $20,000 in addition to his scholarship. In fact, the entire team cashed in on a $540,000 deal that will allow 90 players to profit $6,000 each over the year.

The early returns from the NIL change have impressed Miami head coach Manny Diaz and met his expectations for how the rule change would impact his program.

“Before July 1 that was my only expectation in a pro market with a huge economy that it could be better for us because there’s just more commerce,” Diaz said at ACC Football Kickoff on Wednesday. “But we didn’t know what to expect after July 1 and the early returns have been really positive.”

King views himself as more than a quarterback for the Hurricanes but an ambassador for the program and feels the change could help Miami get over the hump in the ACC.

“I think the NIL can influence recruiting a lot because people can see that Miami loves Hurricane football. A group of guys can see that and also play big time football every single Saturday,” Diaz said. “So a group of guys can play big time football while also making money and that will influence recruiting.”

Since Miami joined the ACC in 2004 it has made the ACC Championship Game once in 2017 when the Hurricanes won the Coastal Division but were overwhelmed by Clemson 38-3 in the title game.

But Diaz feels his team’s fortunes could change with a boost from the NIL on the recruiting trail paired with an experienced and talent team returning to the field in 2021.

“It’s interesting because there are very few things in recruiting that are outside of our control and we hear the news the same time as you guys,” Diaz said. “But obviously you can share it along and say look this is what’s happening for our guys and it’s a unique situation so it can’t be a bad thing and it’s nice to help pass good news along.”

Miami opens the season with a tall test against Alabama on Sept. 4 in the Chick-Fila-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. at 3:30 p.m.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

2021 aggregate NBA mock draft 7.0: Ranking the full class of prospects

The 2021 NBA draft is less than a week away and we finally have an idea of who is in — and who has withdrawn — from the class.

The 2021 NBA draft is less than a week away and we finally have an idea of who is in – and who has withdrawn – from the class.

In order to get a better sense of where all of the prospects stand as of right now, we compiled mock drafts from NBADraft.net, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report, Yahoo, The Athletic, The Ringer, Yahoo, NBA Big Board and USA TODAY Sports Media Group’s For The Win to see where the prospects rank at the moment.

Please note that these rankings reflect the composite score to get a feel for consensus, not our own opinion.

Since our previous update last month, some of the players with the most positive momentum include Quentin Grimes, Joe Wieskamp, Vrenz Bleijenbergh, Aaron Wiggins, Justin Champagnie, Jericho Sims, Jason Preston, Josh Primo, Neemias Queta, Trey Murphy and Bones Hyland.

Among players who ranked on our previous update who have since withdrawn from the draft include Roko Prkacin (32), Marcus Bagley (39), Terrence Shannon (48), Ariel Hukporti (50), Max Abmas (53), Johnny Juzang (54), Jordan Hall (66), Carlos Alocen (69) and Ochai Agbaji (75).

The most notable omissions who remain in this class but not these rankings are Yves Pons, Scottie Lewis, Jay Huff, Marcus Zegarowski, Aamir Simms, Dalano Banton, Matt Mitchell, Jose Alvarado, Carlik Jones, Derrick Alston Jr., Romeo Weems, Balsa Koprivica, Chaundee Brown, Isaiah Miller, Jordan Schakel and D.J. Carton.

Note that for the offensive roles, we borrowed a fun idea from Todd Whitehead (formerly of Nylon Calculus) with help from our friends at Bball-Index.com to create a slightly tweaked formula from the version they use.

The goal of that is not to explain how well a player scores but rather offer context for the way that he was used on his most recent team. This should help you predict how he might be used at the next level.

Meanwhile, you can learn the latest updates on every single prospect who has been included in recent mock drafts by scrolling below.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

Swinney ‘calling it like it is’ to media critics

College athletics changed forever on July 1 this year when the NCAA dramatically altered its model of amateurism by removing restrictions that prohibited athletes from profiting off of their name, image and likeness. When the change went into effect …

College athletics changed forever on July 1 this year when the NCAA dramatically altered its model of amateurism by removing restrictions that prohibited athletes from profiting off of their name, image and likeness.

When the change went into effect the Twitterverse and some journalists dug up old quotes from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney and attempted to back him into a corner saying he opposed the NIL.

But in reality, Swinney supported the ability of student athletes to utilize their NIL so long as it did not professionalize collegiate athletics and take focus away from education and graduation. Swinney responded to the critics at the Clemson Football Media Outing on Tuesday.

“First of all, we live in a world now where not everybody does their research. You go in the bathroom and hear somebody in the third stall and that’s your source,” Swinney said.

“I’m just calling it like it is and that’s the headline. People hear what they want to hear and then unfortunately a lot of people write what they want to write that will fit what they need,” he continued. “It’s just not accurate, I’ve never had a problem with name, image and likeness I thought it should’ve been more.”

The comments referenced on social media stemmed from Swinney’s response in 2014 to the attempted Northwestern Student-Athlete Union that advocated for wages for college athletes in addition to their scholarships. Swinney stated he wants his players to take advantage of their platform and brand but would do something else if the sport was professionalized.

In 2019 when ideas about compensation for NIL started circulating Swinney spoke out in support of the measure so long as college athletics remained centered around education and graduation. He doubled down on his previous comments and set the record straight on Tuesday.

“What I said, whatever that was, I still say that I am against professionalizing college athletics and getting away from the value of a degree and the value of education,” Swinney said. “That was never ever said against name, image and likeness I think it could be more and could have been tied in more to the education process so everybody could have an equal opportunity.”

Now Swinney’s goal is to educate his players on fiscal responsibility and protect them from inevitable “wackiness” that will be brought on by the change.

But his goal in coaching and managing the Tigers remains the same because a small percentage of his players will go the NFL and those that do also have to beat the odds of financial difficulty that often occurs at the end of a professional career.

“These are mid-twenties to thirty year-olds now we’re kinda bringing all this to them,” Swinney said. “So my goal and what I have always valued is education and graduation and the development process as a man that’s my passion and what I have always valued.”

As for the critics Swinney knows they will write what they write and joked that he’d create a Twitter account to correct misinformation.

“I guess I should sign up for Twitter and I can be one of those people and just go back at everybody and spend my life correcting whoever is putting crazy information out there,” Swinney joked. “It comes with a territory but ya know what it just means we win. If we weren’t winning around here it wouldn’t matter.”

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

B.T. Potter signs NIL deal with The Clemson Insider

The Clemson Insider is excited to announce our first name, image and likeness endorsement deal. Clemson football senior kicker B.T. Potter has signed an advertising agreement with TCI. “I am happy to have B.T. signed as our first NIL deal. He comes …

The Clemson Insider is excited to announce our first name, image and likeness endorsement deal.

Clemson football senior kicker B.T. Potter has signed an advertising agreement with TCI.

“I am happy to have B.T. signed as our first NIL deal. He comes from a great family and has been a great representative of Clemson University,  I look forward to having B.T. help us promote The Clemson Insider,” said Robert MacRae.

The NCAA formally changed its policy to allow student-athletes to receive compensation in exchange for the use of their name, image and likeness on July 1.

“The world of college athletics changed on July 1,” MacRae said. “As soon as it became clear that players at Clemson would be able to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness I began to investigate opportunities to promote TCI.  I look forward to announcing more advertising agreements in the near future.”

Potter has shown his gift of a big leg on kickoffs and scoring attempts. The senior enters the 2021 season with a 32-of-45 career mark on field goals and a 147-of-148 mark on PATs in 42 career games (27 starts). The Rock Hill, S.C., native also enters this season averaging 63.5 yards on 299 kickoffs with 231 touchbacks since 2018.

Potter opened his career converting his first 122 consecutive PATs, a school record, and holds the CFP National Championship Game record for longest field goal, which he converted on a 52-yarder against LSU. The kick was one of his Clemson record tying five field goals of 50 yards or more heading into the 2021 campaign.

In 2020, Potter earned an All-ACC Academic Team selection and was named a finalist for the Lou Groza Award for the nation’s top kicker. He made 18-of-23 field-goal attempts and 61-of-62 PATs in 12 games. And Potter was the only player in the nation with 15-plus field goals and 70-plus touchbacks.

Potter was also a highly touted recruit after a stellar career at South Pointe High School, S.C. As a Stallion he converted on 31-of-45 field goal attempts and made 211 PATs. His success earned him a top 10 ranking at his position by most recruiting services including a No. 1 kicker ranking by Chris Sailer.

Time to get the latest Clemson apparel to show your Tiger pride. Order your officially licensed Clemson gear right here!

NCAA Council recommends name, image, likeness policies should be up to schools in states without law

Ten states have laws or seen governors issue executive orders that will allow athletes to make money from their NIL.

The NCAA Division I Council on Monday recommended that the association temporarily “suspend amateurism rules” related to athletes’ ability to make money from their name, image and likeness, the association announced.

The Council is the division’s day-to-day policy-making group. Its recommendation now goes to the Division I Board of Directors, a panel comprising mainly college presidents that is the division’s top rules-making committee. The board is scheduled to meet Wednesday.

Monday’s action came with 10 states having passed laws or seen governors issue executive order that will allow athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness (NIL), beginning Thursday or whenever their schools choose. Bills with Thursday effective dates are on the desks of governors in four other states. Altogether, more than 15 states could have NIL laws in effect by Sept. 1.

Under the plan suggested Monday, schools in states that have passed laws related to name, image and likeness (NIL), would be “responsible for determining whether” athletes’ NIL activities “are consistent with state law,” an NCAA statement said.

In states without an NIL law, athletes would be able to engage in NIL activities without violating NCAA rules that so far have heavily limited those activities, which include having endorsement deals, leveraging social media for pay, and making money from coaching or signing autographs.

‘Adopt their own policies’

Schools in states without NIL laws and/or their conferences “may choose to adopt their own policies” regarding NIL activities, the NCAA statement said. However, the policy would leave intact the association’s “commitment to avoid pay-for-play and improper inducements tied to choosing to attend a particular school,” the statement said.

This setup would remain in place “until federal legislation or new NCAA rules are adopted,” the statement said.

In choosing this path, the Council rejected another proposal that — while largely similar — also included the proviso that schools’ NIL policies not allow payments from “any booster, or any person or entity acting on behalf” of the school.

This indicates that the Council was concerned that virtually any restriction in a temporary policy would draw a legal challenge based on the Supreme Court’s ruling last week in the Alston antitrust case. The court unanimously decided that the NCAA’s rules on athlete compensation are subject to detailed antitrust analysis, and such an analysis showed that the association’s limits on education-related benefits for athletes violate the law.

“We don’t have a lot of options on this — the Alston decision came down,” Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference commissioner Rich Ensor said Monday afternoon. While not a member of the Council, Ensor is an attorney. He also is well connected with the thinking of commissioners of other mid-major conferences, and he said nearly all segments of Division I are “pretty well unified on this.”

He added: “This should be an interesting period we are entering into.”

Follow Steve Berkowitz on Twitter @ByBerkowitz