West Central Michigan News

Central Michigan Athletics has established an NIL Task Force within its athletic department to facilitate Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities for Chippewa sports programs and student-athletes. This group will act as a liaison for the community, student-athletes, prospective donors, and businesses interested in supporting NIL activities at CMU.

The Task Force comprises Chris Walker, Deputy Director of Athletics for External Operations; Kelly Berryhill, Associate Athletic Director for Development; Zach Lowe, Assistant Athletic Director for Compliance; and Travis Downing, Assistant Athletic Director of Student-Athlete Leadership and Development.

"In this ever-evolving landscape, this team will provide support and information to our many businesses, donors, and community members looking to get involved in various Name, Image, and Likeness programs for our student-athletes," Zyzelewski Family Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan said. "We believe that each of these NIL opportunities embody the spirit and commitment of the CMU community and provide a way to show support for our talented student-athletes."

Central Michigan Athletics offers various associated NIL programs to businesses, fans, donors, and community members to support its student-athletes. These programs have been endorsed by CMU Athletics to facilitate contact between community members and its student-athletes.

For more information on Central Michigan Athletics' NIL program, please contact Travis Downing at cmu_nil@cmich.edu.

The NCAA has created a website called NILassist to help its student-athletes navigate Name, Image, and Likeness. The site can be accessed via this link.

Listed below are several programs through which Central Michigan fans, donors, and others can engage in NIL initiatives to support Chippewas student-athletes:

CHIPPEWA NIL FUND | CMU LINK | GENERAL WEBSITE

Charitable Gift America hosts the Chippewa NIL Fund. This initiative empowers Central Michigan University student-athletes to positively impact communities and charities close to their hearts while utilizing their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). All student-athletes engaged in NIL contracts with CGA contribute 5 percent of their contract value to a charitable cause of their choice. Contributions of all amounts are welcomed.

OPENDORSE | CMU LINK | GENERAL WEBSITE

Opendorse is a leading athlete marketplace and NIL technology company that supports athletes through education, assessment, planning, sharing creation measurement tracking disclosure regulation listing browsing booking among other services. The company's industry-leading solutions help athletes understand build protect monetize brand value.

INFLUXER | CMU LINK | GENERAL WEBSITE

Influxer offers co-licensed NIL merchandise deals to all CMU student-athletes. The platform features free activation with multiple lines of merchandise sold via influxermerch.com. A majority of gross profit is distributed back based on sales from each athlete's individual merchandise.

Each sport also has its own specific NIL-related program. For further details please contact the respective sports programs.

—CMU—