University of Dubuque Becomes First D-3 School with “Name, Image, Likeness” Portal for Athletes

Last week, the University of Dubuque Department of Athletics launched a brand new platform to help student-athletes work directly with businesses in developing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) agreements.

The University of Dubuque will be the first NCAA Division III school to partner with the INFLCR+ Local Exchange in order to provide opportunities for student-athletes to monetize themselves. This is a breakthrough as NIL deals have so far only been afforded to Division I programs.

UD's platform's name will be "Success NIL Exchange." After a business or individual registers on the exchange website, they can access a database of student-athletes via search engine. Businesses can then contact student-athletes directly, negating the need of a middleman, so to speak. From there, they can discuss the parameters of an NIL transaction.

The sign-up page for businesses opened on May 2nd, 2022.

The INFLCR+ Local Exchange is a student-athlete NIL business registry that is tailored to a specific institution. According to the UD Spartans' website, it also "enables a legislatively compliant platform for businesses and student-athletes to engage, providing a consolidated 1099 at the end of the year for athletes and centralized tax reporting for businesses."

UD's participation in the NIL sphere could be a game-changer for other Division III schools to get on board with the latest trend sweeping college athletics. Times have significantly changed. The money schools pocket off of sports, particularly football, is as big as it's ever been.

"University of Dubuque is making a powerful statement by investing in an INFLCR Local Exchange for their student-athletes," said Jim Cavale, Founder and President of INFLCR. "It reiterates that NIL resources and opportunities should be accessible to all collegiate athletes, not just elite Division I programs. UD is setting the path for other DIII institutions, and we're thrilled to provide them the technology to do so."