CHICAGO – Beginning with the student-athletes representing the nationally prominent FGCU men’s and women’s basketball programs, the NIL Store powered by Campus Ink will now provide a Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) merchandising solution for Eagles who partner with the company on personalized apparel and merchandise later this fall.
Campus Ink, which is backed by Mark Cuban, has provided a number of student-athletes and programs around the country with a total solution agreement in the merchandise space that includes personalized digital locker rooms. In addition to specific merchandise for individual student-athletes, Campus Ink can also provide officially licensed jerseys, shirseys, and other apparel. Student-athletes will also have the ability to do special merchandise drops to help capitalize on special moments throughout their careers.
“This is another component of our NIL programming for our student-athletes,” said men’s basketball head coach Pat Chambers. “They will have total control over what they want to sell, and Campus Ink has great resources to support their vision. For basketball, we’ve put together some amazing partnerships between the School of Entrepreneurship and INFLCR which will be resources as our players now have this terrific option with Campus Ink to create merchandise reflective of themselves.”
The Campus Ink team handles all the creative, product creation, design, marketing, fulfillment and customer service for student-athletes who sign on with the company. Additionally, Campus Ink works directly with student-athletes to educate them on merchandising, marketing and sales trends to develop strategies for optimal success.
“Our student-athletes are really excited to be able to partner with Campus Ink,” said women’s basketball head coach Karl Smesko. “This is an opportunity for them to capitalize on NIL opportunities in a unique and creative way. It also allows them to further their reach by creating merchandise reflective of themselves – something that is often not available in the traditional retail market place.”
While this partnership for student-athletes has begun with those from the basketball program, it will be open and available to all FGCU student-athletes who wish to partner with Campus Ink.
ABOUT CAMPUS INK AND THE NIL STORE
Backed by Mark Cuban, Campus Ink expanded into the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) space in 2021 and launched the NIL Store, which serves as a merchandising solution for student-athletes and schools. The NIL Store operates with the firm belief that every student-athlete has an opportunity to capitalize on their NIL. Campus Ink was founded in 1947 on the campus of the University of Illinois and was reimagined in 2015 with an office in downtown Chicago and a production facility in Urbana, Ill., where the company handles all of its own production and fulfillment.
ABOUT FGCU
FGCU teams have combined to win an incredible 92 conference regular season and tournament titles in just 15 seasons at the Division I level. Additionally, in just 11 seasons of D-I postseason eligibility, the Eagles have had a combined 45 teams or individuals compete in NCAA championships. In 2022, the men's golf team became the first program to earn at at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Eight FGCU programs have earned a top-25 national ranking in their respective sport - including women's basketball (No. 20, 2021-22), beach volleyball (No. 20, 2022) and both men's soccer (2018, 2019) and women's soccer (2018) as four of the most recent. In 2016-17, the Green and Blue posted a department-best sixth-place finish in the DI-AAA Learfield Directors' Cup and top-100 showing nationally, ahead of several Power-5 and FBS institutions. In 2018-19, the Eagles had an ASUN and state of Florida best seven teams earn the NCAA's Public Recognition Award for their Academic Progress Rate in their sport. FGCU also collectively earned a record 3.50 GPA in the classroom in the fall 2020 semester and has outperformed the general University undergraduate population for 26 consecutive semesters. The past five semesters (Fall 2019 – Spring 2022) saw another milestone reached as all 15 programs achieved a 3.0-or-higher cumulative team GPA. The Eagles also served an all-time high 7,200 volunteer hours in 2017 - being recognized as one of two runners-up for the inaugural NACDA Community Service Award presented by the Fiesta Bowl.
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Contact: Sean Ellenby (sean@campus.ink)