NIL Collectives and Cross-Sport Performance: Evidence from the SEC and Big Ten
Start Date
April 2026
Location
2nd floor - Library
Abstract
This project looks at how Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collectives in football and men’s basketball impact performance across different sports within college athletic programs. I focus on schools in the SEC and Big Ten and compare how success in major revenue sports might relate to outcomes in non-revenue sports like women’s soccer and track and field. Most research on NIL focuses on money and recruiting, but not as much looks at how it affects other sports within the same school.
To study this, I created a dataset of SEC and Big Ten schools. Since exact NIL data is not publicly available, I used estimated values based on publicly reported information to represent relative NIL strength. For performance, I used conference rankings for football, basketball, women’s soccer, and track. I also considered factors like athletic department revenue and school size.
The goal of this project is to see whether stronger NIL programs are linked to better overall athletic performance, or if they mainly benefit certain sports. Overall, this study helps explore whether NIL is creating more balance or more inequality within college athletics.
NIL Collectives and Cross-Sport Performance: Evidence from the SEC and Big Ten
2nd floor - Library
This project looks at how Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collectives in football and men’s basketball impact performance across different sports within college athletic programs. I focus on schools in the SEC and Big Ten and compare how success in major revenue sports might relate to outcomes in non-revenue sports like women’s soccer and track and field. Most research on NIL focuses on money and recruiting, but not as much looks at how it affects other sports within the same school.
To study this, I created a dataset of SEC and Big Ten schools. Since exact NIL data is not publicly available, I used estimated values based on publicly reported information to represent relative NIL strength. For performance, I used conference rankings for football, basketball, women’s soccer, and track. I also considered factors like athletic department revenue and school size.
The goal of this project is to see whether stronger NIL programs are linked to better overall athletic performance, or if they mainly benefit certain sports. Overall, this study helps explore whether NIL is creating more balance or more inequality within college athletics.
