Creighton Law Review hosts sports symposium, talks NIL

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – The fast-changing landscape of college sports law was at the center of Friday’s Creighton Law Review Symposium. It’s a newer subject impacting Creighton Law students.

“My focus for the symposium was to look at our faculty and look at a topic of expertise that our faculty had and use that,” said Ana Hingorani, managing editor of the Creighton Law Review.

The biggest topic in college sports these days is NIL.

David Weber is a Creighton sports law professor specializing in name, image, and likeness. NIL allows athletes to make money doing what they love.

“Oftentimes by the big selling point was the education aspect, the college life and a portion of that and now there’s so much money behind NIL that that’s become a significant part of college athletics and the recruitment process,” said Weber.

It’s also helping some colleges recruit the best talent. Weber said support from alumni donors and NIL collectives plays a big role in recruiting for Creighton.

This is a way for them to contribute back to their alma mater, he said. “To see their sports teams doing well and in that way they’re contributing to NIL to make sure the schools that they want to support are getting the athletes that they need.

According to Weber, while smaller private universities like Creighton don’t have the same financial backing as some public universities , there is still opportunity to attract the best athletes.

“While they’re not a power conference like the Big Ten, Big 12, they are a power conference in basketball,” Weber said. “That has allowed the Big East, especially with three national championships over the last five years, to do very well in the NIL space.”

After the first year of NIL deals for college sports in 2022, the NIL platform Opendorse estimated almost $1 billion was spent. Student athletes from all 14 Creighton teams have a profile on Opendorse.

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