Virginia Joins Altius Sports General Manager Program
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia athletics department announced today that as part of its relationship with Altius Sports Partners (Altius), a full-time, on-Grounds general manager will be added to assist in directing Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) efforts for Cavalier student-athletes.
Virginia announced its partnership with Altius in January of 2022.
Altius, which serves as the external NIL launch platform for dozens of schools, initiated the general manager program as an extension to further centralize and stabilize athlete-focused strategy, education, operations and deal facilitation for participating athletics departments wishing to establish an in-house NIL department.
Virginia is one of six athletic programs, and the only one in the Atlantic Coast Conference, partnering with Altius to launch the on-campus General Manager Program. The other schools include LSU, South Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State and Cincinnati.
“By participating in the Altius GM Program, we will expand our partnership that enhances resources for students which will create more opportunities for them to maximize their NIL,” said UVA director of athletics Carla Williams. “Our original goal with Altius was to establish a substantive NIL program grounded in best practices and adding lasting value to the lives of our student-athletes. This will help to accomplish that utilizing dedicated staff who specialize in the ever-changing world of NIL.”
The GM program includes comprehensive education of all stakeholders, as well as a custom approach for each athletics department for directly facilitating NIL deals based on institutional risk tolerance and applicable rules. Each institution will have a customized approach to connecting student-athletes with brand partnerships, which could include providing opportunities and resources or making appropriate introductions depending on the nature of involvement.
Altius prioritizes development of student-athlete NIL while fostering collaboration with institutional partners and university supporters in identifying brand prospects and enhancing existing multimedia rights partnership.
Among the GM responsibilities will be supporting overall NIL strategy and daily compliance of on-campus opportunities. The day-to-day duties also entail oversight of comprehensive education and ongoing support for all university stakeholders. Additionally, the newly formed NIL-centered staff will lead identification and implementation of student-athlete focused NIL deals along with marketing, branding and content creation to support those opportunities.
As Altius implements its GM Program, it will continue to support its school partners through an advisory role in addition to providing ongoing innovative and strategic guidance on policy and initiatives and customized educational support.
While Altius does not represent athletes or collectives directly, secure rights, or sell tickets, Altius-hired staff will collaborate campus-wide and leverage their knowledge and resources around NIL and student-athlete marketing. Additionally, each program will be based on the specifications of its institutional and applicable state policies.
Altius will continue to provide direct and real-time actionable information for partner programs, regardless of participation in the GM program, including recruiting resources for coaches, analysis of developments across the national landscape, as well as understanding of local community and campus, departmental and team-by-team philosophy, and priorities because of integration into the athletics department and daily on-campus presence.