Wichita State Athletics

A note from Kevin Saal, Director of Athletics...

It is with great enthusiasm, energy and humble gratitude that I write to you, the community of Wichita, on behalf of Wichita State University and Shocker Athletics. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to connect with hundreds of passionate Shocker Athletics fans, generous supporters and campus/community partners. Within our conversations, you have consistently asked, “how can we support Shocker Athletics and Shocker student-athletes in this new era of collegiate athletics?” We are listening and we hear you. As a result, I want to dedicate this first mass communication to providing comprehensive answers to your questions.

In addition to historical giving pathways (i.e. Shocker Athletic Scholarship Organization (SASO), restricted, unrestricted, facility master plan, etc.), recent emergence of “name, image and likeness” (NIL) and “Alston Academic Payments” have increased and diversified available pathways for supporting Shocker Athletics and Shocker student-athletes. I am excited to share more information with you, as we collectively navigate our new environment. In order to provide the best possible clarity, please allow me to take a brief look back, in order to set the context for today’s environment.
 

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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE
As an amateur enterprise, intercollegiate athletics unofficially began in 1852 when the rowing teams from Yale and Harvard competed in the first intercollegiate competition. Formed in 1906, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a member-led organization focusing on the integration of intercollegiate athletics into the educational mission of higher-education institutions, with focus on the student-athlete experience and the safety/welfare of its participants.

In the 116 years following establishment of the NCAA, intercollegiate athletics has experienced great change. Most notably, in the last 50 years Federal Title IX legislation (1972), the multi-media rights revolution (1980 - present), conference realignment activity (mid-1990 – present), NCAA cost of attendance legislation (2015) and NCAA time-management legislation (2017) have altered the course of college athletics indefinitely.

Changes witnessed over the last 15 months bring us to today and the need for this brief. In June of 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in NCAA v. Alston, that the NCAA could no longer limit education-related expenses to student-athletes, paving the way for additional academic bonus payments in the form of “Alston Academic Payments”. And while the Alston decision was focused solely on these educational benefits, it also helped bolster the argument for student-athletes to profit commercially from their NIL.
 

HISTORICAL ELEMENTS OF A SCHOLARSHIP
Historically, intercollegiate athletic scholarships have been defined as either head count (full scholarship) or equivalency (partial scholarship). Student-athletes who receive an athletic scholarship in a head-count sport (i.e., basketball) receive full scholarships, while student-athletes in equivalency sports receive partial/percentage scholarships. NCAA legislation identifies which sports are defined as head count versus equivalency. Scholarships are comprised of various parts, called elements. The five traditional elements of a scholarship, paid by the university, have been:

1. Room (i.e., on-campus lodging plan or a monthly off-campus stipend check)
2. Board (i.e., on-campus food plan or a monthly off-campus food check)
3. Books (i.e., required and recommended hard-copy or electronic publications utilized in academic coursework)
4. Tuition (i.e., the cost to attend/participate in academic coursework)
5. Fees (i.e., institutional and/or per-course charges)

 
NEW ELEMENTS OF A SCHOLARSHIP
Recognizing the five traditional scholarship elements don’t fully cover the cost to attend college, two additional elements have been added to the definition of a full scholarship in the last seven years:

6. Cost of Attendance (COA) – Student-Athletes receive funds for personal expenses including, but not limited to travel, medical and/or entertainment. This scholarship is paid by the institution in the form of a monthly check. Determination of COA maximum is the responsibility of each institution, resulting in differences among competitive peers. Wichita State University Athletics currently provides COA.
7. Alston Academic Payments – Alston payments give the institution the option to provide up to the federally mandated annual cap of $5,980 to every student-athlete. These “Alston Academic Payments” are optional, and schools are not required to provide them; however, the institution maintains great flexibility to award Alston funds in a manner which maximizes student-athlete retention and accountability throughout their academic journey. 

These seven elements of an athletics scholarship are similar in that each institution maintains flexibility to solicit (fundraise) and distribute funds, provided that all applicable regulations are followed.
 

NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS (NIL) EXPLAINED
In July 2021, the NCAA (and numerous states) erased rules which previously prohibited student-athletes from earning income while attending college. Student-athletes can now profit off themselves and their NIL - in the form of business ventures - without losing their eligibility. 

How do student-athletes make money?
Provided specific NIL rules are followed, student-athletes can sell their name, image and/or likeness, accepting payment from commercial and/or non-profit entities, in exchange for performing services such as, promoting companies, selling products, making special paid appearances (ads, speeches, banquets, etc.), conducting sports camps, selling signed memorabilia, etc. 

Many supporters are expressing interest in providing NIL opportunities to student-athletes. However, it is important that these dollars be in the form of additional gifts above and beyond restricted/unrestricted annual operating gifts to Shocker Athletics, to avoid negatively impacting annual operating expenditures.

Presently, 29 states have passed NIL laws. While the State of Kansas currently has not, student-athletes in the State of Kansas can still take advantage of their NIL per the NCAA interim policies. Additionally, similar to regional and national peers, Wichita State University maintains its own NIL policy.

For contextual clarity, it is important to understand the national landscape for NIL activity. In Q4 of 2021, nationally over 5,000 NIL transactions were recorded through one third-party service provider. That same sample of 5,000+ NIL transactions produced an approximate average of $1,100 per transaction; however, the median was much less, registering in the “hundreds” of dollars. These preliminary results suggest an overwhelming volume of NIL transactions are positioned in the “hundreds of dollars” range, and that outlier 5-, 6- and 7-figure NIL transactions deceptively skew the national averages and public perceptions upward. 
 

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY NIL POLICY EXPLAINED
In July of 2021, Wichita State University implemented its first NIL policy.  Within the last year, this policy has seen updates/revisions corresponding to movement in the national landscape and evolving best practices.  The policy is intended to facilitate permissible NIL opportunities for all student-athletes, while protecting the integrity of the institution and eligibility of the participating student-athlete.

In an effort to avoid redundancy, at a high level, Wichita State University’s NIL policy outlines:

• NIL Guidelines
• Prohibited Categories
• Team Activities & Academic Obligations
• Use of Wichita State University Logos/Intellectual Property
• Use of Wichita State University Facilities
• Restrictions for University Involvement
• Student-Athletes’ use of Professional Service Providers (agents/advisors)
• Disclosure Requirements
• Implications for International Student-Athletes
• Consequences for Failure to Comply

 
NIL - WHAT TO AVOID
While NIL laws vary from state to state, the NCAA has provided guidance with respect to prohibited NIL activity:

1. NIL cannot be a recruiting inducement, meaning it cannot be used to incentivize a student-athlete for selecting and/or signing a National Letter of Intent with an institution.
2. NIL cannot be provided in exchange for athletic performance, meaning student-athletes cannot receive NIL deals contingent on stats, playing time, accomplishments/achievements, etc.
3. NIL cannot be arranged and/or promised by Wichita State University/Shocker Athletics employees.
4. NIL activity cannot take place during official team activities and/or university-sponsored activities/events.

 


Wichita State University supports NIL and our student-athletes’ ability to capitalize on some of their greatest and most valuable assets. While the institution is not and cannot be involved in facilitating NIL activities, it does want to ensure that our student-athletes and community partners are following all applicable rules and regulations so as not to jeopardize the eligibility of the student-athlete. Currently, three (3) pathways exist for community engagement: We Fight For Wichita Fund, Shocker NIL Exchange and direct connection with student-athletes.

The We Fight For Wichita Fund is the most recently established pathway established in response to the house settlement. It replaces the Wheat Shock Collective and is managed internally within Wichita State Athletics by Director of Development & Roster Resources/NIL Emily Hiebert. This fund allows donors to contribute to Roster Resources while taking advantage of tax-deductible opportunities in addition to adding more value to their Shocker Athletics Annual Membership. Contributions can be 

It is important to understand, the Influencer platform that powers Shocker NIL Exchange requires administrative fees, above and beyond the NIL deal itself. Influencer charges administrative overhead (5-20% depending on nature of activity) to pay for critical service components (i.e., contract generation, document storage, tax withholding/reporting, etc.) that protect both the integrity of the institution and the eligibility of student-athletes.

The third pathway includes direct connection with student-athletes. Community members may contact student-athletes regarding NIL proposals directly through social media, email, etc. This pathway requires critical service components (i.e., contract generation, document storage, tax withholding/reporting, etc.) be the responsibility of the student-athletes and/or local businesses.






 

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Shocker Athletics operates within an incredibly competitive landscape. Recruitment and retention of elite-performing student-athletes requires maximization of all seven scholarship elements (i.e. room, board, books, tuition, fees, COA and Alston). Additionally, given historical regional/national NIL activity, a healthy/robust market-driven NIL environment consistently contributes to positive outcomes.

Wichita State University maintains a long history of aligning resources to championship-level expectations in order to fund our elite athletics programs. We can/must continue to do so in our new/evolving environment.
           
Kevin Saal
Director of Athletics