UCLA last week announced “Westwood Ascent” a comprehensive Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) program designed to support the school’s student-athletes to build their personal brand and maximize their NIL opportunities.
According to UCLA Athletics, Westwood Ascent focuses on three pillars – Education, Brand-Building and Monitoring and Disclosure, which is required for NIL activities.
Martin Jarmond, the Alice and Nahum Family Director of Athletics at UCLA, said, “We enthusiastically embrace Name, Image and Likeness. With the launch of Westwood Ascent, we’re well-positioned to be a leader in providing our student-athletes the tools to maximize their NIL opportunities in Los Angeles and beyond. The future is here.”
In addition, UCLA Athletics has partnered with the UCLA Anderson School of Management (Anderson) and the Center for Media, Entertainment & Sports (MEMES) on a series of summer workshops available to all UCLA student-athletes. The workshops, which began in July, highlight areas of NIL importance, including personal finance, brand-building, business law, contracts and ethics.
“UCLA’s student-athletes consistently show leadership and drive on and off the field of play, bringing pride and joy to the Bruin community,” said Jay Tucker, Executive Director, Center for MEMES. “The Anderson School is thrilled to be helping our elite student-athletes better understand all aspects of the business of their name, imagine and likeness.”
UCLA Athletics has also partnered with INFLCR and COMPASS (CLC + Game Plan) to provide additional education, brand-building and disclosure support for all student-athletes.
Through INFLCR, all UCLA student-athletes will have access to industry-leading brand-building technology that delivers internal media and national photography to personalized galleries for each of their athletes, coaches and other brand ambassadors. Student-athletes and brand ambassadors are able to access their content galleries through the INFLCR mobile app and can then share the content to their personal social media accounts to help build their brand. INFLCR also provides audience engagement measurement and analytics.
The COMPASS platform provides a partnership with CLC, the leading collegiate brand licensing company, and Game Plan, the premier provider of student-athlete education and training. COMPASS delivers a fully-integrated disclosure, monitoring and education platform that allows UCLA, its student-athletes and all stakeholders to effectively manage the complex name, image and likeness landscape.
