S2|E2: Athletes as Students | Sport, Studies & Name, Image, Likeness (NIL)

Featuring:

• Ainsley McAllister [Founder/CEO, URU; former University of Michigan student/athlete; retired professional athlete - Field Hockey]

• Sydni Scott [Current Columbia University student/athlete, track and field]

• McCall Hall [University of Southern California [USC], Director, Community Outreach - USC Athletics]

• Moderator Frederick Marx [“Hoop Dreams” Oscar and Emmy nominated filmmaker/director/writer, chronicling student-athlete dreams in basketball]

As shared by the Western Center on Law & Poverty - “While the idea that athletes with scholarships are getting the opportunity of a lifetime through their college education has marketing appeal, the fact of the matter is that athletes in the highest profile, most lucrative, and most demanding sports — football and men’s basketball — are the least likely to realize that benefit. According to 2012 federal graduation rate information, only 47 percent of NCAA Division I men’s basketball players and 57 percent of football players graduate within six years.”

But what about athletes as students? Most former college athletes say that being part of a team helped prepare them for life after college. For the vast majority, a career as a professional athlete will not happen. So what is next? And how do colleges with athletics make a commitment to life-after-sports?

Our panel discusses their experiences as student-athletes, student-athlete advocates and how they are using their voice to increase conversations around the role of schools to support athletes and athletes to prioritize school.