Indiana Athletics announced Friday afternoon the addition of a name, image, and likeness merchandising program that will allow student-athletes to design and sell personalized apparel.
Indiana will partner with NIL Store, a company powered by Campus Ink, to open a store in fall 2022. The store will feature a “personalized digital locker room” for each student-athlete working with NIL Store and “officially licensed shirseys and apparel,” according to an IU release.
"Campus Ink is the national leader in the NIL merchandise space, making them a perfect fit for our student-athletes," Scott Dolson, IU Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, said. "I am excited for what this means not only for our students' ability to maximize their NIL opportunities, but also for our fans who will have first-of-its-kind opportunities."
Campus Ink will work directly with Indiana student-athletes to help them understand the marketing and sales trends needed to capitalize on their name, image and likeness. The company will also take charge of aspects of the collaboration such as design, customer service and production.
"We are proud to work with Indiana University to provide an NIL merchandising solution for their student-athletes," Steven Farag, CEO and co-founder of Campus Ink, said. "Indiana's vision of an NIL merchandising solution for all athletes, not just some, aligns directly with Campus Ink's mission in the NIL space."
Campus Ink, which is headquartered in Chicago, partnered with the University of Illinois in 2021 to create merchandising locations in which student-athletes were the primary benefactors. The Illini Store opened as a pop-up shop in Lincoln Park, Illinois on March 14, 2021, and has since expanded to include student-athletes’ name, image and likeness. The Illini Store NIL Locker Room opened additional locations in Lincoln Park and The Lab, located on Illinois’ campus in Champaign, during March Madness 2022.
Details of a potential location in Bloomington have not been released, but athletes’ merchandise will be sold online starting in fall 2022.
"I'm really excited that the leading NIL company, Campus Ink, and the best university on the planet, my alma mater, Indiana University, are working together," Mark Cuban, NIL Store investor and IU alum, said. "The sky is the limit!”
