Athlete Branding Presentations

High schools and colleges want what’s best for their student-athletes. As name, image and likeness opportunities continue to emerge for student-athletes at all levels, education is the most important part of building a successful athlete brand.  

On August 1, 2025, it became mandatory for every NCAA Division I member institution  to provide annual education to their athletic staff, including head coaches. The education can come in the form of a meetings or presentation about NIL. 

Bylaw 16.3.1.2 which is endorsed by the Division I Transformation Committee also mandates that colleges and universities will have to provide proof that their coaches completed the educational process by November 6, 2026.

At Pliable we provide education for colleges to educate and empower student-athletes about athlete branding, including advocating for the skills and tools they need to build their brand, during and after their playing career. If athletes are missing these skills and don’t represent themselves in the best light, it impacts the athlete and their school.

Pliable works directly with athletic directors, senior associate athletic directors, sports administration and marketing and communications staff across the country to create presentations for student-athletes about the important things they need to know BEFORE they start building their brand. 

In many cases, students need to understand the power of their voice and the impact their social media accounts can have positively or negatively on their future. High school and college administrators who recognize content that athletes produce, including social media, media interviews and during community appearances is a reflection of the school. All these opportunities are brand impressions for the athlete and for the high school or college. If an athlete is showcasing the positives aspects of their education, that creates a win-win situation for the athlete and the school.

In educational presentations from Pliable we discuss:

• The major rules with NIL
• How NIL is impacting recruiting
• The role of social media etiquette and best practices 
• Athlete access and sports betting
• An athlete's brand story vs. the college athlete's bio page
• How to use an athlete's brand for future employment opportunities
• Efficient content development
• Message map development for talking points with media and other target audiences
• Showcasing the positive aspects of the athlete's educational opportunities, sports facilities, and more.
• Design advice for an athlete's logo and website
• Tips for working with the media and controlling your message
• The importance of images and video and what athletes need to know about copyright materials

The cost for the educational presenation range from $500-$2,500 depending on several variables, including the audience size, location, and travel time.

Social media isn’t going away and it’s hard to keep up with all the latest platforms and monitor it all. Students will post what they are going to post. Some schools see this as a big concern, but others understand the value of educating the athletes and empowering them to be great brand ambassadors for the school. This is where there is a big opportunity for your program to educate your athletes the right way, something a lot of schools have not realized yet.

Need proof? Here’s a quote from Rand Pecknold, head men’s ice hockey coach at Quinnipiac University who appeared on the Athlete Brand Advisor Podcast. He shared this advice for student-athletes:

“Be careful what you post, it’s going to follow you around forever. Coaches are going to look at that. We look at that when we recruit kids, we want to look at their social media and we’ve actually crossed a few kids off our list when we don’t like their social media content.”

Athlete branding goes far beyond just social media. It includes the information and brand impressions they make with their biography, media interviews, website content, branding partnerships and so much more.