Wake Forest’s partnership with Opendorse is key for its “STRIDE” program to help student-athletes with NIL education and performance tools, with emphasis on personal brand building with social media.
Following Monday’s announcement detailing Wake Forest Athletics “STRIDE” initiative, Athletics has partnered with Opendorse and the Ready program and to help its student-athletes build their individual brands. Having provided thousands of professional athletes and sports organizations with NIL endorsement management technology and resources since 2012, Opendorse is bringing its proven technology solutions to prepare all of the student-athletes at Wake Forest University for the coming changes to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights.
“All of our student-athletes have their own personal and dynamic stories — and, they are an important piece of our University community,” Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie said. “Opendorse is a one-of-a-kind company that will assist our staff and educate our student-athletes as we continue to provide a World Class Student-Athlete Experience for our current and future Demon Deacons.”
The best resources and tools start with our partnership with @opendorse. This platform allows @WakeForest Athletics to provide true opportunities for student-athletes to increase their engagement on social platforms and grow their brands.
— Wake Forest Sports (@DemonDeacons) October 13, 2020
📰: https://t.co/6T2j5SVoqj#GoDeacs 🎩 pic.twitter.com/pHIq4nLwxR
“While some look at coming changes to NIL rights as a challenge to overcome, schools like Wake Forest see the opportunity this presents to student-athletes and its athletics programs,” said Blake Lawrence, Opendorse CEO. “Make no mistake – change is coming – and the programs that prepare now will put themselves in position to win down the road. With this forward-thinking leadership and its storied history of producing marketable athletes, I have no doubt that Wake is ready to become a leader in the NIL era.”
“Opendorse is bringing its proven technology solutions to prepare all of the student-athletes at Wake Forest University for the coming changes to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights.”
– Wake Forest Director of Athletics John Currie
With Opendorse Ready, the NIL readiness program, Wake Forest gets full access to the social media publishing platform, while also receiving student-athlete assessment, education, and performance solutions built specifically to prepare the players and program for the future of college athletics.
Unique Aspects of Opendorse Ready:
- Assessments:
- Opendose will provide each student-athlete with an in-depth analysis of ‘social media health,’ featuring personalized insights and valuation of their social media Name, Image, and Likeness.
- Coaches can pull social Report Cards for student-athletes and prospects, which can be used to educate on how to improve social media presence, and increase fair market value to drive increased revenue from their NIL when permissible.
- Education:
- From benchmarks to personal planning, student-athletes receive ongoing education emphasizing the opportunity and the next steps in the process for maximizing the value of their NIL rights.
- Performance:
- Opendorse provides performance tools to put personal insights and education into practice. One-tap social publishing and real-time analytics are used by athletes alongside Wake Forest Guides with proven experience delivering high-performing social campaigns.
Along with key partnerships with third-party companies that come with this deal, Wake Forest Athletics will have its messaging and content improve across all of its platforms through this relationship.
