WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – One of the leaders in student-athlete brand management, Purdue Athletics has teamed with the Krannert School of Management and industry leader INFLCR to launch college athletics' most-influential brand management portfolio to date, bringing all of its student-athlete development programs under one unified umbrella.
EMPOWER is a comprehensive approach to student-athlete development through education, entrusting them with resources, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Purdue's toolkit for its Boilermakers has become even more valuable, as the NCAA announced that student-athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday, July 1.
"As we continue to modernize the college athletics experience, it's important that we educate and support our student-athletes on all aspects of Name, Image and Likeness," said Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski. "My hope is that our comprehensive EMPOWER student-athlete development platform will provide tools and resources that will benefit our student-athletes in tangible ways during their time with us at Purdue, but will also serve as a springboard to success when transitioning to the next chapter of their personal and professional lives."
EMPOWER is a commitment to preparing Boilermaker student-athlete to find their authentic self and develop their personal brand, while being empowered by numerous educational opportunities provided by the student-athlete development staff and our partnership with INFLCR. Student-athletes are also entrusted with professional resources (e.g., interview preparation, internship opportunities, financial literacy, etc.) and world class creative content (e.g., photos, videos, graphics, etc.). Purdue University has a rich history of producing trailblazers and entrepreneurs and is a place where aspiring leaders are encouraged to grow. For those student-athletes with the ability and desire to do more, Purdue University has the education and resources in place to empower entrepreneurship on a grand scale.
"The goal is to develop the most well-rounded student-athletes in the country and help student-athletes realize their platform and capabilities while being part of a prestigious, Power-Five institution," said Peyton Stovall, Purdue Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development.
The new program will allow Purdue Athletics, in conjunction with Purdue University, to help grow student's brands by empowering the individuals to build their authentic brand.
The education portion will focus on social media and branding, while continuing to enhance the EMPOWER platform through opportunities for leadership, community engagement, career advancement and professional development.
The entrust platform will grant students access to INFLCR's programs and features as well as providing national exposure. INFLCR will provide its services to help student-athletes serve as storytellers, to build and expand their brand and to enable them to share using their authentic voice.
The last portion of the Empower program is entrepreneurship, which will help students become campus innovators and entrepreneurs through promotion of their personal brand.
The cornerstone of the new initiative is the three-credit class being offered by the Krannert School of Management: Optimizing Personal Brand and Image. The first of its kind course is open to all Purdue students and will be taught by senior-level Purdue faculty and staff as well as alumni who are experts in the field.
"We're thrilled to be a part of this brand management initiative," said David Hummels, Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School. "Many of our most successful alumni have been student-athletes at Purdue, making this partnership a natural fit for the school. With a focus on personal branding, social and digital media strategies, financial literacy and philanthropy, the course we've developed will prepare students to cultivate, maximize and monetize their personal brands, giving them an advantage over their peers."
It all becomes tied in with the help of INFLCR, America's leader in helping student-athletes build their brand. INFLCR provides student-athletes the power to share their stories by providing custom content, brand strategy education and data analytics to track their growth.
EMPOWER is a comprehensive approach to student-athlete development through education, entrusting them with resources, and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Purdue's toolkit for its Boilermakers has become even more valuable, as the NCAA announced that student-athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday, July 1.
"As we continue to modernize the college athletics experience, it's important that we educate and support our student-athletes on all aspects of Name, Image and Likeness," said Director of Athletics Mike Bobinski. "My hope is that our comprehensive EMPOWER student-athlete development platform will provide tools and resources that will benefit our student-athletes in tangible ways during their time with us at Purdue, but will also serve as a springboard to success when transitioning to the next chapter of their personal and professional lives."
EMPOWER is a commitment to preparing Boilermaker student-athlete to find their authentic self and develop their personal brand, while being empowered by numerous educational opportunities provided by the student-athlete development staff and our partnership with INFLCR. Student-athletes are also entrusted with professional resources (e.g., interview preparation, internship opportunities, financial literacy, etc.) and world class creative content (e.g., photos, videos, graphics, etc.). Purdue University has a rich history of producing trailblazers and entrepreneurs and is a place where aspiring leaders are encouraged to grow. For those student-athletes with the ability and desire to do more, Purdue University has the education and resources in place to empower entrepreneurship on a grand scale.
"The goal is to develop the most well-rounded student-athletes in the country and help student-athletes realize their platform and capabilities while being part of a prestigious, Power-Five institution," said Peyton Stovall, Purdue Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Development.
The new program will allow Purdue Athletics, in conjunction with Purdue University, to help grow student's brands by empowering the individuals to build their authentic brand.
The education portion will focus on social media and branding, while continuing to enhance the EMPOWER platform through opportunities for leadership, community engagement, career advancement and professional development.
The entrust platform will grant students access to INFLCR's programs and features as well as providing national exposure. INFLCR will provide its services to help student-athletes serve as storytellers, to build and expand their brand and to enable them to share using their authentic voice.
The last portion of the Empower program is entrepreneurship, which will help students become campus innovators and entrepreneurs through promotion of their personal brand.
The cornerstone of the new initiative is the three-credit class being offered by the Krannert School of Management: Optimizing Personal Brand and Image. The first of its kind course is open to all Purdue students and will be taught by senior-level Purdue faculty and staff as well as alumni who are experts in the field.
"We're thrilled to be a part of this brand management initiative," said David Hummels, Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Krannert School. "Many of our most successful alumni have been student-athletes at Purdue, making this partnership a natural fit for the school. With a focus on personal branding, social and digital media strategies, financial literacy and philanthropy, the course we've developed will prepare students to cultivate, maximize and monetize their personal brands, giving them an advantage over their peers."
It all becomes tied in with the help of INFLCR, America's leader in helping student-athletes build their brand. INFLCR provides student-athletes the power to share their stories by providing custom content, brand strategy education and data analytics to track their growth.
"Purdue Athletics is not only investing in creating dynamic content and providing it to student-athletes, but also doing everything they can to educate them on how to use content to build a brand that's going to last well after sports have ended. It aligns so centrally with the original mission of INFLCR to serve storytellers and to help athletes make the most of all the opportunities that sports bring," said INFLCR CEO Jim Cavale.
"Purdue also has a compliance team that understands the marketing and brand aspects of name, image, and likeness. Because of that, they were instrumental in helping us create the INFLCR Verified product suite, which educates student-athletes on opportunities they can access to monetize their NIL, along with automating reporting so that Purdue can oversee and keep student-athletes safe in NIL transactions. Purdue's forward-thinking approach has helped build something we're really excited to be launching with our partners, and we can't wait to continue working with them as we roll out EMPOWER," added Cavale.
"We believe in empowering our student-athletes so they are positioned for success. We also have a track record of fighting for student-athletes to pursue their passions as it relates to NIL. EMPOWER is just the next evolution in what we can offer Boilermakers for their student-athlete experience," said Tom Mitchell, Purdue Associate Athletic Director for Compliance.