The Shipyard NIL Program
 
PORTLAND, Ore. — Work is happening at The Shipyard. With a focus on education, Portland State Athletics will step into the Name, Image & Likeness (NIL) space this year with a variety of programs aimed to further student-athletes' understanding of the new rules and the skills that come with it.
 
"After the first year of NIL, the major feedback we heard from our own student-athletes as well as nationally was that the NIL space was overwhelming and confusing," Portland State Assistant Media Relations Director Andy Jobanek said. "The Shipyard NIL program at Portland State aims to make things clearer and easier for our student-athletes to navigate NIL and ultimately build towards their future careers by taking advantage of the opportunities NIL affords them."
 
Professional and skill development will take center focus within The Shipyard NIL program at Portland State. A mentorship program will start next month. The mentorship program will make it so that student-athletes can meet and network with experts in fields that align with their career interests, whether those be related to NIL or not.
 
Guest speakers will also be a regular feature throughout the year. The speakers will educate student-athletes on NIL-related fields such as financial literacy/responsibility, personal branding, and leadership.
 
Additionally, student-athletes may ask questions of an NIL Advisory Board that is made up of experts in finances and legal/contracts should they need assistance throughout the year.
 
The athletic department will also deepen its relationship with affiliated companies INFLCR and FanWord. INFLCR provides student-athletes a way to report all NIL deals, as well as gives athletic department staff the ability to share photos and video from athletic events in order to help student-athletes build their brands. Portland State student-athletes also have access to the INFLCR Global Exchange where they can either receive offers or pursue deals with businesses registered on the Global Exchange.
 
FanWord, meanwhile, is a directory tool that allows student-athletes to aggregate all of their social media profiles, camp offerings, or entrepreneurial endeavors (merchandise, etc.) into one location. The Portland State student-athletes directory on FanWord is available here.
 
Community members interested in signing up to be mentors within The Shipyard Mentorship program may do so here.
 
Student-athletes interested in signing up for The Shipyard Mentorship program may do so here.
 
All other NIL-related inquires or questions may be sent to Andy Jobanek (ajobanek@pdx.edu).