Sanford Sports Academy uses NIL partnerships to benefit athletes
Posted: April 18, 2025
Name Image and Likeness, more commonly known as NIL, refers to the NCAA policy that allows college athletes to make a profit off their name through endorsements, autograph signings and other promotional opportunities.
NIL has changed the landscape of college sports and forced athletic departments and coaching staffs to adapt as they find ways to provide NIL opportunities for athletes.
Some of these promotional opportunities have paved the way for Sanford Sports Academy to bring in college athletes to headline events.
“It’s allowed us to open some doors to help the athletes that have been in our programs in the past,” Freddy Coleman, the Sanford Sports Academy basketball manager, said. “At the same time, it’s allowed those athletes to give back.”
Making new connections
One of those opened doors was a Holiday Hoops Camp that featured members of the men’s basketball teams from South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota. All eight players at the camp competed at the high school level in South Dakota and all of them played on local club teams like Sanford Sports Academy.
“It was a unique opportunity for the young athletes to be around those college players, a lot of them they’ve cheered on and admired from afar,” Nate Kaeding, a Sanford Sports Academy Supervisor, said. “It was a really cool experience.”
The Holiday Hoops Camp gave Sanford Sports Academy athletes an opportunity to learn first-hand from athletes who were once in their shoes.
“There have been a lot of kids in our program who have gone on to play college basketball,” Coleman said. “They come to give back to the young kids, which is really cool because they do look up to them. For those kids to get to interact with them leaves a lasting impression.”
Playing it forward
NIL partnerships with former Academy athletes puts some money in their pockets while giving them an opportunity to teach the younger generation.
“The biggest thing is giving back to the community,” Coleman said. “For them to come back and be a part of that is really special.”
A dream for a lot of young athletes is to play at the collegiate level. These NIL events have allowed them to see that those dreams are closer to reality than they may realize.
“When they are able to interact with college players in a building that a lot of these kids come to weekly, it makes those goals and dreams closer, like they can really come to fruition through hard work,” Kaeding said.
Along with basketball events like the Holiday Hoops Camp, Sanford Sports Academy has put on baseball camps and football camps with former Academy athletes and will continue to incorporate these opportunities for all Academy sports.
“It’s been a win-win for all of us,” Coleman said.
