EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (www.blugolds.com) - The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Athletic department has partnered with Opendorse to empower Blugold student-athletes to capitalize on their own name, image and likeness (NIL). UWEC is among 100+ programs nationwide to provide a single marketplace to send supporters to access student-athletes and offer compliant opportunities – the first Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) school to do so.

"As the Director of Athletics at UW-Eau Claire, I am absolutely thrilled to announce our dynamic partnership with Opendorse," said UWEC AD Jason Verdugo. "This collaboration is a game changer for our student-athletes, opening up incredible opportunities for them to shine in the NIL landscape. We are beyond excited to join forces with Opendorse, empowering our Blugold athletes to maximize their potential and achieve unparalleled excellence."

Through an online hub and mobile app, Opendorse provides the technology and services to cover student-athletes and staff with compliance, content and educational tools that will be used in the developing NIL landscape. The partnership will ensure student-athlete eligibility by enabling student-athletes to disclose any NIL deals with the UW-Eau Claire Athletic compliance office.

"We're thrilled to team up with UW-Eau Claire as our first partner in the WIAC," said Opendorse President of College Operations Blake Lawrence. "It's exciting to expand our footprint D-III level; there is real opportunity for athletes to achieve NIL success at all levels of college sports, and we're proud to support UWEC in their pursuit of excellence."

Why Opendorse

• Opendorse is the leading athlete marketplace and NIL company, providing technology and services to the athlete endorsement industry. More than 130,000 athletes use Opendorse to build and monetize their name, image, and likeness with support from hundreds of colleges and thousands of brands, fans, donors, and partners including Team USA, LEARFIELD, Keller Williams, and more.
• Opendorse maximizes NIL opportunities for student-athletes, while delivering security and simplicity for all involved parties.
• The Opendorse-powered marketplace is built on a decade of athlete marketing technology and experience. Opendorse has facilitated hundreds of thousands of NIL deals and endorsements with athletes at every level of sports. The marketplace is used by over 130,000 athletes to manage deals from pitch to payment, and even tax prep, every day.

Student-Athlete experience

• In addition to industry-leading NIL content, compliance and education solutions, every UW-Eau Claire athlete will receive an Opendorse profile, which they can customize and promote to fans on their personal social media channels.
• Athletes review opportunities, receive deals, accept compensation, and disclose NIL activities to their institution, all within the Opendorse app.

Fan, brand, sponsor experience

• As part of the partnership, UW-Eau Claire will receive a branded marketplace. UWEC fans, brands, sponsors and donors will be able to browse, book, pitch and pay any Blugold student-athlete for NIL activities in one compliant platform, built specifically for the athletes' needs.
• The marketplace promises to mobilize the fan base and local organizations to best-support its student-athletes.

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