The South Carolina Gamecocks football program overcame a major hurdle on Wednesday, but many are ahead of the finish line.
That morning, university officials announced a partnership with Altius Sports Partners, “to help the school with its NIL-related activities”. Athletics Director Ray Tanner it was asked that afternoon what impact this could have on South Carolina being included in the next college video game released by EA Sports.
“I don’t know exactly how all of this is going to go, but it is possible that these things will come on the scene,” said Tanner, during his monthly announcement on 107.5 The Game’s ‘Halftime Show’ with Jay Philips and Pearson Fowler.
“This is what we do not yet know, exactly how it will be defined, how the name, image and similarity will be defined, but once it is, with the help of Altius. We will move quickly in this space, to give our student-athletes the opportunity to get involved. “
This means that South Carolina will not jump on the Notre Dame, Northwestern and Tulane lines. The two schools have already announced that their teams will not be included in the next college football video game.
EA Sports recently announced that it would bring back its video game franchise, which has not been updated since Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit, which ended up resulting in $ 60 million in legal settlements.
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Tanner said during the radio show that South Carolina’s partnership with Altius was a proactive move for Gamecocks student athletes.
“The important thing here is that we are not trying to catch up,” said Tanner. “Our team has to be polite. You have to be complacent, you have coaches.
“You have all of us who have to understand exactly what this means and give our student-athletes all the information they need, just as we all have to understand exactly what the guardrails can be and what the plan is. “
In the South Carolina statement, ASP CEO Casey Schwab said: “This new partnership offers Altius the opportunity to work in collaboration with one of the country’s leading athletic programs in a unique approach to NIL and student education. Building on the experience of ASP and the University of South Carolina’s strong position as a sports and educational institution, student-athletes at Columbia will be able to fully embrace the possibilities and challenges surrounding the NIL. “