Game Changers: University of Cincinnati Female Athletes Sign 500 NIL Deals at 'In Her Likeness' Event

Announcements of student-athlete NIL deals is commonplace in today’s headlines, but what about the signing of 500 NIL deals in one night? At the University of Cincinnati, 500 NIL deals totaling more than $35,000 were awarded to female student-athletes during the ‘In Her Likeness’ event.

The ‘In Her Likeness’ event celebrated its third year last week and reached new milestone totals for NIL awards. Sponsored by Robinhood Markets, the event not only provided NIL opportunities for female student-athletes, but it also included lessons in personal finance and workshops for smart money management.

According to Go Bearcats, “the event celebrated the individuality of female athletes, providing best practices and tools for branding, while empowering them to tell their own stories.”

Guest speakers at ‘In Her Likeness’ included Altius Sports Partners’ Sierra Hassel and Mackenzie Rastello, Meas Actives’ Erin Roddy and Robinhood Markets’ Sara Chima. They gave presentations on women in business, maximizing NIL opportunities, branding, and financial success.

Following the presentations and seminars, student-athletes had a chance to network and create content for their personal brands. 

This year’s $35,000 award total was an increase of more than $15,000 from 2024’s NIL award total. 

The student-athletes who participated in ‘In Her Likeness’ walked away with new NIL deals and great things to say about the opportunities that the University of Cincinnati gave them. Joliegh Crye, a swimmer at the university, told WLWT News, “Being a swimmer is one thing but being able to share your story with everyone else on your social media and networking, I feel like I know who I am through NIL.”

Volleyball player Caroline Endres said, “NIL has given me more opportunities to network for myself, for internships and for jobs, even post-graduation.”

University leadership echoed the students’ excitement. “It means the world to me to be able to empower my female athletes to grow their brands better,” said Eddie Taylor, director of NIL innovation at the University of Cincinnati.