Michigan AD Warde Manuel: NIL Is 'Progressing Well, Albeit Slowly'

New NCAA rules went into affect July 1 that allow student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL), something that has completely changed the college sports landscape.

The Michigan athletic department has said from the beginning that they support and are fully embracing the new legislation, and athletic director Warde Manuel provided an update while joining Jon Jansen on his 'Conqu'ring Heroes' podcast.

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Recently, Michigan basketball All-American center Hunter Dickinson, while appearing on the 'Go Blue With Stu' podcast, hosted by former U-M guard Stu Douglass, shared some frustration with how the university is handling NIL. In particular, he pointed out how Michigan has not yet allowed its athletes to use the university's trademarks in their own deals, something few schools across the country have permissed to this point.

"We talk about that kind of stuff, seeing what we can and can't do," Dickinson said, revealing that team members discuss NIL on a regular basis. "Michigan's not the most free of the universities, they're kind of being a little restrictive of what we can and can't do.

"We can't use the Block 'M' for some reason. You'd think if you play for the university and make money for them, they would at least let you use their logo and stuff. But they're being hard right now, they're trying to be like the NCAA and hold us back a little bit."

While many have viewed NIL through the lense of the athletes, Manuel pointed out that Michigan also has to look out for itself when it comes to things like allowing players to use its trademarks.

“Early on, I welcomed name, image and likeness, but I also said there would be a balance that would be necessary," Manuel told Jansen. "This is 200 years-plus the University of Michigan has been around, and this Block 'M' has been around for much of that as a representation and a symbol of Michigan. It is not something that is just something that we give away. We try to make sure that we respect it and make sure others who use it respect it and give us the licensing fees that that are warranted, just like every other university.

"We’re not vastly different, though our brand is much stronger, right? It’s a very strong brand, so it needs to be balanced."

Manuel made it abundantly clear, though, that he's in full support of his athletes profiting and that the department is continuing to look at ways to provide education for players.

"I want our student-athletes to, if they can write a book, write an app, do social media and get paid, do commercials using their name and get paid — I’m very much welcoming that," he said. "Like some of our Olympians will get paid because they have for some of their countries, including the US, if they win a medal, they get a certain amount of money, and that’s great.

"For me, I think it's progressing well, albeit slowly. We're educating our student-athletes now as they get back. We did some over the summer, but it was July and hard for our kids to always connect with everything that they have going on. We are in talks with several companies about coming in as a partner to help manage it. Right now, we will keep talking to our student-athletes and keep trying to make sure that we are supportive. But again, that there's balance between the supporting them and also making sure that we protect everything about Michigan in our logos.”

Recent reports have revealed that the Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12 have engaged in discussions surrounding a potential scheduling alliance for football (and other sports), with the goal to create more marquee matchups and, in turn, rake in more money. That news came on the heels of Oklahoma and Texas announcing its eventual departure from the Big 12 and admittance into the SEC.

Manuel is in full support of a partnership with the two leagues.

“It has been great conversations between the commissioners," Manuel said. [Big Ten] commissioner [Kevin] Warren has done a great job in talking with the Pac-12 commissioner and the ACC commissioner. I don't have anything to share other than, in general, I'm excited about that potential in what it would bring in and under the leadership of Kevin Warren I just think he made the right decision to have that conversation.

"It's not just about games. We have a lot in common with the Pac-12 schools and ACC schools. It’s about being like institutions, looking at governance, how we think about those kind of things have traditionally been the same. There are a lot of great colleagues I have an SEC, this is not down on them, but given some of the movement that occurred, I think this is the right decision to be made to have that conversation amongst the three of us and to really form this alliance that sort of thinks about things on a more consistent basis than just waiting for our annual NCAA meeting.

"And if that turns out to be great games and great schedules in football and basketball and Olympic sports, I love it. I think it's great for sports.”

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