Gov. Youngkin signs NIL bill bringing college athletics in the Commonwealth up to speed

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Governor Youngkin signed an amended version of the Name, Imagine, and Likeness (NIL) bill into law this week. It will essentially streamline how N-I-L will operate in the Commonwealth.

House Bill 1505 was sponsored by Republican Delegate Terry Austin. It does three main things.

First, it will prohibit organizations with authority over college athletics, for example the ACC, from preventing universities and athletes from using NIL agreements.

Second, it will require schools to have policies in place to oversee the compensation athlete’s get.

Third, it will allow colleges to team up with outside businesses and companies to promote student athletes, having them compensated for using their NIL.

NIL was discussed at the recent Virginia Tech Board of Visitors meeting. Some board members say NIL deals for Hokie athletes are a major driver of the school’s athletics program and they want to see it come under one roof.

“The reason we’re doing this is we want on Sunday evenings, when you watch NFL football, we want to put our student athletes and our universities in the same postures as some of the other conferences like the SEC, the Big 12 and the Big 10, who are now recruiting student athletes from Virginia, when they entered the transfer portal to come play at their universities, said Delegate Terry Austin. “We’re losing really good athletes because of the lack of ability to compensate through NIL.”

The bill was scheduled to take effect in November, but Governor Youngkin amended it to start July 1st.

Copyright 2024 WDBJ. All rights reserved.