Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of stories that explores the impact of NIL in college sports as it approaches its one-year anniversary. Previous installments can be found on our website.
Twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder started playing college basketball in 2019, after successful prep careers in Gilbert, Arizona.
In their first seasons at Fresno State, Hanna earned accolades as Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, while Haley twice landed on the All-MWC player list.
In April, however, they both announced they were transferring to Miami (Florida).
“We wanted to have the best opportunity to get to the (NCAA) tournament,” Hanna Cavinder said in a statement about the transfer. “Miami stood out to us because of the vision Coach Katie (Meier) has with her staff. The leadership is everything we wanted, and what the team accomplished this past year is something we were looking for, and we can’t wait to be a part of that (next year).”
While the Cavinder twins boast impressive resumes on the basketball court, their social media footprint is equally impressive. They have a joint Tiktok account that is followed by four million people. To date, their posts on the social media platform have received 102 million likes. Hanna Cavinder’s Instagram account has more than 410,000 followers, while more than 411,000 people follow Haley Cavinder’s Instagram account.
In the world of Name, Image and Likeness, a robust social media following translates to earning potential.
According to an April 2021 article by Front Office Sports, the twins’ “estimated earnings are close to $1 million.”
Professional wrestling’s World Wrestling Entertainment last December signed the twins, and Champs, Eastbay and Six Star Nutrition count among the companies that have partnered with them since NIL took effect last July.
The twins took their NIL efforts to an even larger platform last year, as they co-founded Baseline Team Sportswear, an apparel company that produces “fashion that was also functional.” As co-founders, according to Forbes, the sisters will not only own 25% of Baseline Team Sportswear, they’ll also occupy one seat on the board of directors.
According to a study from Opendorse, a sports marketing company that tracks social media monetization, women’s basketball brought in the second largest amount of NIL revenue from July 2021 to the end of February 2022, accounting for 18.5% of NIL compensation.
Football was the top-earning sport during that span.
Ohio athletic director Julie Cromer, a member of the NCAA Division I Transformation Committee, said the opportunities for female athletes to leverage social media for monetary gain and exposure could have a profound impact on the popularity of women’s college sports.
“Not only does it provide entrepreneurial opportunities for young people that did not exist before, but it also provides an opportunity for other sports that have been in the dialogue recently, around gender equity, for championship exposure issues,” Cromer said. “The opportunities for digital media and the digital revenue landscape provide for those student-athletes for other sports are meaningful.”
SUCCESS AT INDIANA
At Indiana, the success of the women’s basketball team under head coach Teri Moren has created NIL opportunities for its players. IU has recorded seven straight 20-win seasons, reaching the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight in 2021 and Sweet 16 in 2022. Last season, IU played before an average attendance of 4,725 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Former IU All-Big Ten point guard Ali Patberg held basketball camps last fall in Bloomington, Indiana, and Columbus, Indiana, with 70 girls signing up for the Bloomington camp, according to event organizer Brandon Paquin.
Returning IU women’s basketball All-Big Ten standouts Grace Berger and Mackenzie Holmes have taken advantage of NIL opportunities as well. Berger signed a podcast deal with an IU fan website and endorsed local restaurants. She’s also involved in the Hoosiers for Good program, an IU collective that compensates athletes for appearances at charitable events, and Campus Ink, which offers revenue opportunities for IU athletes for apparel.
“It just shows — obviously not just us but companies, too — that there’s a lot of value in working with not just female basketball players but female athletes in general,” Berger said. “Because I think a lot of times you might think, especially at a place like Indiana, the value is kind of working with the male basketball players.
“But I think just seeing the trend on social media, where we do have a big following, every person on our team has fans and has fans of the program, I think companies are starting to see that, and we’re benefitting from that for sure.”
Holmes described her experience with NIL as learning more about the marketplace. She said IU has done a good job advising her to choose offers that are legitimate and positive for her brand.
“We’ve been fighting to get this NIL agreement for so long, but I still think they are navigating it,” Holmes said. “I don’t think anyone has thought about, ‘OK where are the parameters? What do these people need to do? Are these 18- and 19-year-olds ready to file taxes? Are they going to be responsible with their money? Are they going to accept partnerships from responsible companies, companies that align with their beliefs?’”
Holmes said her favorite NIL experience so far has been working with Indiana Wish, a charity that offers life-changing wishes for children with illnesses, in the Hoosiers for Good Collective.
“What they are doing with athletes, it’s really cool and it’s important,” Holmes said. “It’s something we would be doing anyway.”
Another challenge, Holmes said, is balancing time between NIL responsibilities, schoolwork and playing basketball.
“You obviously have to follow through,” Holmes said. “You sign a contract so you have to follow through with what you signed up for. So I think taking that responsibility and that ownership is very important.”
IMPACT AT PENN STATE
Penn State women’s basketball player Anna Camden emerged last year as one of the leading voices of NIL at her school. Camden and other Penn State student-athletes joined Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf last July, when Wolf visited Penn State to speak about NIL.
She remains engaged in the NIL discussions and was among several Penn State student-athletes who traveled to Atlanta earlier this month to attend the NIL Summit.
In March, Camden became the first Penn State student-athlete to partner with State College restaurant Roots Natural Kitchen for the restaurant’s first athlete-inspired creation named The Camden Bowl. The healthy dish includes rice, kale, avocados, grilled chicken, feta cheese and pita chips.
“NIL has changed my life completely, and I think it’s important to me that everyone is aware and educated on how much it can make a difference in athletes’ lives,” Camden said earlier this year at the Penn State Sports Business Conference. “There’s so much to learn. There’s so many layers to unpack. I’m learning so much every day. … The more conversations we can have about it, the better it’s going to be.”
