Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration

Neoliberal Policy and Equity on Campus: A Comparative Administrative Study of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and College Athletics

Darrell Lovell

West Texas A&M University

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1685-8584

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v3i1.5857

Keywords: Gender equity, equity and race, name, image, and likeness (NIL), neoliberal policy, college athletics administration

---

Abstract

This research analyzes NIL policy to determine its fit within the neoliberal policy framework and assesses its intersection with equity. Systemic and administrative factors within college athletics contribute to the NIL landscape. Disparities in earning potential are a natural product of market-based policies. Earnings and valuations by race and gender show equity ramifications. A comparative analysis of NIL policies and university websites and interviews shows a shift toward the neoliberal approach, providing targeted administrative mandates while promoting market capitalism within college athletics. As a result, NIL policy’s neoliberal tendencies have a significant impact on social equity.

---

Author Biography

Darrell Lovell, West Texas A&M University

Darrell Lovell (he/him) (dlovell@wtamu.edu) is the MPA director and assistant professor of public administration at West Texas A&M University. Dr. Lovell’s research focuses on the intersection of higher education, public management, and policy implementation. He has published on faculty as street-level bureaucrats and on diffusion and implementation of NIL policy.

---

References

Alharahsheh, Husam Helmi, and Abraham Pius. 2020. “A Review of Key Paradigms: Positivism vs Interpretivism.” Global Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences 2 (1): 39–43.

Anderson, Deborah J., and John J. Cheslock. 2004. “Institutional Strategies to Achieve Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics: Does Title IX Harm Male Athletes?” American Economic Review 94 (2): 307–311. https://doi.org/10.1257/0002828041301515

Anderson, Deborah J., John J. Cheslock, and Ronald Ehrenberg. 2006. “Gender Equity in Intercollegiate Athletics: Determinants of Title IX Compliance.” Journal of Higher Education 77 (2): 225–250.

Andrews, David L. and Michael Silk. 2018. “Sport and Neoliberalism: An Affective-Ideological Articulation.” Journal of Popular Culture 51 (2): 511–533.

Anonymous Interview Participant #1 Conducted November 2022.

Anonymous Interview Participant #6 Conducted February 2023.

Anonymous Interview Participant #7 Conducted March 2023.

Anonymous Interview Participant #8 Conducted March 2023.

Blinder, Alan. 2021. “NCAA Chief, Pressured by State Laws, Pushes to Let Athletes Cash In.” New York Times. May 8. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/08/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-endorsements-mark-emmert.html

Campbell, Steve, Melanie Greenwood, Sarah Prior, Toniele Shearer, Kerrie Walkem, Sarah Young, Danielle Bywaters, and Kim Walker. 2020. “Purposive Sampling: Complex or Simple? Research Case Examples.” Journal of Research in Nursing 25 (8): 652–661. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987120927206

Chen, Chen. 2022. “Naming the Ghost of Capitalism in Sport Management.” European Sport Management Quarterly 22 (5): 663–684.

Cocco, Adam R., and Anita M. Moorman. 2022. “Untapped Potential: An Examination of Name, Image, and Likeness Earnings Estimates for Community College Athletes.” Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics 15 (1): 256–271

Collins, Tony. 2013. Sport in Capitalist Society: A Short History. Routledge.

Colvin, Roshaun, and Joshua M. Jansa. 2024. “Athletic Competition Between the States: The Rapid Spread of Name, Image, Likeness Laws and Why It Matters for Understanding Policy Diffusion.” Policy Studies Journal 52 (2): 451–468. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.12522

Comeaux, Eddie. 2015. “Innovative Research into Practice in Support Centers for College Athletes: Implications for the Academic Progress Rate Initiative.” Journal of College Student Development 56 (3): 274–279. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2015.0029

Connell, Raewyn. 2010. “Understanding Neoliberalism.” In Neoliberalism and Everyday Life, edited by Susan Braedley and Meg Luxton, 22–36. McGill-Queen’s Press.

Connell, Raewyn. 2013. “The Neoliberal Cascade and Education: An Essay on the Market Agenda and Its Consequences.” Critical Studies in Education 54 (2): 99–112.

Dion, Douglas. 1998. “Evidence and Inference in the Comparative Case Study.” Comparative Politics 30 (2): 127–146.

Druckman, James N. and Elizabeth A. Sharrow. 2023. Equality Unfulfilled: How Title IX’s Policy Design Undermines Change to College Sports. Cambridge University Press.

Etikan, Illker, Sulaiman Musa, and Rukayya Alkassim. 2016. “Comparison of Convenience Sampling and Purposive Sampling.” American Journal of Theoretical and Applied Statistics 5 (1): 1–4.

Evans, Michelle and Hillary J. Knepper. 2023. “Women’s Sports and Public Administration: Intertwined Paths to Social Equity.” Administrative Theory & Praxis 46 (4): 383–404. https://doi.org/10.1080/10841806.2023.2282920

Friedman, Milton. 1955. “The Role of Government in Education.” Economics and the Public Interest 2 (2): 85–107.

Gayles, Joy, Eddie Comeaux, Ezinne Ofoegbu, and Sara Grummert. 2018. “Neoliberal Capitalism and Racism in College Athletics: Critical Approaches for Supporting Student-Athletes.” New Directions for Student Services 163: 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1002/ss.20266

Georgia Tech University. Georgia Tech Athletics NIL Guidelines, accessed March 26, 2023. https://ramblinwreck.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/GT-NIL-Policy-7.8.2021.pdf

Gwartz, Evan, and Kirsty Spence. 2020. “Conscious Capitalism and Sport: Exploring Higher Purpose in A Professional Sport Organization.” Sport Management Review 23 (4): 750–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smr.2019.09.002

Harvey, David. 2005. A Brief History of Neoliberalism. Oxford University Press.

Hayek, Friedrich. 1973. Economic Freedom and Representative Government. Wincott Foundation.

House v. NCAA. 545 F. Supp. 3d 804 (N.D. Cal. 2021)

Jayakumar, Uma, and Eddie Comeaux. 2016. “The Cultural Cover-Up of College Athletics: How Organizational Culture Perpetuates an Unrealistic and Idealized Balancing Act.” Journal of Higher Education 87 (4): 488–515. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2016.0022

Jessop, Alice, and Joe Sabin. 2021. “The Sky Is Not Falling: Why Name, Image, and Likeness Legislation Does Not Violate Title IX and Could Narrow the Publicity Gap Between Men’s Sport and Women’s Sport Athletes.” Journal of Legal Aspects of Sport 31 (2): 253–288. https://doi.org/10.18060/25602

Johnson v. NCAA. Civil Action 19-5230 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 28, 2021)

Kasdan, David Oliver. 2019. “Nudging the Neoliberal Agenda: Administrative Opportunities in the Deregulated State.” Public Administration Review 79 (3): 439–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.13045

Kennedy, Margaret, and Martin J. Power. 2010. “The Smokescreen of Meritocracy: Elite Education in Ireland and the Reproduction of Class Privilege.” Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies 8 (2): 223–248.

Kreitzer, Rebecca J., and Candis Watts Smith. 2018. “Reproducible and Replicable: An Empirical Assessment of the Social Construction of Politically Relevant Target Groups.” PS: Political Science and Politics 51 (4): 768–774. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049096518000987

Lee, Young-joo, and Doyeon Won. 2016. “Applying Representative Bureaucracy Theory to Academia: Representation of Women in Faculty and Administration and Title IX Compliance in Intercollegiate Athletics.” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 9 (4): 323–338. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0039727

Lovell, Darrell, and Daniel J. Mallinson. 2023. Name, Image, and Likeness Policies: Institutional Impacts and States Responses. Routledge.

Mississippi State University. Name, Image and Likeness for Business, accessed March 26, 2023. https://hailstate.com/feature/nil

Murphy, Dan. 2023. “What to Expect for NIL, Title IX with Proposed NCAA Rule Changes.” ESPN.com, December 6. https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/39056505/ncaa-rule-changes-nil-payingathletes-title-ix-charlie-baker-faq

NCAA.org. 2023. “DI Board Approves Clarifications for Interim NIL Policy,” accessed March 27, 2023. https://www.ncaa.org/news/2022/10/26/mediacenter-di-board-approves-clarifications-for-interim-nil-policy.aspx

North Carolina State University. 2023. “Alpha—Name, Image and Likeness Program,” accessed March 26, 2023. https://gopack.com/sports/2022/8/2/alpha-nameimage-likeness-program.aspx

On3.com. 2023. “College Football NIL Rankings,” accessed March 22, 2023. https://www.on3.com/nil/rankings/player/college/football/

Opendorse.com. 2022. NIL Data Center, accessed November 21, 2022. https://biz.opendorse.com/

Opendorse.com. 2023. “Cashing In: Women’s Sports and NIL Success,” accessed March 23, 2023. https://biz.opendorse.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/NILand-Women-in-Sports.pdf

Ospina, Sonia M., Marc Esteve, and Seulki Lee. 2018. “Assessing Qualitative Studies in Public Administration Research.” Public Administration Review 78 (4): 593–605. https://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12837

Park, Sanghee. 2022a. “The Construction of Social Inequity and the Role of Public Bureaucracies.” Journal of Policy Studies 37 (4): 1–15.

Park, Sanghee. 2022b. “Gendered Leadership During the COVID-19 Pandemic: How Democracy and Representation Moderate Leadership Effectiveness.” Public Management Review 24 (11): 1802–1823. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2021.1937294

Schroeder et al v. University of Oregon. F. 6-23-cv-1806 (Ore. Dec. 1, 2023)

Shulman, James L., and William G. Bowen. 2001. The Game of Life: College Sports and Educational Values. Princeton University Press.

Smart, Barry. 2007. “Not Playing Around: Global Capitalism, Modern Sport and Consumer Culture.” Global Networks 7 (2): 113–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2007.00160.x

Thelin, John. 2000. “Good Sports? Historical Perspective on the Political Economy of Intercollegiate Athletics in the Era of Title IX, 1972–1997.” Journal of Higher Education 71 (4): 391–410. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-0374.2007.00160.x

University of Connecticut. 2023. “Name, Image, and Likeness at UCONN,” accessed March 26. 2023. https://nil.uconnhuskies.com/

University of Georgia. 2023. “NIL at UGA,” accessed March 26, 2023. https://georgiadogs.com/sports/2021/8/2/nil

University of Mississippi. 2023. “Next Level,” accessed March 26, 2023.https://givetoathletics.com/nil-home-page/

University of North Carolina. 2023. “Name, Image and Likeness,” accessed March 26, 2023. https://goheels.com/sports/2022/12/7/name-image-and-likeness.aspx

Venugopal, Rajesh. 2015. “Neoliberalism as Concept.” Economy and Society 44 (2): 165–187. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085147.2015.1013356

Wacquant, Loïc. 2012. “The Punitive Regulation of Poverty in the Neoliberal Age:” Criminal Justice Matters 89 (1): 38–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/09627251.2012.721980

Whyno, Stephen. 2024. “Sen. Ted Cruz Says There’s a 50-50 Chance of Congress Passing College Sports Legislation This Year.” Associated Press. March 12, 2024. https://apnews.com/article/ted-cruz-ncaa-89a48feb0848e50707d24f9868326263

Zimbalist, Andrew. 2023. “Request for Issuance of Title IX Athletics Guidance Applying Existing Obligations in the New Commercialized Arena of Intercollegiate Athletics Including Reiteration of Guidance Relating to Promotion, Publicity, Financial Aid and Recruiting

Inequities,” accessed February 2, 2023. https://www.thedrakegroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FINAL-Drake-Letter-to-OCR-1-10-23-1.pdf