Journal of Social Equity and Public Administration

Neoliberalism, NIL, and the Decline of Amateurism

Reimagining the Purpose of Higher Education in a Postmodern Era

William D. Jones

University of Alabama

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-5575-7501

Matthew Fifolt

University of Alabama at Birmingham

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4720-7124

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24926/jsepa.v4i2.6812

Keywords: neoliberalism, name, image, and likeness (NIL), social equity, higher education governance, critical pedagogy, Public Administration

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Abstract

This article examines how name, image, and likeness (NIL) reforms illuminate and intensify the broader neoliberal transformation of higher education in the United States. While NIL is widely celebrated as expanding student-athlete rights, the article argues that it also functions as a Trojan horse, extending market logics that have long eroded higher education’s civic and equity-driven mission. Drawing on social equity theory, critical pedagogy, and public administration scholarship, the analysis shows how NIL both disrupts and reproduces structural inequities across race, gender, sport, and institutional resources. Although NIL challenges the historical exploitation embedded in the amateurism model, its benefits remain unequally distributed, particularly disadvantaging female athletes, non-revenue sports, and under-resourced institutions. The article concludes that NIL can serve as a lever for democratic renewal only if universities adopt equity-centered governance, redistributive policy frameworks, and holistic student development practices grounded in justice rather than market imperatives.

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Author Biographies

William D. Jones, University of Alabama

William D. Jones (he/him/his) is a former college athlete, healthcare executive, and doctoral student in Higher Education Administration at the University of Alabama. His research examines NIL, college football, and the neoliberal university, interrogating how shifting definitions of amateurism and institutional priorities shape student-athlete agency and the future of higher education.

Matthew Fifolt, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Matthew Fifolt (he/his/him) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Organization at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health. His research focuses on program and quality improvement in evidence-based public health practice through high-quality program evaluation and assessment.

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