NIL From a Former NCAA Athlete’s Perspective

In 2020, professional tennis player Brittany Collens learned the NCAA had vacated wins and a conference championship from her former team at UMass. Two players unknowingly received $252 in their scholarship for a phone jack, which violated the NCAA’s amateurism rules. Years later, the governing body publicly punished the team.

Believing the sanction for this minor clerical error was unjust, Collens began scrutinizing the NCAA and its principles more closely. Since then, she’s become a college athlete advocate, fighting for NIL rights as well as gender equity and other NCAA reforms.

Collens joins FOS College reporter Amanda Christovich to discuss her advocacy, provide advice for current athletes on how to capitalize on NIL, and more.