Whether you follow college sports or not, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about NIL — name, image and likeness
A series of lawsuits related to NIL has torn up the playbook
for college sports, and both colleges and athletes are scrambling to figure out what’s next.
Boise State is leading the way thanks to Assistant Professor Sam Ehrlich’s NIL expertise and BroncoPRO, an innovative new program designed to increase student-athlete success.
Ehrlich, assistant professor of legal studies for management in the College of Business and Economics, is a national voice in this dialogue.
Major media outlets, including the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, frequently quote him. Silver Waves Media, a global media organization, recently recognized him as one of the “80 Most Influential People in the NIL Space.”
Ehrlich also founded The College Sports Litigation Tracker, a website
that follows the ongoing legal cases in college sports.
Ehrlich, who holds a law degree, earned his Ph.D. in sport management
before joining Boise State five years ago. The university’s athletic history
and the iconic blue turf were a draw, he said. His teaching and research keep him deeply involved in the national dialogue surrounding sports law. For him, it’s the perfect combination.
The shifting game
To understand why college athletics are changing, Ehrlich starts with the amateur model. For decades, college athletes were ineligible for pay despite sustaining a multi- billion-dollar industry. The NCAA, which oversees college sports, has long defended amateurism. Its authority began to erode with a 1984 lawsuit that gave colleges control over broadcast rights, and subsequent lawsuits have continued to chip away
at NCAA power and amateur restrictions. Enter: NIL.
“NIL is basically the right of publicity. We all have a right to profit from our own image and likeness,” Ehrlich said. “For example, if Gatorade wanted to put my face on their bottles, I have the right to allow that and get paid for it. For a long time, college athletes couldn’t do that.”
In 2019, states passed laws allowing athletes to profit from NIL deals with outside organizations—but not with their schools. In 2021, the Supreme Court ruled the NCAA violated antitrust laws by restricting education-related benefits. Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that no other U.S. business defines its product by unpaid labor.“Yet that’s how the NCAA positions college sports,” Ehrlich said.
Then, in spring 2025, Grant House, a former Arizona State swimmer, and the NCAA settled an antitrust lawsuit focused on college amateurism. The landmark settlement mandates a revenue-sharing model treating athletes as independent contractors, giving them up to 22% of average school revenue from ticket sales and media rights. Division I athletes can now be paid by their schools, and schools can engage athletes on NIL.
Boise State’s BroncoPRO advantage
The House vs NCAA settlement spells a seismic shift for colleges and their athletes.Boise State is embracing the change. In anticipation of the settlement, Boise State Athletics launched BroncoPRO in November 2024 to facilitate NIL payments. But the BroncoPRO mission doesn’t stop there. Its goal is to recruit and retain student athletes and help them protect themselves by providing professional NIL advice, personal financial planning and personal brand development. This approach sets
athletes up for success, helping them understand complex contracts and recognize potential fraud in the uncharted NIL world. Ehrlich helped Boise State Athletics shape BroncoPRO’s strategy, leveraging his research on athlete fairness and NIL regulations to ensure Boise State stays at the forefront of these changes.
“When we created BroncoPRO in anticipation of the final approval of the House settlement, we sought advice from a wide range of experts — but to have the top expert on Boise State’s campus was incredibly valuable,” said Cody Gougler, Boise State deputy athletic director and chief administration officer of BroncoPRO.
The need for BroncoPRO is clear, as two-thirds of Boise State student-athletes participated in at least one NIL deal during the 2024-2025 season. These deals ranged from appearing in ads for local businesses to social media endorsements to personal appearances in exchange for pay.
The business of the game
Ehrlich integrates his specialties into his classroom, giving students a front-row seat to the business of college sports. Jared Fairbanks, a second-year master’s of cybersecurity student from Boise, said he appreciates Ehrlich’s leadership and expertise.
“Every class offers a new way for Broncos to better understand the laws
that surround us, and how to adapt to an ever-changing landscape.”
Ehrlich shares more about his research and NIL on COBECast, a
podcast from the College of Business and Economics.
Supporting student-athletes
Boise State’s College of Business and Economics is invested in student success, including student-athletes. With over 30% of Bronco athletes pursuing business degrees, the college offers programs and resources to help them win big in their financial and professional lives.
Volunteer income tax assistance program
Kathy Hurley, senior accountancy lecturer, and accountancy first-year graduate student Lindsey Korson from Lake Leelanau, Michigan, are exploring how they can help student-athletes manage tax responsibilities while navigating NIL. The pair presented their research at a national conference and are working with Boise State Athletics to prepare for the next tax season.
Korson sees the complexities of college athletics as opportunities. “Lawsuits and tax documents are opening new doors for research and education,” she said. Rapidly evolving NIL rules are prompting closer collaboration among student-athletes, campus leaders and academics.
Robinhood
The Department of Finance is partnering with Robinhood Money Drills to fund expanded personal finance class offerings for students as
well as student-athletes.