Marcus Scott represents Central State men's basketball at NIL Summit
ATLANTA, Georgia - Marcus Scott represented the Central State University men's basketball program at the the inaugural Name Image and Likeness (NIL) Summit which was held earlier this month.
Scott was one of 350 student-athletes to attend the event hosted by Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) and sponsored by NIL platform INFLCR. Designed to equip and educate student-athletes with the tools, resources and information necessary to navigate and assess NIL opportunities and outcomes.
"We were able to hear from representatives from companies like UnderArmour and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). They talked about the opportunities available to us as student-athletes. For someone like me who is trying to start up my own brand, the summit gave me some great ideas to move forward with."
After graduating from Savannah State last spring while leading the Tigers to the 2022 SIAC Tournament title, Scott will continue his education and collegiate basketball career at CSU this fall as he enters the University's new Master's in Business Administration program.
With an entrepreneur's mindset, he recently started marketing his own clothing line –
Be Different by Marcus Scott. After listening to speakers like the WWE's Paul "Triple H" Levesque and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow, Scott plans to implement some of their business concepts into his own business and branding practices.
"The knowledge from the event will help me to grow my brand the right way and in a very strategic way. It really is all about making yourself and your brand as marketable and as desirable as possible," says Scott. "I try to present myself as someone who is genuine and positive which brings respectability to everything I try to do. My brand is an extension of who I am as a person. The clothing line is something that promotes positivity and is about bettering ourselves, being leaders, and being different and standing out from the rest of the world."
When listening to the history of UnderArmour during the summit, Scott heard about the importance of being sure to analyze every opportunity going forward. With the new NIL rules now in place within collegiate athletics, Scott reiterated the process when business opportunities come.
"In any business deal, it is crucial not to simply take any offer that comes first. Not every deal is the right deal for you. I'd encourage anyone to be sure to do a careful analysis of every opportunity so that you maximize your value and potential," said Scott. "The owner of UnderArmour (Kevin Plank) could have originally sold for $4 million dollars. He remains the leader of the UA which is now worth over $3 billion dollars."
Scott, who won the SIAC Tournament MVP honor in March, plans to continue to "maximize his potential" in the classroom, business world and on the court as a valued member of the Central State University community the upcoming season.
ABOUT THE NIL SUMMIT
The NIL Summit was born of the idea of giving student-athletes from across the nation a platform to converge on as a community of influencers and change agents, to share ideas and collaborate alongside the transformative brands and organizations shaping the future of college sports.
Inspired by great gatherings like TED, ComplexCon and SXSW, the NIL Summit is intended to both celebrate the great achievements of student-athletes, while also equipping them with the tools, resources and information necessary to maximize their outcomes both in the near term, and well after they are done playing sports.
The event democratizes knowledge by giving student-athlete delegates access to the information they need to harness the tremendous but fleeting power of their influence to ensure a head-start in life. That knowledge comes directly from industry leading practitioners and subject matter experts, including: pro and collegiate athletes, agents, influencers, entrepreneurs, as well as executives from the world's biggest brands and social media companies. Education is delivered through multiple mediums, including: keynotes, speaker panels and hands-on-workshops and experiential activities.
