PEORIA, Ill. — Now that the NCAA is allowing collegiate athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, many schools and college sports fan clubs are jumping on board with the change and it’s becoming a competition for players.
Fans of Bradley University athletics in Peoria insist our local economy cannot afford for Bradley boosters to fall behind.
A group of business owners and long-time Bradley University men’s basketball fans have now come together to create a cooperative called “Home of the Brave”, an organization aimed at creating opportunities for business partnerships between Bradley athletes and local businesses.
For now, it’s primarily focused on Bradley University men’s basketball.
“It’ll provide opportunities for them to network and either get opportunities for their N.I.L (Name, Image and Likeness) through Home of the Brave or outside Home of the Brave,” said group organizer Ryan Pearson on WMBD’s “The Greg and Dan Show”.
Many longtime college sports fans are not entirely accepting of the new name, image and likeness policies benefiting athletes.
Collegiate athletics purists often argue that bringing even more money into the situation will only erode the essence of what fans have appreciated about college athletes all along — that they aren’t in it for the money.
Bradley backers say Peoria’s ability to compete in the new name, image, and likeness market is simply a reality now and must grow or else Peoria’s downtown economic development could be hamstrung in the longer term.
When Bradley men’s basketball was consistently competing for Missouri Valley Conference Championships and NCAA men’s basketball tournament berths and titles in the 1980’s and 90’s, at-home Bradley men’s basketball games attracted thousands of people to downtown Peoria and all of its businesses.
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