The SportsEpreneur Podcast
Sports brought us together — now let’s talk about it.
Leaders, athletes, creators, and entrepreneurs in and around sports. Business, media, NIL, culture, and mental health.
A SportsE Media production.
Sports brought us together — now let’s talk about it. Leaders, athletes, creators, and entrepreneurs in and around sports. Business, media, NIL, culture, youth sports, sports tech, and AI in sports. A SportsE Media production.
College sports is changing fast. NIL, social media, transfer rules, donor money, brand deals, and youth sports are now connected in ways that did not exist a few years ago.
Eric Kasimov talks with Brent Wall, co-founder and CEO of Student Athlete Score, about athlete branding, NIL data, and why personal brand is becoming part of the athlete journey earlier than ever.
Topics covered:
- What Student Athlete Score does for schools, athletes, and brands
- Why NIL still feels like a new Wild West
- How local businesses can work with student-athletes
- Why follower counts, engagement, and fake followers all matter
- The pressure on young athletes to build a personal brand
- How the transfer portal is reshaping recruiting
- Why Olympic sports and non-revenue sports face hard questions
- What athletes can build beyond their playing careers
Chapters
00:00 — Sports towns, fandom, and life around Michigan athletics
01:50 — The professionalization of sports at every level
03:00 — Why young athletes now have to think about personal brand
04:39 — Social media cleanup, exposure, and the pressure on kids
06:32 — What Student Athlete Score does
07:56 — Measuring athlete value on social media
08:35 — How universities use the platform
10:05 — AI, discovery, and local brand deals
11:39 — NIL education, taxes, and athlete responsibility
13:36 — The old Wild West of NIL and the new one
15:59 — Compliance, NIL Go, and the fight around regulation
16:22 — Eligibility, the five-and-five rule, and college sports consistency
19:35 — Tournament expansion, TV money, sports betting, and more games
23:00 — What happens to tennis, Olympic sports, and non-revenue programs
26:17 — Donor fatigue and the need for NIL ROI
29:41 — Why money does not guarantee winning
31:19 — The transfer portal and mid-major programs as proving grounds
36:00 — International athletes, age gaps, and roster pressure
38:49 — Olympic athletes, NIL, and personal brand gaps
40:28 — Bots, fake followers, and better data
42:31 — Why athlete interests matter to brands
43:31 — Building a platform for life after sports
44:11 — Youth sports, high school athletes, and brand education
46:21 — NIL as a sales and marketing education
47:21 — Team dinners, micro-influencers, and local business value
50:40 — How Student Athlete Score grew with universities
51:26 — New commercial roles inside athletic departments
52:57 — Where to find Brent Wall and Student Athlete Score
Connect with Brent Wall | Student Athlete Score:
StudentAthleteScore.com
Instagram: @studentathletescore
Brent on LinkedIn
Connect with Eric & SportsEpreneur:
SportsEpreneur.com | X | LinkedIn
Eric on LinkedIn | X
Related SportsEpreneur posts:
Youth Sports Has Become a Full-Time Job for Parents | Dave Yoo of Onsides
High School Athletes and NIL: The Future of Youth Sports
The Real Cost of Youth Sports in 2026
NIL Hub | SportsEpreneur’s NIL News, Insights & Resources
