Collective a critical resource for Badgers in new era
November 15, 2022 | General News, Andy Baggot
McIntosh discusses role of NIL in maintaining strong support for student-athletes
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — All sorts of dramatic changes are taking place on his watch, but as far as Wisconsin director of athletics Chris McIntosh is concerned, the list of things he holds sacred will not be altered.
McIntosh still wants all 23 UW sports competing at a championship level on an annual basis.
He still wants Wisconsin student-athletes to believe in the primacy of a degree and the life-changing opportunities that come with owning one.
He still wants everyone who represents the Badgers, regardless of job description, doing things the right way.
"Those things won't change," McIntosh said. "How we deliver on them, and in what form, will evolve."
The introduction of Name, Image and Likeness protocols in July of 2021 — whereby student-athletes in all sports are free to monetize their personas through endorsements and sponsorships without jeopardizing their NCAA eligibility — is affecting the way every college athletic department goes about its business.
For UW, that means creating pathways for its student-athletes to maximize their NIL potential while fortifying the Badgers brand through emotional and financial support from its unique fan base. Playing a key role in those efforts is The Varsity Collective, an entity formed by a group of UW alumni that aims to "author the definitive playbook on how Badgers student-athletes deserve to be supported in the NIL era."Â
"It will be a different level of commitment to be successful in the future," McIntosh said. "To me, that's exciting. I sense a desire to do so all across our Wisconsin landscape."
The load-bearing football program will continue to be a major focus as a new era awaits. In addition to NIL, the Big Ten Conference is poised to become a coast-to-coast behemoth with the addition of UCLA and USC in 2024, a new indoor practice facility adjacent to Camp Randall Stadium is on the drawing board and McIntosh, in his second year on the job, is preparing to hire his first head football coach. Â
"It's an opportunity to write the next chapter of Wisconsin football in these changing times that we're experiencing," he said. "The intersection of those things, I think, creates an incredible opportunity to propel our program to the future.
"If we're going to have a healthy (athletic) department, if we're going to provide opportunity at the level we do today, it's got to include a healthy football program, one that people are excited about, one that our kids are successful in."
McIntosh is looking to unify a variety of audiences — fans and supporters, donors, the university community, coaches and staff, current student-athletes and their families, recruits and their families and student-athlete alumni — behind the project.
The primary objectives involve a heightened commitment to investing in student-athletes via NIL, specifically by contributing to The Varsity Collective; underwriting a new practice facility; and filling Camp Randall Stadium.
The Varsity Collective, unveiled in September, collaborates with UW student-athletes for NIL partnerships and charitable efforts that benefit both the student-athlete and the causes that support communities across Wisconsin. It also aims to provide student-athletes with access to mentorship and opportunities to learn from professionals at the top of their industries from across UW's vast alumni network.Â
Fans can contribute to the cause by helping to fund the collective's efforts to support student-athletes directly via NIL.
"As much today as any, we need the commitment on behalf of our fans to support our programs and, given the changes that are in front of us, we need that support as much as we ever have," McIntosh said. "Student-athletes are at the center of what we're doing. Our program benefits when our fans are committed to supporting those types of opportunities for our student-athletes.
"I'm grateful for the support our fans have given our student-athletes. Given the challenges, it's important that our fans remained as committed as ever to supporting our programs."
McIntosh and his administrative staff have spent a good deal of time explaining the NIL movement to UW fans.
"Initially there's been a fair amount of confusion and I can understand why that is," McIntosh said. "From the perspective of our fans, what they're reading in the media that is taking place at other programs, it conflicts with what our approach has been here and many times it conflicts with what's even permissible (according to NCAA rules).
"Change is oftentimes difficult and requires a lot of energy to understand what we're going through. I think, to a large extent, our fans have embraced this new era of college athletics as it relates to NIL.
"When we've had the opportunity to explain our approach, how it's one piece of a larger puzzle here at Wisconsin, I think our fans have left excited about that."
There's no questioning the commitment of UW student-athletes, and providing them every opportunity to be successful is the No. 1 priority for McIntosh. Having Wisconsin fans match that dedication emotionally and financially is the goal going forward.
"The context has changed," McIntosh said. "It's a different kind of challenge. This is a new challenge. While some things remain the same, we need our fans and supporters excited about the potential, excited about the possibilities, and, therefore, excited about supporting our program and our student-athletes in different ways.
"The core principals haven't changed. It's the way that we're allowed to support our kids today and it's the way that we will need our fans to support them that has changed."
McIntosh, a former Wisconsin football captain and All-American, said UW Athletics is trying to make sure "everyone has a place in our ecosystem." That includes the 35-year season ticket-holder, the recent graduate and everyone in between.
"It's a priority to ensure the long-term success of our department and all the programs underneath it," McIntosh said. "As a microcosm of that, think about the football program and how important it is to fill the stadium, how important it is to be part of something exciting and how that excitement generates support for our student-athletes beyond football.
"If you have a long-term view of that, which I do, then the focus is on a continual attraction of fans and supporters of the program. We are stewards of this place for a period of time and we need to continually attract support for our program for the long run.Â
"That comes in the form of honoring those things that are sacred here while, at the same time, adapting to a changing world. I think there's a place for everyone in that equation."
