Hawkeye Marching Band members ink novel NIL deal with Brick Kitchen

IOWA CITY — Two years ago, in summer 2021, the NCAA suspended generations-old rules barring student-athletes from monetizing their “name, image and likeness” — ushering in a new era allowing collegiate stars to capitalize on their renown.

Implications have been swift and sweeping, with thousands of players landing endorsement deals and sponsorships letting them wear branded gear during games, appear in commercials during breaks and even start their own companies. In the first year under new NIL rules, student-athletes nationwide earned an estimated $917 million in endorsements, according to Inside Higher Ed.

And yet, the NCAA rule change didn’t functionally change anything for members of collegiate marching and pep bands that travel with their schools’ sports teams to hype and entertain the crowd.

“Something that a lot of people don't really understand or realize is that NIL, for folks who are not student-athletes, in the past was 100 percent allowed,” University of Iowa Associate Director of Bands Eric Bush said. “For years, somebody could have come to Hawkeye Marching Band members and said, ‘Hey, we'd like to have you do a commercial for our company.’ And because marching band members at the collegiate ranks are not student athletes, that would have been perfectly fine — even with the old rules.”

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Q: So did the NCAA NIL changes have any impact in the college marching band arena?

A: “Because student-athletes are now able to capitalize on NIL, that's brought a lot more awareness to it,” Bush said. “And folks in the Hawkeye Marching Band certainly now are benefiting from it — because of that public awareness.”

Q: What specifically has been the Hawkeye Marching Band benefit?

A: “The Brick Kitchen, they reached out to me and had some questions — they were interested in potentially sponsoring some marching band members for an NIL deal,” Bush said. “I was very honest in our original conversations that I would have to ask a lot of questions.”

Earlier this year, Bush brought the issue to the UI Department of Athletics, UI Trademark Licensing Program, Office of the General Counsel and Office of Strategic Communications.

“After I'd had all those conversations, which actually did take quite a while, it came down that this was going to be fine and that they were able to move forward and approach (the band members) to ask them about this.”

Q: What was the timeline of these events — when did the Brick Kitchen come to you?

A: “They reached out toward the beginning of the marching band season — it could have even been around band camp time,” Bush said. “So this took a couple months for me to really gather the information and then synthesize it on our end. But I would say … probably August or September.”

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Q: And when did the students ink the deals?

A: “Just a few weeks ago … But I wasn't involved in that process. That's between the students and the company.”

Q: What band members are involved in this NIL deal?

A: All 18 members of the mellophone section have signed NIL deals with the Brick Kitchen, an Independence-based cookware business that also sells cutlery, cooking tools, specialty items and classes.

“A mellophone essentially, crudely, is a marching French horn.”

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Q: And what is all involved with each of the NIL deals?

A: “I'm not 100 percent sure because I'm not necessarily involved with that part of it,” he said, stressing that each deal is between the student and the company. “Obviously there’s the big photo that's been everywhere. I don't know if they've shot a commercial yet, but I know they have made plans to.”

Q: Has the Hawkeye Marching Band — or any of its members — ever signed any NIL deals before?

A: “This is the first one we've had in the Hawkeye Marching Band. And, in my understanding, it is one of the very first deals in the country for marching band members getting an NIL deal. The only one I'm aware of prior to this was a student from the University of Wisconsin-Madison that was sponsored by Kwik Trip. And that happened over the summer. I think that was something that probably showed a lot of people that this was possible.”

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Q: How many total members are in the Hawkeye Marching Band, and could there be more of these NIL deals on the horizon?

A: This season’s Hawkeye Marching Band has 275 members — an uptick from years prior — and Bush predicts more NIL deals on the horizon, not just for band members but for the spirit squads and others ancillary to UI athletic events.

“I would be surprised if there aren’t more companies that reach out that are interested in things like this — especially now that they see this can be done,” he said. “When you think about Iowa Athletics, you think about the University of Iowa, and the Hawkeye Marching Band, that's a big part of the fabric of the university. And there are a lot of students that are recognizable.

“I look at our drum major and our golden girl and some of the section leaders, folks that do a lot of community work, a lot of community service, folks that people would recognize,” he said. “I think once somebody realizes this could be a thing for marching band members, this would be something that they would be interested in. I see this opening up opportunities for a lot of other students moving forward.”

Vanessa Miller covers higher education for The Gazette.

Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com