Kenny Brooks believes focus on NIL will make Kentucky WBB "competitive"

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In today’s era of college basketball, NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) funds have become more important than ever. In the past year, we’ve seen players make seven figures, we’ve seen Kentucky Men’s Basketball with “La Familia,” and we’ve seen Donato’s commercials from Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham.

However, we haven’t seen nearly as much of a focus on Kentucky Women’s Basketball’s NIL fund.

Sure, some of the players have seen deals — Cassidy Rowe, Maddie Scherr, and Ajae Petty to name a few. But with a new head coach, it seems like NIL might be more of a focus than ever. Kenny Brooks, former head coach at Virginia Tech, made his first public appearance as the head coach of the Kentucky Women’s Basketball team on Thursday, and he had a lot of opinions about the state of NIL in the program.

“Obviously, NIL is something that’s very, very important. And I’ve had discussions, preliminary discussions… to express the importance of NIL,” Brooks said in his introductory press conference.

“Obviously this league is abundant with some teams and their NIL opportunities. And I think if you’re going to be competitive, you have to be in that category. You have to be in the ballpark,” he continued. “I don’t know if you have to be a leader in the ballpark, but you have to be in the ballpark.”

Brooks also said that the team is going to need “a lot of people’s support” regarding NIL. Likely referring to financial support from boosters and for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

“I’m looking forward to those conversations. But it is something that is a high priority on our list.”

With the resources Kentucky seems to have, especially considering Brooks’ new $7.7 million contract, NIL should be able to make a big impact on the women’s basketball program.

Whether it’s with recruiting, facility management, new opportunities, or anything else, NIL will be a huge component next season. Kenny Brooks has made that clear.