UNC's Seth Trimble Sees Importance, Benefits Of NIL

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — About a month into Seth Trimble’s tenure as the owner of the Franklin Street Ben & Jerry’s location, he’s coming up with a set of ideas he hopes will get implemented. He didn’t reveal all of them when speaking to the media last week, but he did hint at one that would pay homage to a North Carolina great.

“I’m trying to get Coach Roy (Williams) a flavor here on Franklin Street,” Trimble said. “That’s one thing I really want to do. I think he’s earned it. I think he’s done enough to get himself a flavor. He’s great to my family. He’s great to this university. So I want to try and do that for him. I’ve got to talk to corporate, so we’ll see what they say.”

Trimble took an entrepreneurial leap when becoming Ben & Jerry’s youngest franchise owner, something primarily made possible by money earned through NIL. Coming onto the scene in 2021, NIL provisions have been in effect for the entirety of Trimble’s college basketball career, which began the following year.

The senior guard out of Menomonee Falls told Inside Carolina last month that he’s always wanted to explore entrepreneurship. Owning the Ben & Jerry’s in Chapel Hill helped him expand his horizons outside of basketball.

Trimble spoke last week about the positive impact that NIL’s had on him, and he also acknowledged its importance in the landscape of college athletics as a whole.

“It’s important in the program, because to get players now, you have to have it,” Trimble said last week. “If you don’t have it, you won’t get players. But it’s huge. It puts young players like me, young men, young women all over this university into such grateful positions and such huge positions that we’re fortunate to call blessings. 

“It wasn’t this way years ago, and now, just the fact that I can be at a university I love and really capitalize off of my name, my image and the things I do is huge, and it’s going to go a long way for us players. It’ll go a long way for this university and bring in the right people to hopefully get some championships. But it just continues to benefit college basketball, college football, just the NCAA as a whole.”

Trimble said a few athletes have reached out to him on social media since his Ben & Jerry’s announcement to congratulate him and ask him a few questions about how everything came together. His teammates gave him plenty of kudos as well, making visits to Franklin Street to support his business.

Hubert Davis — who seeks out the dairy-free options at Trimble’s store — said Trimble’s venture can serve as an encouragement to other student-athletes. He admitted, though, that he 

“I didn’t think it was real,” Davis said earlier this month. “I thought it was, what is it, Chat GPT? AI? I didn’t think it was real, but I’m really happy for him.

“This is something that he wanted to do. And I’ve always told the guys this… I say that you guys have been blessed with so many gifts and talents. Basketball is not your identity. It’s not who you are. It is just something that you do and that you have a number of gifts and talents in your bag.”

Trimble will tip off his fourth season at North Carolina on Nov. 3 when the Tar Heels host Central Arkansas. He secured career-high averages in points (11.6), rebounds (5.0), assists (1.3), steals (1.4) and minutes (28.7) in 34 games last season, with 18 starts.

Trimble’s parents help him operate the store, allowing him to focus his efforts on basketball during the year. He said his parents are at the store “all the time.” 

In recent years, Trimble’s former teammates — most notably Armando Bacot and RJ Davis — benefited well from NIL in their time at UNC. Through ownership, Trimble is leaving his own mark in the business space.

“It’s more than a blessing to be able to call myself a franchise owner, especially in the position I am,” Trimble said. “Just trying my best to set my own path, be my own person and set an example for athletes to come as the NIL life just keeps expanding and keeps growing and more opportunities keep coming for players like me.”