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South Carolina

Shane Beamer comments on state of NIL

On3 imageby: Chris Clark02/07/24GCChrisClark
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Photo: Katie Dugan | GamecockCentral.com

The state of South Carolina is moving closer to passing a new name, image, and likeness (NIL) law that would open up additional opportunities for Gamecocks athletics officials to be more involved in the process.

USC head coach Shane Beamer, along with other head coaches from various sports in Columbia, was at the State House on Tuesday to speak out in support of the new legislation.

If passed, among other provisions, the law would allow for the school, its administrators, and coaches to be directly involved with creating and facilitating NIL opportunities for current student-athletes.

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“Name, image, and likeness is very important and it is something that we deal with daily,” Beamer said on Tuesday. “It is also ever-changing daily. This law would give us stability, flexibility in allowing the institutions that we work at to make decisions, and also protection from an ever-changing climate. This law would allow us to be more involved with our student-athletes, put more resources around our student-athletes, and continue to help them and advocate for them in the future.”

During a recent exclusive conversation with GamecockCentral.com, Beamer agreed with the notion that the NIL environment in Columbia had improved greatly since it first went live in 2021.

He also gave a shoutout to the official NIL collective of Gamecock Athletics.

“I think it’s night and day from what it was, the emphasis on it, the resources for it, the interest in giving to it,” said Beamer. “I think it’s all increased. There are a lot of people with the Garnet Trust that have done a great job of making it better and there are a lot of people here at Carolina that have really jumped in and done a great job of making it better. We’re not where we need to be, but we’re a lot better than what we were two years ago.”

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Beamer also detailed the challenge of balancing the line during the recruiting process of knowing the importance of NIL opportunities while finding the right fits for his South Carolina program.

“You’ve got to really dig deep into, is that what this prospect is about? Is he just about having his own podcast and clothing line and what he can make from NIL? I mean, I’ve had transfers that have sat right there where you guys are, and I ask them, what’s important? And if they tell me NIL and NIL only, he’s probably not the right guy for our program. Very rarely does that ever happen,” said Beamer.

The fourth-year head coach wants to continue to work to make sure that NIL is a box that his program can check for prospective student-athletes.

At the same time, he wants to make sure each prospect checks some boxes as well.

“Are you a competitor? Do you love football? Are you about the right things as well? And NIL is part of it, I get that,” Beamer said. “But making sure that we’re bringing in people into our program that love football, love to compete, and want to work.”

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