Nike is expanding its footprint in the name, image and likeness space.

The renowned footwear and apparel company announced Thursday that a new approach to partnering with college athletes is underway. In conjunction with announcing a long-term partnership extension with LSU that runs through 2036, Nike is unveiling the Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program. The program is a new collective within Nike that will feature 10 LSU athletes across football, basketball, gymnastics, softball, baseball and volleyball.

The Blue Ribbon Elite program — named after one of the first shoe brands created by Nike founder Phil Knight — will not only feature monetary and product-based contractual deals with athletes but also will expand to collaborations with product innovation, brand campaigns and creative designs for each athlete.

“I would tell you LSU is one of the first; it won’t be the last,” said Ann Miller, Nike executive vice president of global sports marketing, in an interview with The Athletic. “As you can imagine, lots of colleges and universities are excited about that, and we’re working with many of them. This one opportunistically came at the right time with the announcement of the renewal.”

Collectives are typically backed by boosters, businesses and fans to create NIL opportunities for college athletes, and now Nike wants to get in the mix with its own. Though the company has numerous existing NIL partnerships with individual college athletes, the latest move to create an LSU-based collective signals Nike’s desire to leverage the brand of a particular program.

LSU athletes joining Nike’s NIL list are Kailin Chio (gymnastics), Derek Curiel (baseball), Tori Edwards (softball), Casan Evans (baseball), Trey’Dez Green (football), Jayden Heavener (softball), ZaKiyah Johnson (basketball), DJ Pickett (football), Jurnee Robinson (volleyball) and Dedan Thomas Jr. (basketball).

“With Nike and LSU’s help, I’m excited to show little girls — especially the ones that look like me — that being yourself is all you need to do to get to where you want to be,” Robinson said.

Miller said investing in players at this level goes beyond just putting a Swoosh on their shirt or shoes. Nike wants to do what it has done for decades: help tell the stories of its athletes.

“What’s fundamentally different is that we’ve taken our time to really think about, how do we develop partnerships that are richer and deeper than just a, ‘Hey, we’ve signed you, it’s transactional and we don’t actually get to you know, we don’t get product insight, we don’t listen to your voice,’” Miller said.

“We’re really trying to flip it on its head and say if we’re going to work with you, it’s because we not only believe in you, not for what you might be later, but for what you are right now and the value you have right now.”

Miller said before the launch of the school-specific collective, Nike had NIL partnerships with about 50 athletes at 15 universities across the country. Some recent prominent Nike NIL athletes include USC star basketball player Juju Watkins, Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams and former UConn star Paige Bueckers, who was the first NIL athlete to have a Nike player edition shoe last December.

Miller said this particular approach, launching a collective with one school, is a chance to see how a move like this could work elsewhere.

“(College is) a perfect playground to learn. It’s a perfect playground to try new things,” Miller said. “It’s one of the best things about having this roster of both athletes and colleges and universities. They’ll try stuff with you. It’s the best place to learn.”

Miller did say that although Nike could extend these types of partnerships swiftly across the college landscape if it wanted to, her team will instead take a more disciplined approach. Asked whether she had a target number of schools she’d like to extend NIL collective partnerships to in the future, she said there isn’t one currently, “but if there’s an amazing athlete, an amazing college out there, I want them.”

As for Nike’s NIL budget as a whole, Miller declined to offer specific numbers.

“I think it’s safe to say this is a growing area where every day what you thought you’d spend is off,” she said.

“I think it’s going to continue to be an area of rich interest and investment.”

Story by Antonio Morales, Bruce Feldman and Sam Khan Jr. 

One of the most active — and no doubt dramatic — coaching carousels took another wild turn when Michigan fired Sherrone Moore on Wednesday. Sixteen Power 4 schools (at least) will have a new coach in 2026. Five SEC schools hired a coach on the same day.

Some of these jobs are set up for a new coach to step in and succeed right away. Others are far more daunting, complete rebuilds at places that have struggled to compete.

A year ago, we polled 50 people in the sport and asked a simple question: What are the top five jobs in college football? Well, this year we’ve flipped it. We’ve asked a mix of coaches, personnel staffers and administrators the following: What are the five toughest jobs in college football?

They were granted anonymity so they could speak candidly.

We asked them to rank five in the Power 4 leagues and five in the Group of 5. The Athletic conducted a similar poll four years ago, but a lot has changed in the sport since then.

Of course, “toughest” can mean different things to different people. It could be the most difficult path to success. Or the most pressure to meet enormous expectations. Or several other things.

So we left “toughest” up to everyone’s own interpretation. Let’s get to the results.

(First-place votes were worth five points, second-place votes were worth four, etc.)

Power 4

1. Stanford

Points: 68
First-place votes: 7
Last winning season: 2020

Stanford received just one point when this exercise was done four years ago. From 2010 to 2015, the Cardinal played in five BCS/New Year’s Six bowl games, and they won at least 10 games six different times during the 2010s.

But times have changed, and the most recent headwinds across the sport have left Stanford in the wilderness. The university’s administration was late to adapt to NIL. Rigorous academic and admission standards make it difficult to add talent through the transfer portal. And the latest wave of realignment resulted in the Cardinal landing in the ACC — an unnatural fit with no real connection to the rest of the schools in the league besides its rival Cal.

“To me, that one jumps off the page,” one Group of 5 head coach said.

“Academic rigor. Difficulty of transfers. Has money,” a Group of 5 offensive line coach said. “But would need a developmental approach and unique style that might take a cycle of older players hitting at the right time.”

Stanford finished the 2025 season 4-8 under interim head coach Frank Reich, which was actually a step up after four straight three-win seasons. General manager Andrew Luck tabbed Tavita Pritchard, a former quarterback at Stanford and, most recently, the quarterbacks coach of the Washington Commanders, as the new head coach.

2. Purdue

Points: 62
First-place votes: 7
Last winning season: 2022

The Boilermakers played in the Big Ten title game in 2022 but have won just seven games in the three seasons since. Coach Barry Odom opened his tenure this fall with wins over Ball State and Southern Illinois, but lost the final 10 games. The Boilermakers lost their last 11 games of the 2024 season, so that’s 21 losses in their past 23 games.

It will take some time for Odom to turn things around, but realignment and the Big Ten getting rid of divisions only made life harder for this program. It doesn’t help that Indiana is thriving now under Curt Cignetti.

“(It’s a) historic talent gap,” a P4 receivers coach said.

“Purdue is the least successful football school in the Big Ten, and I think it has the least amount of money,” a G5 personnel staffer said.

T3. Vanderbilt

Points: 61
First-place votes:  8
Last winning season: 2025

The Commodores recently suffered through 10 consecutive losing seasons but are on a major upswing thanks to their coach/quarterback combination of Clark Lea and Heisman Trophy finalist Diego Pavia. However, there are plenty of people around college football who are skeptical that Vanderbilt, a strong academic school that just clinched the program’s first 10-win season, can maintain this sort of success in a loaded SEC.

“(The) schedule is brutal,” a G5 head coach said. “Pavia is lightning in a bottle. Cannot sustain.”

“It’s the hottest it can ever be,” a P4 cornerbacks coach said.

Lea started off slowly, with three losing seasons to start his head coaching tenure before he broke through with a 7-6 record in 2024. This season was the best in school history. Lea is a Vanderbilt alum who likely could have pursued openings at several other Power 4 schools, but he signed a six-year contract late last month and will remain in Nashville.

“Awesome job six days a week, impossible on the seventh,” a director of player personnel said.

T3. Boston College

Points: 61
First-place votes: 4
Last winning season: 2024

Eagles coach Bill O’Brien enjoyed a solid first season with a 7-6 record in 2024, but he just finished an ugly 2-10 campaign that included only one win against an FBS opponent.

The Eagles won at least eight games every year from 2001 through 2009, but haven’t won more than seven games since. Boston College isn’t in a fertile recruiting area, and it’s not a big NIL spender. So acquiring talent is a problem.

Can O’Brien overcome that?

“Poor recruiting footprint, lack of history, hard to get to and not an ideal conference to recruit to,” a P4 running backs coach said.

“Maybe the hardest (job),” a G5 AD said. “They’re getting the s— beat out of them in every sport.”

5. Rutgers

Points: 56
First-place votes: 4
Last winning season: 2024

Greg Schiano is the only coach who has enjoyed sustained success with the Scarlet Knights. He won nine games or more three times during his first stint at Rutgers, but that’s when the program was in the Big East.

Things are a lot more difficult now in the Big Ten. Schiano has the program in a good place — compared to its early years in the Big Ten — but he still hasn’t won more than seven games in a season during his second go-round.

“Historically bad — now in the Big Ten — what’s the ceiling? Eight wins?” one P4 director of player personnel said. “Only one coach has ever figured it out.”

Other schools that received first-place votes: LSU (3), Alabama (1), Auburn (1), Iowa State (1), Nebraska (1), Ohio State (1), Oregon State (1), Syracuse (1)

An FBS general manager on Northwestern: “If you have the staff alignment who embrace the degree as a selling point instead of b—-ing about it as a hurdle, you can have a lot of success. Unbelievable facilities and fertile recruiting grounds (relatively speaking).”

A G5 athletic director on LSU: “The pressure to win and the short timeline. You gotta win right off the bat and enamor the fan base and then sustain it. … If you have a one-year trip up, you get fired two years after winning a national championship at LSU or Auburn.”

A G5 athletic director on Iowa State (before Penn State hired Matt Campbell): “I think when Matt Campbell leaves, they’re in trouble.”

A G5 personnel staffer on Alabama: “Any coach for the foreseeable future is going to be measured against (Nick) Saban, who didn’t really have the same challenges of winning that future coaches will have (NIL, expanded College Football Playoff access, etc.).”

P4 receivers coach on Auburn: “Unachievable expectations. Always compared to Bama.”

Group of 5

1. Kent State

Points: 100
First-place votes: 6
Last winning season: 2020

The Golden Flashes removed the interim tag from Mark Carney in late October. He won five games this season, and that should be viewed as a major step forward considering Kent State won just one game over the previous two seasons.

Sean Lewis, currently the head coach at San Diego State, went 24-31 at Kent State from 2018 through 2022, and he was considered a miracle worker.

There’s no real history of success. The resources are lacking, as is the commitment. And there are several losses baked into the schedule every season because the program has to play so many “buy” games against P4 powers — the Golden Flashes played Texas Tech, Florida State and Oklahoma this season.

“Virtually impossible,” a G5 personnel staffer said.

2. UMass

Points: 98
First-place votes: 8
Last winning season: 2010 (FCS)

The Minutemen returned to the FBS ranks in 2012 and have yet to post a winning season. They went 0-12 in 2025 and have lost 16 consecutive games dating back to last season. They haven’t beaten an FBS opponent since October 2023.

It was coach Joe Harasymiak’s first season, so we’ll have to look for any small sign of progress next season. But with no real blueprint or roadmap for success in the program’s history in the FBS, it’s going to be tough.

“Bad location, lack of resources, no history or previous success, hard recruiting footprint,” a P4 running backs coach said.

3. Louisiana-Monroe

Points: 77
First-place votes: 5
Last winning season: 2012

Bryant Vincent won five games in his debut season in 2024, and even though the Warhawks missed out on a bowl game, that felt like a real positive step for the program.

But ULM took a step back this season and won only three games.

“The guy at ULM (Vincent) is the head coach, coordinator and (interim) athletic director. They have no money. That job is impossible,” a G5 athletic director said, before the school named SJ Tuohy as the new AD.

The lack of resources might be insurmountable at this job.

4. Akron

Points: 62
First-place votes: 5
Last winning season: 2015

The Zips have not posted a winning record since 2015. Coach Joe Moorhead led the team to a 5-7 mark this season — a sign of unquestionable progress since the program had not won that many games since going 7-7 in 2017.

Similar to Kent State, the resources and commitment are lacking, though Moorhead has improved things in recent years. He’s won nine games over the past two seasons. The Zips won seven games in the four seasons before his arrival.

“Low resources, poor academics, not a great town, no pedigree,” a G5 personnel staffer said. “It’s a very tough place to sell and win.”

5. UTEP

Points: 59
First-place votes: 3
Last winning season: 2021

Dana Dimel looked like he had things headed in a positive direction with a 7-6 season in 2021, but the Miners won a total of eight games over the next two seasons, and Dimel was fired. Scotty Walden, previously at FCS Austin Peay, replaced Dimel and is 5-19 over his two seasons.

Location was a big talking point when discussing the difficulty of the job.

“You’re in the middle of nowhere, and not in or near a football hotbed,” the G5 personnel staffer said. “Low resources, lack of historical success.”

Walden hasn’t been able to get it going, but not many coaches have in El Paso. Mike Price is the only coach in the past 30 years who has led the program to two winning seasons.

Other schools that received first-place votes: FIU (2), UConn (2), Boise State (1), Bowling Green (1), Oregon State (1), UAB (1)

A P4 director of player personnel on New Mexico State: “Without Diego Pavia, they have won more games than lost four times in 45 years.”

A P4 offensive line coach:  “Wild cards are UConn, Washington State and Oregon State. They are nomads at this point.  Not even sure how to rate them.”

A P4 assistant coach on the G5:  “Whew, those are way harder jobs now because if you have anyone decent, they leave you. The much shorter list is, what are good G5 jobs?”

Data provided by Student Athlete Score

(Dec. 10th, 2025) — Another week, another wave of notable NIL activity across college sports. From Texas Volleyball partnering with Fairfield by Marriott to major football and basketball names teaming up with brands like Raising Cane’s, Whataburger, Dr Pepper, and Puma, this week highlights the continued expansion of athlete-brand collaborations across every corner of the country. Wrestling, softball, gymnastics, track, and hockey athletes also secured meaningful deals—showing just how broad and dynamic the NIL marketplace has become. Below is a full breakdown of the latest partnerships.