Earlier this year, Altius Sports Partners, the collegiate NIL consulting firm, signed a four-year “athlete services collaboration ” agreement with the University of Michigan. A press release hailed it as part of a “forward-thinking ” initiative to bolster UM’s name, image and likeness capabilities, in coordination with the school’s multimedia rights holder, Learfield. The establishment of a common manager place with a base in Ann Arbor and a permanent presence at Altius was a key component of the Altius agreement. The 18th class to enroll in what Altius calls its “on-campus GM software” was UM. ” Next month, Western Michigan became the 19th. In addition to supplying a general manager, Altius also promised to make business plans to “Future-Proof” UM’s quarter-of-a-billion-dollar athletic office against the many dangers of the time, from performer conducting to Title IX dispute. Show C of the agreement, which was obtained through a public records request, states that” ASP’s staff of industry professionals is helping corporations stay one step ahead of the expected change and positioning sports sections for prolonged success.” Left secret is the notion that Altius ‘ own future is not any more specific than any of the institutions it is advising. However, one may assume that the NIL concerns of Altius and its clients are directly related—the more secure, or formulaic, the room becomes, the less schools may need to concentrate on the expertise, or the onus, of inside companies. As the NCAA has begun enforcing a boots-on-the-ground strategy similar to that used by multimedia rights companies like Learfield and IMG to build their businesses by physically digging into athletic departments, Altius has used the approach of close proximity over the past two years. But the MMR companies had decades by which to do this and a valuable anchor—the schools ’ IP—to their business. Companies like Altius, which was recently purchased by marketing services firm Underdog &; Company, for an undisclosed sum—don’t hold any such rights, including those that would be necessary in executing group licensing deals. The NCAA’s recent prohibition on schools from directly soliciting deals on behalf of their athletes is one of its main leverage points. However, that might not be the case for very long. A proposal that allows schools to increase their involvement in the NIL activities of athletes was unanimously approved by the NCAA’s Division I Council last week. It allows schools to “identify… opportunities” and “facilitating deals.” ” The proposal, which would go in effect Aug. 1, still needs approval by the D-I Board of Directors. As a consultancy oriented around NIL regulations, what is Altius ’ value proposition in the face of the governing body’s ongoing deregulation? It’s hard to know for sure. Neither Altius founder and CEO Casey Schwab, a company spokesperson, nor an Underdog representative responded to repeated requests for comment. In a statement last November accompanying its acquisition announcement, Underdog co-founder and managing partner Dan Mannix spoke of the current college sports era “brimming with potential, ” adding, “the acquisition of Altius merges our collective experience, creating fresh opportunities for schools, athletes and brands. Altius offers athletic departments the ability to outsource risk, just like other college sports third parties, whether they’re MMR companies or executive search firms. Altius also provides a mechanism for engaging in the NIL process in a way that is kept secret from the public eye for public universities, which are typically subject to state transparency laws. ( To that end, Wisconsin refused Sportico’s request to turn over its Altius contract, claiming that it was held by the university’s foundation. Even if schools eventually decide they can handle much of what Altius offers the athletic department staff, these qualities could provide the company with strength. Altius has a two-pronged business—ASP College, which works with schools, and ASP Brands, which works with companies seeking to do NIL deals with college athletes. Altius, for example, was credited last week with supporting the new five-year,$ 25 million NIL arrangement between FedEx and the University of Memphis. What types of revenue does Altius generate from the brand side, but a review of its current agreements with university partners reveals that the company makes relatively low margins on agreements that universities can withdraw from at any time. For example, Michigan will pay Altius around$ 1. 64 million over the next four years —$ 5,000 per month, as a standard consulting fee, plus annual payments of between$ 255,000 and$ 309,000 for the in-house general manager. A lion’s share of that money, however, will go to compensate the GM, who has yet to be hired. The Athletic was the first to disclose the agreement’s financial details. ) In an interview, Kurt Svoboda, UM’s associate athletic director, says he had originally pitched handling much of the NIL work within the athletic department, something he believes Michigan was already well positioned to do. Svoboda expressed her disappointment with the NCAA’s extremely restrictive measures, which also included the extremely exciting prospect and changing environment. The Altiuses of the world can intervene and offer resources that are not permitted to be provided by existing experts. Putting my frustration aside, we must look into this until the NCAA’s structure changes if this is our path forward and our path to more intricately supporting student athletes. The fundamental issue for Altius is comparable to the cast of NIL-focused consulting and technology firms that emerged in response to California’s 2019 law enshrining college athletes ‘ rights to perform publicity work while playing. How many of these young businesses will still exist in a few years remains a mystery. However, Altius, with its bold-named roster of executives ( including chairman Oliver Luck ) and subject-matter experts, has asserted itself as a durable force. The business, which Schwab founded in October 2020, is known for guiding athletic departments and athletes through the rigors of the regulatory rigor. Its early pitch was sufficient to acquiesce to a number of five-figure commitments from Power Five athletic departments, which were struggling to find their footing after the NCAA’s interim NIL policy became effective on July 1, 2020. One of Altius ’ earliest deals, for example, was an 11-month contract with LSU that paid$ 56,000. In a September 2021 interview with Sportico, Schwab acknowledged his own surprise at how quickly NIL had developed into an “open market, laissez-faire system.” With that in mind, he predicted that there would be “very few restrictions on purchasing of NIL rights ” by the year following. ” Altius formally launched its on-campus GM program in summer 2022, as Sportico reported at the time, beginning with six schools: LSU, South Carolina, Virginia, Oklahoma State, Northwestern and Cincinnati. About half of its 41 school clients have now benefited from this expanded service two years later. Among Altius’ more lucrative deals is with Oklahoma, which signed a second amendment to its original five-year agreement in August 2023. The current arrangement, which runs through 2028, had OU paying Altius consulting fees of$ 15,000 per month for the first half year, then$ 5,000 per month for the remainder of the term. OU’s on-campus package includes both a general manager position—which starts at an annual salary of$ 225,000, then increases 5 % each year—as well as a$ 75,000-per-year “revenue analyst, ” who can earn discretionary bonuses of up to 20 %. To fill those two positions, Altius receives a 25 % annual administrative fee that works out to between$ 150,000 to$ 200,000 per year. Overall, Altius is making$ 1 from the administrative and consulting fees. 3 million over the next five years in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma and Altius have a “favored nations ” status under the agreement, which makes it able to renegotiate it if Altius offers any other Power Five schools a novel pricing model or services. Oklahoma, like other schools, also has the right to terminate the latest deal within two years. On the other end of the financial spectrum is Altius ’ deal with South Carolina, which was due to pay Altius$ 80,905. 23 this year, suggesting that its on-campus NIL GM is earning about a third of what Oklahoma’s is. South Carolina ’s agreement, which goes until June, stated that if at least three Altius employees weren’t on the Gamecocks ’ campus as of this past December, the parties would use best efforts to agree to terms of an extension. As of now, there is only one Altius employee, a general manager. A representative from South Carolina stated that the university is “actively exploring future opportunities with ASP, ” adding that the company has been a “great partner in this space. ” Other Altius GM program participants include: Rutgers, which pays Altius$ 137,849. 99 per year; Cincinnati, which pays$ 173,092. 60 per year; and Iowa’s, which pays$ 546,555. 28 over three years. Although it’s not exactly chump change, these returns do n’t have to be required to satisfy private equity. ( Five months prior to its acquisition of Altius, Underdog & The business was purchased by PE firm NewSpring Capital. Finding people to do the job is Altius ‘ other obvious challenge in making money off of its on-campus GM program. Though it has signed GM agreements with 19 schools, the company has so far placed people on only 13 campuses, according to Altius ’ website. According to Voboda, there is no set timetable for when the GM position will be filled at Michigan, but it might take some time if history serves as a guide. Consider Altius ‘ announcement earlier this month that it had filled the NIL GM position at Rutgers, more than a year after the parties ‘ agreement to create it.