UCF and Florida State are preparing for new NIL laws with or without the NCAA | Yahoo Sports College Podcast

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel and Pete Thamel, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde discuss Florida State’s mandatory course to maximize Name, Image, and Likeness money for student-athletes, and UCF’s move to allow players to promote their Twitter handles on their jerseys for the Spring Game.

Video transcript

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DAN WETZEL: This weekend feels like national name, image, and likeness like the first spark of name, image, and likeness. Two things that I saw-- there may be more in the state of Florida. One was Florida State announced on Monday what they're calling APEX-- educate, empower, elevate-- a huge program that will max out, teach, educate, and maximize their-- any athlete at Florida State's ability to earn money off their name, image, and likeness and includes a mandatory two credit course.

The same time this weekend, Central Florida had its spring game. And the Gus boss-- Gus Malzahn jumping on this-- had the players rather have their name on the back of their jerseys had their Twitter handles or social media handles.

And he said, this is the future. This is the new age of personal branding. We're going to embrace it. So like, we're kind of off. Here we go. FSU and UCF are not small entities saying, hey, pay attention.

You're looking for a school. Why are you going to a school in Alabama? Why you go to school somewhere like, we're here. And you can make money. Thoughts on that, Pat?

PAT FORDE: Brilliant, absolutely. You know what. It's smart. It's being attuned to the marketplace and the winds of change. And instead of reacting, they're proacting.

You know, in both cases, I think both FSU and especially UCF with that, it's like, if for once, let's not be afraid of it. Let's get ahead of it. Let's embrace it, and let's turn it into a recruiting advantage.

Tell recruits, we're with you on this. You come here, and here's what we're going to do for you. And I think it's super smart. And as you said, the laws are coming. The NCAA's like, well, we're not quite ready.

Well, you've only had like four decades. And you've done nothing but sit around. So now, the law is going to take into effect and things are going to happen. You're going to sit there and hope Congress comes along with one umbrella law here relatively soon.

But waiting and hoping that Congress is going to do things on your timetable and the way you want them is a risky strategy in and of itself. So yeah, I think spring games and stuff like that, this is a perfect like, little experimental portal to work in. And new AB, new coach.

You see up new brand relatively. Why not just throw it out there? And I think the response to it has been good so far. And I would not be surprised if you see some copycat stuff happening elsewhere rather quickly.

PETE THAMEL: Well, this was a major failure by Gus Malzahn. He could have put on the back of his coaching windbreaker, At Scattered Smothered and Covered and gotten like, 10 times more attention for his Waffle House affinity.

But instead, he just wore some night logo and didn't have it. No. This is a win. And look, none of the three of us watched a snap of the UCF spring game. Let's be honest, right? Like, not--

DAN WETZEL: Hell no.

PETE THAMEL: --like, I didn't actually know what was happening this weekend. So at the very least right there, they're winning because I'm sure there were a lot of other spring games this weekend. We're not talk about it. It made the rounds on social. It got the desired buzz.

I mean, if dozens of people maybe followed these guys because of that-- I had-- someone point out to me that you should probably be putting Instagram handles, not Twitter handles on there because Instagram is really kind of the mainstream of that generation certainly right now.

But look, all kinds of wins. There is zero chance this was Gus Malzahn's idea, like, zero chance. But credit to him. He is at a Mavericks school that it's made its name through great performance on the field and being an antagonist off it. And this is another way they are being an antagonist and standing out and refusing to blend in. So I give them all the credit in the world for seizing this moment and kind of winning a dead weekend.

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