Virginia Tech Athletics is taking more action to help student-athletes.

According to a press release, Virginia Tech Athletics has adopted additional measures to help its college athletes monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The follows after Virginia Tech Athletics’ newly established partnership with INFLCR to ensure NIL deals would be more accessible to student-athletes through the Hokies Exchange platform back in March.

The company website states once a business, collective, or individual has registered and been approved for Hokies Exchange, it will be placed in a database. Here athletes and the entity will have opportunities to connect and work towards a NIL deal. Businesses can sort through an index of student-athletes to refine their search using various indicators.

In addition, director of athletics Whit Babcock has announced Commonwealth NIL, Hot Route Marketing, and Triumph NIL will be supporting Virginia Tech student-athletes, businesses and donors through their services.

“I’m thrilled that Virginia Tech and our administration have provided our athletes with numerous opportunities in the NIL space,” Virginia Tech Women’s Basketball head coach Kenny Brooks said, according to a press release. “From education and the Hokies Exchange platform to these new NIL collectives, we are doing everything that we can to ensure our student-athletes have the resources to make informed decisions and have the confidence to approach NIL opportunities in a manner that will benefit them. Our mission is to support student-athletes in all of their endeavors on and off the court. This is another step in the right direction for our department and I’m delighted to see this put together with our athletes in mind.”

Virginia Tech Athletics To Award Athletes In Good Academic Standing

What’s more Virginia Tech Athletics revealed Thursday that it will financial award student athletes in good academic standing.

“We are pleased to be able to offer this financial incentive for our student-athletes to make the type of academic progress that will benefit them for years to come after graduation,” Babcock said, according to a press release. “We are currently finalizing our criteria for this program and plan to roll out the details to student-athletes, their families and our coaching staffs this summer. We anticipate beginning this financial reward package beginning in Fall 2022. Thanks to the tremendous success of our Drive for 25 campaign and the generosity of our Hokie Club donors, we intend to be very competitive in this space to ensure Virginia Tech remains a very attractive destination for the nation’s top student-athletes.”