In spring 2025, Iowa launched the NIL: Simulated Agency Experience course, giving students the opportunity to explore name, image, and likeness (NIL) and act as an agency team. Professor Dan Matheson came up with the idea for the new class to give students a chance to deeply explore the NIL space.

“I wanted our students to get a feeling for what it’s like when you’re representing a client who is pursuing these types of activities,” says Dan Matheson, professor of the NIL: Simulated Agency Experience course.

Students from law, business, sport and recreation management, and other disciplines collaborated to create customized NIL strategies for real clients — actual Hawkeye student-athletes.

“We’re really putting ourselves into the industry and stepping into the role of somebody who would be working in that position.” says Madison Hatfield, sport and recreation management graduate student.

By developing NIL plans with brand partnerships, social media strategies, business plans, and legal best practices, students gained hands-on experience that mirrors the skills needed for a wide range of careers.