Golden Guild Launches to Support Canisius Student-Athletes and NIL Projects

To assist in navigating the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) space, and to provide support for Canisius student-athletes, two alumni have established the Golden Guild - a collective effort to help advance the mission of Canisius University.

"Golden Guild functions to support our student-athletes with NIL opportunities, as well as the education and guidance to make the most of their opportunities," Mark Tortelli '10, MBA '19, said. "As a proud alum of Canisius University, I want to see our teams and our student-athletes succeed on every front."

"Collaborating with Golden Guild is not just about engagement and payment, it is about supporting student-athletes to make those appearances as meaningful as possible for our community," Tom Prendergast '11, said.

Golden Guild enables businesses, organizations and individual supporters to engage with their favorite teams and student-athletes. Golden Guild helps manage appearances, meet-and-greets, charitable work, social media activation, speaking engagements and other commercial endeavors.

"Our student-athletes do so much for our University and community, so it is incredibly rewarding to assist them in making an even larger impact," Canisius Assistant Athletic Director for Revenue Generation and Fan Engagement Mike Kochczynski '08, MSA '12, said.

"We are extremely grateful and appreciative for the work that both Mark and Tom have put into this project," Canisius Deputy Director of Athletics Lisa Liotta said. "As college athletics continues to evolve, it is critical to position our teams and our student-athletes to compete for championships and provide the best student-athlete experience possible."

While Canisius University and Golden Guild are separate entities, the organizations will maintain contact and ensure NCAA compliance:

• Contributions must not be considered "pay for play,"
• Contributions must be in exchange for services provided by the student-athlete,
• Contributions must not be a recruiting tool to entice a student-athlete to enroll at Canisius or remain at Canisius.

"Intercollegiate athletics is an evolving landscape, but our goals remain the same: we want to compete for championships and provide the best student-athlete experience possible," Canisius Vice President and Director of Athletics Bill Maher '89 said. "The Golden Guild collective will allow our student-athletes to collaborate with both the Canisius and Western New York communities in ways that have never been available before. I am grateful to Mark and Tom for their leadership in this important effort and look forward to working with them to make this a success."

Prospective contributors are encouraged to review Canisius's NIL policies CLICK HERE and proactively consult with the Canisius University athletic compliance department with any questions.

For additional information, please visit the official Golden Guild website at GoldenGuild.org.

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