CINCINNATI — As NIL deals with college athletes have continued to change, it’s evident that there are a lot of ways for athletes to get their name out there. And in Cincinnati, one local business is hoping partnering with female athletes will bring that demographic into their store.
What You Need To Know
- MEAS Active, a local woman activewear brand, is partnering with female athletes at UC on NIL deals
- Jess Davis is one of those athletes and is a swimmer for the Bearcats
- Davis says it's important to her to have a good relationship with her NIL partners and feels she's found that with MEAS
- MEAS is very intentional about who they partner with, wanting the athletes to be leaders in their sport and in their community
Inside the Keating Aquatics Centers on the University of Cincinnati’s campus, you’ll find Bearcats senior Jess Davis in the pool, where she can let the stress of being a college student go.
“A way to just relax and just swim and swim as hard as you can," Davis said.
But when she’s not in the pool, you’ll find her busy as a student in the Lindner College of Business, where she’s taking the skills she’s learned in class to the real world, like NIL deals.
Davis was one of the first athletes to partner with MEAS Active, a woman-owned activewear brand that started right here in Cincinnati.
“It just like perfectly aligned with who I am as a person and who I want to be in the future," Davis said. "And I think again that personal connection with people and the more you get to build relationships, it was just so special.”
And at MEAS in Over-The-Rhine, the idea to partner with female athletes at UC seemed like a natural partnership.
“I really want to partner with that age group so that maybe they can become loyal to us and grow with our brand," Erin Roddy the owner and founder of MEAS Active said. "Little did I know that beyond the business piece of it, that there was not a lot of opportunity for these young ladies to do the NIL.”
“[We] found out about this NIL program and Erin and I are really passionate about supporting women, women athletes, women leaders, empowering them and so that’s really where it all started," Ann Sojka the wholesale and store operations lead for MEAS Active said.
Roddy and Sojka are very intentional about who they partner with and what they represent.
“Not only do they have to be that inspirational athlete to their peers, but they also have to be mission-driven," Roddy said. "And they have to stand for the same things that our brands stand for.”
“We continue to be really impressed with not only the leadership and excellence we see in our NIL partners execute in their sports, but outside," Sojka said. "How they lead and empower the other women that they work with and then their representation of MEAS which is another really important part of our NIL deal as well.”
For Davis, that’s being involved in Inspire, Equip, Connect, a student-athlete group that gives them the skills to be successful in life. Which she says aligns perfectly with MEAS. While she says athletes often look for the big brand names to partner with, this partnership has been meaningful and she’s excited to see it continue to grow.
“At first when people look at NIL they are immediately drawn to the big brands and I want to work with A, B, C. And like where’s the money?" Davis said. "But I think the really inspiring things about NIL is you can take a different path and connect with those brands that are smaller and they’re aiming to grow big and they’re making a difference in the community and I think that was just the perfect fit.”
Right now, MEAS has three athletes signed to NIL deals, but hopes to continue to grow the program.