FAIRFIELD, Conn. – Fairfield University has officially partnered with Accelerate Sports Ventures to serve as the department's Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) consultant. As the college athletics landscape continues to evolve, Accelerate will play a pivotal role in advising the administration, head coaches, student-athletes, and staff to best navigate this new era of college sports.
 
"Conferences and schools need to be strategic and laser focused on how to administer and execute revenue sharing, NIL, and how it impacts the transfer portal. Accelerate will deliver strategy, true market data, analytics, and best practices on how to succeed in this new world," said CEO Doug Fillis. "At the beginning of the NIL era, our clients were worried about competing given the rapid change. Since then, those clients have won National Championships, played in CFP playoffs, multiple Final Fours, and bowl games. We will continue to play an important role in helping our partners be highly competitive and successful."
 
"In the changing landscape of intercollegiate athletics, it is criticial for Fairfield to establish a roadmap that helps our student-athletes and coaches reach championship-level success," said Vice President for Athletics Paul Schlickmann. "The team at Accelerate Sports Ventures has already been a very valuable resource for our senior staff, coaches, and student-athletes as we integrate NIL into our athletic department operations, and we are looking forward to a continued, successful partnership."
 
The Stags have already yielded value in the Accelerate partnership including strategic guidance on market dynamics and roster building during the most recent transfer period as well as impactful in-person sessions for Fairfield Women's Basketball with Accelerate Director of Athlete Relations Julia Fisch. Accelerate will also be instrumental in supporting Fairfield student-athletes with personal branding and securing brand partnerships.
 
Fairfield is the latest addition to Accelerate's rapidly expanding NIL portfolio, joining a roster of institutions including Penn State, UConn, Boston College, NC State, Utah, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, Merrimack, Siena, Marist, American, the 3C2A, and more than 200 high schools across the country.