Last week, Clemson Athletics announced the opening of their new C.A.B. or Clemson Athletic Branding Center. The brand-new facility is intended to, “provide on-site resources for student-athletes choosing to pursue sponsorship opportunities and content generation.”
For those wondering what that looks like as far as physical infrastructure goes, Clemson Football released this drone tour of the entire facility, and it’s…really cool:
Why This Facility Puts Clemson Ahead
Universities building out nice new facilities for their top-tier athletics programs isn’t exactly breaking news. However, what makes the C.A.B. a game-changer is how it displays Clemson’s commitment to athlete access to NIL. No longer will players need to use Zoom on their phones to make an appearance on a show or podcast – this facility has professional-grade studio equipment. When student-athletes join the media landscape, they will do it right.
Clemson Football’s Head Coach, Dabo Swinney, put it best. “If you’re injured, you go to the training room. If you want to get stronger, you go to the weight room. This was an opportunity for our guys to know that if they want help with branding and sponsorship and NIL and tax education and finances and all of these very real-world issues, you go to The CAB where we have a dedicated space with people ready to help them,” Swinney said (via clemsontigers.com)
It’s no longer enough to put players in touch with the right connections – Clemson shows the athletes on their campus (and potential recruits) that this is a university that will give them every resource possible to capitalize on the brand partnerships occurring in today’s NIL world.
Are we going to see copycats of the C.A.B. on other campuses around the country?
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