Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 14 No. 1 | August 2021

inside.hokiesports.com 25 WHAT IS AN “EXTRA BENEFIT”? An extra benefit is any special gift or arrangement by a Virginia Tech employee or booster to a prospect, a current student-athlete, or their relatives or friends not expressly authorized by the NCAA. Examples of impermissible extra benefits include, but are not limited to: • Cash or any type of gifts • Loans, cosigning of loans or use of credit cards • Vehicle or the use of a vehicle • Payment for or arrangement of transportation costs for the student- athletes, their family, relatives, or friends • Free or reduced cost goods or services • Free or reduced housing • Concert or sporting event tickets NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS (NIL) Effective July 1, 2021, the NCAA changed its regulations to allow student-athletes to earn compensation for name, image and likeness (NIL) activities which are used for promotional purposes by a non- institutional entity, including a commercial entity, or a non-institutional nonprofit or charitable entity. In conjunction with NCAA policies and Virginia state law, Virginia Tech and the Department of Athletics have developed specific policies* to the address NIL activities of student- athletes. If an individual or business wishes to enter into an NIL agreement with a student-athlete, remember the following: • Virginia State law requires that all NIL activities must be reported to the Compliance Office PRIOR to the activity. • NIL activities must occur outside of participation in academic, athletic, or VT sponsored activities. • All NIL related compensation must be fair market value and only for work actually performed. • Compensation may not be provided in exchange for athletic performance, achievement or attendance at Virginia Tech. • VT logos or marks, including team issued uniforms, may not be used in NIL activities. • Any agent/attorney that represents a student-athlete must be registered with the state of Virginia and cleared by the Compliance Office. • A student-athlete may not participate in NIL activities that involve a prohibited item or substance listed in the Virginia Tech NIL protocol. *Please check with the Compliance Office to ensure all guidelines are the most recent version. NIL Q&A Q: May a booster or fan enter into an agreement with a VT student-athlete (“SA”) for the use of their name, image, or likeness in exchange for money, goods or services? Yes. Before entering such a contract, the SA is required to disclose any proposed agreement or activity to the Compliance Office. It is possible, and likely, that federal laws and NCAA legislation will ultimately provide a nationwide, uniform approach to NIL governance, at which point restrictions on these agreements are subject to change. Continued on page 26