ECU athletes set to be compensated for their name, image & likeness

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - The opportunity for a payday for student-athletes is a hot topic right now thanks to a group of East Carolina University athletic donors called Team Boneyard.

As the competitive landscape of college athletics changes, and new opportunities from the National Collegiate Athletic Association are being introduced, ECU is eager to remain invested.

“With name image and likeness being something that is important to student athletes and now enabled by the NCAA, for ECU to remain competitive, we’ve got to have a capability. It’s important for recruiting, it’s important for retention of athletes, and it’s an important capability in today’s world,” Vern Davenport, a Team Boneyard founding member said.

Businesses in Carteret County, including a belt company, have already expressed their interest in getting involved with ECU’s football team.

“They’re also active on the football team, getting some players there to wear their belts and make a number of social media posts about their belts, and we will see where it goes, but those opportunities did not exist for businesses before NIL and our collective came along,” Burt said.

While the collective is not directly associated with the university, ECU Athletic Director Jon Gilbert has already expressed his excitement surrounding the initiative.

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