With the NCAA Tournament starting on Thursday, many eyes will be on student-athletes competing on the court — not to mention in the business world as well, as they seek name, image and likeness deals as well.
Considering the grand stage that these student-athletes have in securing NIL deals, and bringing into consciousness how NIL has changed the landscape of college athletics, Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs is now behind a new ad campaign, which calls for the reauthorization of the Small Business Administration (SBA).
During March Madness, expect to see an ad featuring University of Iowa women’s basketball player Caitlin Clark and University of North Carolina men’s basketball player Caleb Love promoting the SBA. The ad will also star Iman McFarland, a former women’s college basketball player, owner of 21st Century Expo Group in Prince George’s County, MD, and an alumna of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program.
While most of the NIL deals being procured from student-athletes these days are for their personal financial advantage, this campaign is the first-of-its-kind to advocate for federal policy.
“It’s been more than 20 years since Congress reauthorized the Small Business Administration,” said McFarland in a statement. “In the time since then, the challenges facing small businesses have grown and evolved. It’s past time for Congress to modernize the Small Business Administration so that federal programs and services are tailored to meet the needs of today’s small business community.”
This ad, in conjunction with Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses Voices community program, is renewing the call for Congress to reauthorize the SBA, which they feel is long overdue. In partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center, they are aiming to modernize the SBA to meet the needs of today’s small business world.
Per the release, Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses Voices issued a report earlier this week outlining what it intends to modernize. Specifically, the report urges policymakers to:
- Close small business financing gaps across race, gender, age, and geography to help small businesses reach their full economic potential.
- Improve small business participation in the federal procurement marketplace.
- Support 21st Century small business development as effectively as possible, including improved customer service, marketing and technical assistance.
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