Sports Medicine Launches NIL Program for Student-Athletes

Christian Ferman, a member of St. Luke's inaugural Name Image Likeness class. A Pocono Mountain West grad, he plays basketball at Virginia Commonwealth University.

St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Sports Medicine Department has created a comprehensive Name Image Likeness (NIL) program aimed at developing future leaders in our community and can now announce its inaugural class.

“Through hard work and determination, these individuals have proven to be exemplary student athletes and people who have a positive impact in our community,” says John Hauth, manager of Sports Medicine Relationships, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “After evaluating many prospects, their exceptional character, leadership and commitment to making an impact were obvious. We are excited to offer these impressive young people an opportunity to strengthen our Team and have a real impact in the community by extending to them an offer to become part of our inaugural Name Image Likeness class.”

What is NIL?

For years, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) used the name, image and likeness of college athletes to promote their athletic programs and drive revenue. The use of student-athlete’s NILs was not compensated, and student-athletes were not permitted to seek compensation for their NILs outside of official school-related activities. In 2021, the NCAA established an interim NIL policy allowing student-athletes to receive compensation for the use of their NIL outside of official school-related activities.

At St. Luke’s, NIL has opened the door of possibilities for high school and college athletes to make money while engaging in service activities and efforts focused on giving back to their communities.

St. Luke’s inaugural NIL class is:

All NIL athletes also receive access to our state-of-the-art sports performance facilities as well as training opportunities with our elite group of sports performance coaches: access to resources across our Network and through Network partners; career planning, leadership development, social media and community relations training with industry leaders. 

“During their experience with St. Luke’s, all NIL student-athletes will make personal public appearances at St. Luke’s and other community events, participate in clinics and other sports and learning opportunities, promote their activities through positive and interactive social media and participate in St. Luke’s student-athlete development program,” adds Tim McGorry, community ambassador, St. Luke’s Sports Medicine, Fitness and Performance. “This groundbreaking NIL program will provide a clear pathway for student-athletes from college into the professional world. As the Region’s Leader in Sports Medicine and a Top 100 Hospital nationally, we are excited to offer this next generation of leaders an opportunity to become part of our St. Luke’s Team.”