BERKELEY – As the landscape of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) continues to rapidly evolve, so does the way in which Cal Athletics supports its student-athletes. Today, the department announced the relaunching of its GOLDEN program – with enhanced and upgraded resources and support to ensure Cal student-athletes are in the best position to maximize their NIL opportunities.

"NIL has advanced in many ways since its inception three years ago," Cal associate athletic director for NIL Justin DiTolla said. "With the ever-changing landscape of NIL, it's critical for us to provide the resources our student-athletes need to be successful in their NIL activities."

Among the new features of GOLDEN are an NIL webpage on CalBears.com, an enhanced partnership with INFLCR to include the GOLDEN Exchange and extensive educational resources for Cal student-athletes.

The GOLDEN website provides information to the Cal community, highlighting the ways Cal Athletics is supporting its student-athletes in NIL activities and providing guidance to potential community partners with ways they can get involved. It also serves as a resource for Cal student-athletes to have a centralized platform for NIL policies and rules, including NCAA legislation and state laws.

Cal Athletics entered a partnership with INFLCR when it initially launched its GOLDEN program in 2021 to provide all Cal student-athletes access to images and videos to share on their social media platforms. The department has now expanded the partnership to launch the GOLDEN Exchange – an NIL marketplace that allows student-athletes to engage in activities with businesses, donors, alumni, fans and anyone else interested in pursuing partnerships.

"NIL has made a monumental difference in my college experience," said distance runner Anastasia Snodgrass, who also serves as the NIL liaison for Cal's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). "NIL isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It's been great working with Justin to build up our resources. It's really a great opportunity for everyone."

The enhanced GOLDEN program also features a series of educational opportunities for Cal student-athletes, including seminars on financial literacy, brand building and tax preparation. The renowned Haas School of Business also now includes two classes with curriculum that benefits student-athletes engaging in NIL activity, and Cal Athletics has also partnered with Berkeley Law to create an NIL Law Clinic – featuring UC Berkeley law students providing free legal services to student-athletes.

"NIL is at the forefront of our industry in college athletics," DiTolla said. "In order for us to provide a holistic experience for our student-athletes, we need to provide amazing resources across the board – and NIL is clearly at the top of that list. NIL is emerging as one of the most important topics in our industry, and it's critical that we stay proactive in that space and make sure our student-athletes are taking advantage of every opportunity that they can."