A financial proposal under the new Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) rule in college sports was presented Tuesday morning to members of the UTSA women’s basketball team.
Roadrunners coach Karen Aston said it’s the first deal of its kind for her team as a group.
Details weren’t immediately available, but it sounded as if it might involve an appearance or appearances. At the end of practice, Aston invited two men attending the workout to talk to her players at center court.
The two spelled out the terms to the players and invited them to participate. Afterward, some players were reading the paperwork on the court.
“That’s a huge deal for this program, to have somebody invest in our young women,” UTSA coach Karen Aston said. “No matter what the amount and what the transaction is, or whatever you want to call it, just to have people that really care about women’s basketball and athletics in this city is something that I think could catch fire.
“It takes somebody to step up to the plate and be generous … and we’ll go from there. Like I said, I hope it catches fire.”
Aston declined to disclose the details, saying she wanted to go through the “proper channels” before she makes any statements in that regard.
“I knew they were coming to practice but I didn’t know they were presenting that,” she said. “That was a wonderful surprise for our coaching staff and our players. I’m happy for ’em. Again, every little bit matters.”
Aston said her team has individuals with “small building blocks of NIL,” but as for the whole entire team, “that was unexpected.”
“It was very generous,” she said.
In basketball-related developments, senior Hailey Atwood and junior transfer Kyra White have stepped up their level of activity in practices. Both took part in team drills.
Since the fall semester started, players have attended workouts and have worked out mostly on their own. Tuesday, both were involved in team sets on a limited basis.
“They’ve been in some halfcourt stuff,” Aston said. “They’re limited right now to half court. Kyra is a little bit ahead of Hailey. As far as being able to go a certain amount of minutes. But it’s definitely progress.”
Aston said she’s encouraged because both are experienced players. White played 77 games the past three seasons at Southern Cal. Atwood played 27 games and started 12 for the Roadrunners last season.
As a team, the coach said she likes the way the group is progressing defensively.
“I feel like any time you work on skills and actions in the summer and fall your defense is typically a little bit behind, and it is,” Aston said. “But we’ve concentrated (on it) the last couple of days, so I think we’ve made a little progress.”
The Roadrunners open their season on Nov. 7 against Stephen F. Austin.