In the summer of 2021, three letters upended college athletics: NIL. What began as the notion that athletes were entitled to compensation for their school’s use of the athlete’s name, image and likeness assumed a formal structure under the court’s decision in House v. NCAA that could see major universities pay their athletes $20.5 million per year.

Athletic directors are to become more than paymasters, however; they have a leadership role to manage revenue-sharing and develop revenue sources. They also can use the moment to create greater value for players, schools and a broader set of students -- benefits that will help schools distinguish themselves on more than the size of their wallets, and in ways that can help their students for a lifetime. And they should do so, rather than waiting for the NCAA or their respective conference.

We believe that athletic departments and their colleges should create an integrated, technologically advanced and content-rich hub that combines social-media-style engagement with institutional imprimatur. Under the school’s banner, new digital services would contain channels for their stars (in sports and other fields) -- brand-building vehicles connecting talent to sponsors and revenue opportunities provided by the market and not merely from university budgets. Think of it as Netflix for the NCAA. Clemson (Clemson ) and Arkansas (Hogs ) have set the pace with their initiatives, partnering with providers to develop digital platforms.

Those apps, however, are subscription-based funnels for alumni, business models that limit athlete visibility and revenue potential. Widening the aperture to include ad-based revenue maximizes app traffic, engages more fans and enhances athlete exposure, while developing significant revenue sources for players and........

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