TicketsCincinnati volleyball redshirt-freshman Janelle Green came a long way from her slight trepidation in posting her first Instagram reel last year.
Now, with her second season on the Cincinnati volleyball team less than two months away and days after a whirlwind trip to Austin, Texas as a new C4 energy drink ambassador, that initial shock is long gone.
"I only knew about NIL through my two older brothers who played collegiately, and it blew up right between our careers," Green said. "It's more something that I do for fun. I enjoy and it's opened up a lot of great opportunities, but I wouldn't use it as a characteristic to define myself. I didn't know much about it going into college. It didn't weigh any of my decisions of where I was going or what I wanted to do, because volleyball and school were always my priority."
Green credits Launchpoint, an app that matches athletes with brand deals through self-created videos, as how the C4 process began.
"I was home in May, and I made a couple of videos with the C4 drinks they sent me for free,” Green said. “I then started pushing more content and taking pictures for them. (Eddie Taylor, Director of NIL & Innovation) was able to put in a good word for me with Launchpoint.
"I didn't think too much of it, and then all of a sudden, they say 'hey, do you want to come to Texas? We have a great opportunity.' I told them 'absolutely, yes.'"
But here's the rub: her Kansas City address was registered with them, and she was on her way back to Cincinnati soon after to work out. It turned out to be the best possible lemons-into-lemonade content piece, as her unboxing video instead became her parents doing it for her creating something even more organic and unique.
"It's really funny and all very authentic," Green said. "I'm already re-watching it now but it's literally just my parents, and I like laughing and having fun."
NIL, as student-athletes from Cincinnati and beyond have realized, is also an incredible tool for relationships beyond campus for professional and social networking. She also earned an invite to C4’s inaugural Field Day in Austin this June, bringing 28 influencers and NIL athletes for a two-day experience designed to showcase the C4 brand, our innovation pipeline and the vibrant culture behind it.
"One of the girls I met lives in Florida and is already planning to come to our road match at UCF," Green said. "Another couple of people who live in Ohio want to come down one weekend to watch a volleyball game, which I think is super cool. We've been checking in to see how our Fourth of July plans went.
There has also been a strong sense of mentorship and teamwork.
"One of the girls is much more of an influencer than me and has that kind of following,” Green said. “We spent what felt like an hour or two talking about how she handles pressure, how did she grow, and what were her thoughts on different things, because I consider myself a baby in those areas. She was very genuine and texted me a week ago to both check in and say she was glad to meet me."
Cincinnati opens its first season under head coach Danijela Tomic on Friday, Aug. 29 for the Tribute to #10 tournament at Fifth Third Arena, first against Wake Forest followed by Michigan on Sunday.