NIL Edge Interview: - Lauren Cherry - North Texas - Director, NIL Strategy & Revenue Share Operations

NIL Edge Interview: - Lauren Cherry - North Texas - Director, NIL Strategy & Revenue Share Operations

From NIL Edge by NILNewsstand/ Digital Sport by Hot Paper Lantern

June 5, 2026 · 28 min

About this episode

Lauren Cherry discusses the importance of NIL education and how athletic departments can support student-athletes in the modern college sports landscape.

What does it take to prepare student-athletes for success in today's NIL environment? In this episode of NIL Edge, we sit down with Lauren Cherry, Director of NIL Strategy & Revenue Share Operations at the University of North Texas, to discuss how athletic departments can help student-athletes build the skills needed to thrive in the modern college athletics landscape. Lauren shares how North Texas developed its Influence Cohort, a program designed to educate athletes on personal branding, content creation, and professional development. She explains why NIL education matters more than ever, how schools can help athletes create value beyond the playing field, and what businesses should look for when evaluating potential athlete partnerships. The conversation also explores the realities behind NIL deal values, common misconceptions about the industry, the challenges of managing roster turnover in the transfer portal era, and how athletic departments are adapting to a rapidly changing college sports environment. Topics covered: • The University of North Texas Influence Cohort • Why NIL education matters more than ever • Preparing student-athletes for brand partnerships • Common…

People in this episode

Guest: Lauren Cherry

Topics covered

  • NIL education
  • student-athlete development
  • personal branding
  • NIL partnerships
  • transfer portal
  • college athletics

Keywords

  • NIL
  • student-athletes
  • branding
  • content creation
  • revenue sharing
  • athlete partnerships
  • transfer portal
  • college sports

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of North Texas

More episodes of NIL Edge

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the NIL Edge podcast page.