“Right now, a lot of NIL has to be alumni driven,” said Husky alumni Catherine Clark, who graduated from the University of Washington in 1985. During her time at Washington, Clark was a swimmer while she studied law, and now she has her own law firm in the Seattle area and sits on the advisory board of Montlake Futures. “At this time, there’s only so much that any university can do with NIL.”

“NIL will be controlled at some point, and when it does, there are very few schools that are in a better position than Washington,” Clark said. With numerous Fortune 500 companies based in the Greater Seattle area

“Currently, NIL is also very restricted at a state level,” she said. “Under Article Eight, Section Seven of the Washington state constitution, if someone at Amazon wanted to give the athletic department a million dollars to recruit a certain player, that would be illegal.”

The article states, “No county, city, town or other municipal corporation shall hereafter give any money, or property, or loan its money, or credit to or in aid of any individual, association, company or corporation, except for the necessary support of the poor and infirm.”

What this means is that while it might still be going on in some states and some other institutions (especially with donors that own certain large companies), it’s against the law in the state of Washington. Clark went on to say that she believes that whoever ends up as Mark Emmert’s successor as NCAA president will end up coming down hard on some institutions that have taken up this model of NIL. And on Tuesday, she was proven right.

An article from Ross Dellinger at Sports Illustrated came out with a report stating that the NCAA is putting together a task force to come down with sanctions for schools that are disguising NIL deals as “pay for play” deals organized by boosters in order to convince recruits to commit to a certain school. Rumors were floating that an unnamed five-star quarterback agreed to one of these types of deals worth up to $8 million at an SEC school. Another rumor going around alleged another five-star prospect was given somewhere in the range of $1.2 to $1.5 million to commit to a school.

NFL Hall of Famer and current Jackson State head coach Deion Sandes had something similar to say about the current, somewhat unsustainable state of NIL.

“Schools that do not control their donors’ spending could be found to have violated NCAA rules and will be sanctioned, according to the document. The NCAA enforcement staff have made inquiries only into a small handful of programs so far, but the guidelines could spark deeper investigations into improper inducements tied to NIL payments,” the article stated. “‘We let things get out of hand,’ says one official with knowledge of the guidelines. “’We have to get [the boosters] out of contacting recruits and bartering with them.’”

“One thing I urge alumni who want to find a way to help is to find a way to provide internship opportunities to student-athletes,” she said. “I want to give the university my most valuable asset, my time. I’ve helped 16 student-athletes with internship opportunities, and I know there are other alumni out there who can provide the same kind of opportunity. There’s an endless amount of resources out there in an athletic department for business owners to pull from, and one of the best things about Washington is how we as a university can set up opportunities and pathways for student-athletes to succeed after their playing days are over, because no matter what, they end for everyone.”

As of right now, three players have announced they’ll be hosting free camps through Montlake Futures, quarterback Sam Huard, tight end Devin Culp, and linebacker Carson Bruener. Linebacker Milton Hopkins Jr. has also announced his intentions to host a local 7on7 tournament in July. 20 players will be attending the first annual “Dawg Derby,” a fishing tournament in the Port of Everett. Five players, quarterback Michael Penix Jr., cornerback Jordan Perryman, edge rusher Zion Tupuola-Fetui, center Corey Luciano and safety Alex Cook, will also be attending the annual Windermere Cup’s “Party on the Cut” event, where they’ll be selling individual merchandise and signing autographs in partnership with Washington’s NIL group.

So what can fans and alumni who are looking to get involved do? Get in touch with your favorite Husky athlete, offer to sponsor a camp, host an autograph signing at your local business, name a sandwich after them at your deli and give them some of the proceeds. Buy tickets or sign their kids up to the events listed above. The options are endless, but as Clark stressed, “It’s on us to make it happen.” So if Husky fans want to make it happen and make sure their school stays competitive on a national level, they have to find any way they can to help out.

All information for the events listed above can be found here.