Big numbers often define college athletics. Media rights deals. Donor gifts. Ticket sales. Corporate sponsors. Conference distributions. Yet one of the best, consistent, controllable revenue streams on campus still flies under the radar: licensing and trademark management.
As universities navigate Name, Image, and Likeness, a looming enrollment cliff, and increased financial pressure across higher education, licensing is emerging as a practical and scalable opportunity. It is not flashy, but it is reliable when done well. Its return on investment is strong, especially since every college already has a bookstore at its core. Within this mix of revenue initiatives are companies that help schools maximize their brands and revenue, including Nexus Licensing Group, which works with universities to protect, promote, and monetize their brands.
Founder and CEO Brian Young has spent more than two decades in the licensing industry and believes the current moment is forcing institutions to look more closely at assets they already own.
“Athletics is the front porch of the institution,” Young said. “For many fans, their emotional connection to a university starts and lives through sports. That affinity is what drives merchandise sales.”
Athletics As The Brand Engine
On most campuses, athletics is the primary driver of licensed merchandise revenue. Winning seasons, rivalry games, and championship moments create spikes in demand that universities must be ready to capture.
“When teams win a big game, conference, or a national championship, it creates a very limited but exciting window,” Young said. “Celebrating that moment through merchandise allows schools to extend their brand to new audiences while reinforcing loyalty with existing fans.”
Those moments matter only if a licensing infrastructure already exists. Licensing is not simply about selling more apparel. It is about coordination, brand consistency, and timing across campus.
One of the more misunderstood aspects of collegiate licensing is where it actually lives institutionally. While athletics often drives demand, the licensing director is not always housed within the athletic department. Roughly half the time, the role sits within marketing, communications, or an auxiliary unit, even though the majority of revenue is generated through sports.
“The best scenario between those two entities is strong collaboration,” Young said. “When athletics and the institutional side are aligned, licensing becomes a shared win. When they are not, opportunities get missed. Regardless of the situation, we have to be promoting, building, and strengthening all avenues of licensing.”
Nexus often serves as a connector, helping departments communicate, align calendars, and understand how licensing decisions affect both revenue and brand protection.
Why Schools Outsource Licensing
For many universities, outsourcing licensing is less about relinquishing control and more about gaining expertise.
“We do this every day,” Young said. “Our team brings decades of experience, established relationships, and systems that already exist.”
That includes vendor agreements, royalty structures, trademark enforcement, and approval processes that protect institutional intellectual property. For campuses navigating staffing turnover or limited resources, having that infrastructure in place can be the difference between capturing revenue and missing it entirely.
Young is also quick to mention that they can bring a licensee in “quickly” and on-board to help an institution out due to their strong relationship with their clients.
Nexus works with more than 70 institutions and over 800 licensed vendors nationwide. According to Young, the key is recognizing that every campus operates within its own ecosystem.
“Every school has a different consumer base, culture, and set of challenges,” he said. “Our job is to understand that first, then bring in the right partners.”
That approach extends to apparel brands, bookstores, online retailers, and specialty vendors. It also means supporting conversations when resistance exists, whether that comes from retailers hesitant to carry new brands or campuses slow to adopt new licensing strategies.
NIL And The Expansion Of Licensing
Name, Image, and Likeness has permanently changed the licensing landscape. What was once viewed as off-limits became standard practice almost overnight.
“The NIL era forced rapid education,” Young said. “Schools needed to understand how licensing fit into NIL, how to protect their marks, and how to give student-athletes access within the rules.”
NIL merchandise has quickly become a meaningful segment of the licensing business. Some NIL-focused vendors now rank among the top sellers across Nexus partner schools.
“We view student-athletes as another distribution channel for the university brand,” Young said. “When athletes market their own merchandise, they are also extending the reach of the institution.”
From apparel and hard goods to trading cards, NIL continues to evolve. Young believes the trading card space, in particular, is positioned for significant growth over the next year. There is already strong competition for the dollar in the consumer space, but Nexus wants to help prepare its schools for every opportunity and change to the collegiate athletics landscape.
Supply Chains, Tariffs, And The Need For Planning
While consumer demand continues to grow, the path from concept to shelf has become more complex. Tariffs and supply chain disruptions have forced licensees to rethink sourcing, pricing, and production timelines that once felt predictable.
“For many vendors, tariffs disrupted planning models that had worked for years,” Young said. “The story is still being written, but it has required everyone to be more flexible and more proactive.”
For universities, that reality has reinforced the importance of early planning and communication. Promotions such as whiteouts, blackout games, and championship celebrations cannot be built on short notice. Schools that plan months in advance and coordinate across departments are better positioned to adapt when supply chains shift while still meeting fan demand. Young says it’s still possible to do quick turnarounds, but part of Nexus’s role is to prevent fans and season ticket holders from asking, “Why didn’t we have this or that available to us to buy?”
Protecting The Institution In A Crowded Marketplace
As licensing expands, protecting institutional intellectual property has become increasingly critical. Demand, combined with stretched supply chains, often invites counterfeit and unauthorized merchandise into the marketplace. Yes, even those knock-off jerseys from across the globe.
Trademark enforcement is no longer just a legal exercise. It directly impacts revenue and brand integrity. When unauthorized products circulate, universities lose royalties and risk diluting their brand identity.
Structured licensing programs provide more than sales opportunities. They offer monitoring, enforcement tools, and quality control that ensure products bearing a university’s name, logo, or mascot align with institutional values and standards.
In an era of NIL, rapid commercialization, and growing financial pressure across higher education, brand protection is foundational to sustainability.
A Quiet But Meaningful Revenue Stream
Licensing will not replace media rights deals or donor giving. But as universities search for dependable revenue streams, it has become harder to ignore.
Licensing generates royalties. It reinforces brand consistency. It extends the institution’s reach well beyond campus.
“It’s not rocket science,” Young said. “It’s about connecting the dots, planning ahead, and recognizing the value of your brand.”
In a time when college athletics is being forced to rethink every line of revenue, licensing may no longer be a quiet corner of the department. It may be one of its most reliable tools.
