“I’m a ‘girl dad’ through and through.”
Mitch Lyons also describes himself as a women’s basketball fan, a businessman and now the first to cut an NIL deal with an NCAA Division II women’s basketball team – the Ferris State Bulldogs.
“Women’s basketball has increased in popularity with the Clark effect and we’re riding the wave of that a little bit and I’m a fan and that’s why I’m doing it.”
A former college and pro football player, he’s the founder of Mitch Lyons Wealth, a Rockford-based nationwide retirement planning firm that is now partnering with the FSU women’s basketball team in a Name, Image and Likeness deal in which the student athletes get paid to be featured in the company’s social media and marketing on a weekly basis.
“They were pretty excited at the opportunity to put a few bucks in their pockets and also to have some fun with the creativity of what we’re looking to do.”
The Bulldogs are coming off a successful season winning the Midwest Regional Championship and making it to the Final Four. Lyons hopes the NIL deal will encourage similar support for student athletes at smaller schools.
“Nobody’s doing this. We’re the first but I’m a competitive person and I don’t want to fail. I want this to make sense. I want this to work for Mitch Lyons Wealth and I want tis to work for them and if it inspires other companies to step up and help women’s athletics in general or Division 2 athletes where maybe those dollars aren’t being spent yet, I think that would be great.”
The Bulldogs kick off their season November 2nd.
