By Joshua Burd
New Brunswick Development Corp. has unveiled its latest partnership with collegiate athletes at Rutgers University, as it marks the 50th anniversary of the historic Title IX gender equality law and the arrival of women’s sports at the school’s flagship campus.
The private nonprofit developer, commonly known as Devco, has teamed with the Knights of The Raritan organization on a series of so-called name, image and likeness deals involving eight current Scarlet Knight female student-athletes. As part of the program, the athletes took part in a video shoot to share their experiences on campus, their paths to Rutgers, their thoughts on Title IX’s impact and their favorite social spots in New Brunswick.
The organizations worked with Student Athlete NIL to shoot the interviews at The Yard @ College Ave, the mixed-use site that is one of Devco’s many significant projects in the city.
“The histories of Title IX and the women of Rutgers University Athletics are inextricably linked, with Rutgers having first admitted women to the undergraduate and intercollegiate athletic programs in 1972, the same year in which Title IX was enacted,” said Devco President Christopher Paladino, a Rutgers alumnus with deep ties to the school. “In the years since, the women of Rutgers University Athletics have been a national force both athletically and in the classroom. Devco is proud to highlight the incredible women currently participating in Rutgers Athletics, as well as the contributions of the generations of women who paved the way at Rutgers since 1972.”
Devco is also an institution in the Hub City, having been founded in the mid-1970s to serve as a catalyst for its revitalization. It has since spearheaded billions of dollars in development to help spark the downtown and the areas around Rutgers University, with projects such as The Yard, the Rutgers Honors College and a host of others.
Title IX is a federal civil rights law that is a part of the Education Amendments of 1972, prohibiting sex-based discrimination within educational programs that receive federal funding. Its enactment in June 1972 led to decades of advancement in women’s collegiate athletics and elevated women’s rights on a broader basis.
The eight Rutgers student-athletes involved in the multimedia project were compensated through NIL deals with Knights of The Raritan, under last year’s NCAA rules allowing athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness. They include:
- Antonia Bates – Women’s Basketball
- Carly Snarski – Women’s Field Hockey
- Lauren DeLo – Women’s Volleyball
- Megan Herka – Women’s Softball
- Kayla Bock – Women’s Softball
- Ashley Campo- Women’s Lacrosse
- Sophia Cardello – Women’s Lacrosse
- Sara Carolonza – Women’s Lacrosse
Content associated with the project will be released in conjunction with the start of the 2022-2023 academic year at Rutgers.
“This is a unique NIL partnership and it’s no surprise that Devco is at the corporate forefront of celebrating the Rutgers roots of a progressive cause like the 50th anniversary of Title IX,” said Jon Newman, president of Knights of The Raritan. “Many of RU’s most memorable athletics moments over the last 50 years came from women’s programs — like the 1982 AIAW women’s basketball national title, the 2007 women’s basketball national title game and
women’s soccer’s College Cup appearances in 2015 and 2021.
“KTR looks forward to doing many more deals with female athletes at Rutgers, with Devco and with other local and national organizations.”
