News Department

St. Luke’s Sports Medicine launches NIL Program for student-athletes

St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Sports Medicine Department has created a comprehensive Name Image Likeness (NIL) program aimed at developing future leaders in our community and can now announce its inaugural class.

“Through hard work and determination, these individuals have proven to be exemplary student athletes and people who have a positive impact in our community,” says John Hauth, manager of Sports Medicine Relationships, St. Luke’s University Health Network. “After evaluating many prospects, their exceptional character, leadership and commitment to making an impact were obvious. We are excited to offer these impressive young people an opportunity to strengthen our Team and have a real impact in the community by extending to them an offer to become part of our inaugural Name Image Likeness class.”

For years, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) used the name, image and likeness of college athletes to promote their athletic programs and drive revenue. The use of student-athlete’s NILs was not compensated, and student-athletes were not permitted to seek compensation for their NILs outside of official school-related activities.

In 2021, the NCAA established an interim NIL policy allowing student-athletes to receive compensation for the use of their NIL outside of official school-related activities.

At St. Luke’s, NIL has opened the door of possibilities for high school and college athletes to make money while engaging in service activities and efforts focused on giving back to their communities.

St. Luke’s inaugural NIL class is:

NAME                                 HIGH SCHOOL                                  COLLEGE                                           SPORT

  • Najee Adams                     Easton                                                Lafayette College                        Football
  • Abe Atiyeh                         Moravian Academy                        Boston College                               Basketball
  • Blake Barthol                    Parkland                                            Coastal Carolina University           Baseball
  • Karam Chakif                     Dieruff                                               Lehigh University                         Wrestling
  • Maddison Darmstadt      Phillipsburg                                       Stonehill College                            Field Hockey
  • Devyn Demchak               Northampton                                   Drexel University                            Softball
  • Brynn Dreisbach              Parkland                                            West Chester University                 Volleyball
  • Nate Ellis                            Allen                                                   DeSales University                      Basketball
  • Sanaiya Ellis                       Allen                                                   NCACC                                        Basketball
  • Tyler Elsdon                       North Schuylkill                                Penn State University                    Football
  • Christian Ferman              Pocono Mountain West                Virginia Commonwealth University   Basketball
  • Trevor Harris                     Liberty                                                Lehigh University                          Football
  • Riley Horoshko                 Central Catholic                               Temple University                           Lacrosse
  • Justin Kanyuk                    Bethlehem Catholic                        University of North Carolina           Football
  • Jennifer Kokolus               Freedom                                            Holy Family University                  Basketball
  • Chuck Kuczynski               Central Catholic                               Syracuse University                        Lacrosse
  • Jack McGorry                    Central Catholic                               St. Joseph’s University                   Lacrosse
  • Brianna Moore                 Palmerton                                         Duquesne University                     Soccer
  • Ava Schaller                       Parkland                                            Lehigh University                         Soccer
  • Damon Simpson               Wilson                                                University of Connecticut            Track & Field
  • Brylee Tereska                  Liberty                                                Bucknell University                       Track & Field
  • Emily Vaughn                    Central Catholic                               Muhlenberg College                      Basketball

All NIL athletes also receive access to our state-of-the-art sports performance facilities as well as training opportunities with our elite group of sports performance coaches: access to resources across our Network and through Network partners; career planning, leadership development, social media and community relations training with industry leaders.

“During their experience with St. Luke’s, all NIL student-athletes will make personal public appearances at St. Luke’s and other community events, participate in clinics and other sports and learning opportunities, promote their activities through positive and interactive social media and participate in St. Luke’s student-athlete development program,” said Tim McGorry, community ambassador, St. Luke’s Sports Medicine, Fitness and Performance. “This groundbreaking NIL program will provide a clear pathway for student-athletes from college into the professional world. As the Region’s Leader in Sports Medicine and a Top 100 Hospital nationally, we are excited to offer this next generation of leaders an opportunity to become part of our St. Luke’s Team.”

Jay Edwards

Born and raised in Northwest NJ, Jay has a degree in Communications and has had a life-long interest in local radio and various styles of music. Jay has held numerous jobs over the years such as stunt car driver, bartender, voice-over artist, traffic reporter (award winning), NY Yankee maintenance crewmember and peanut farm worker. His hobbies include mountain climbing, snowmobiling, cooking, performing stand-up comedy and he is an avid squirrel watcher. Jay has been a guest on America’s Morning Headquarters,program on The Weather Channel, and was interviewed by Sam Champion.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button