MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Athletics and Travel Wisconsin teamed up to showcase the beauty of the Badger State through a first-of-its-kind Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) campaign featuring 17 University of Wisconsin student-athletes. Learfield's Badger Sports Properties facilitated the collaboration with content produced by the Emmy Award-winning Learfield Studios team.

The campaign includes the creation of six videos featuring the "Wonders of Wisconsin" with each highlighting unique destinations and experiences across Wisconsin, all through the eyes of Badger student-athletes. The monthlong campaign includes 17 student-athletes representing six programs, including Men's Basketball's Nick Boyd, Andrew Rhode and Nolan Winter; Football's Vinny Anthony II, Ricardo Hallman, Trech Kekahuna, and Darryl Peterson III; Volleyball's Maile Chan, Charlie Fuerbringer, and Morgan Van Wie; Women's Cross Country's Mya Bunke, Kylie Finger, and Maggie Munson; Women's Hockey's Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey; and Women's Swim and Dive's Abby Wanezek and Maggie Wanezek.

"Our partnership with Travel Wisconsin is a tremendous example of how collaborating with UW Athletics can drive awareness and create meaningful impact," said Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics. "I'm proud of how the campaign showcases the many special places and experiences that make Wisconsin the great state that it is—and how it connects those to Wisconsin student-athletes."

Travel Wisconsin is the official destination marketing organization for Wisconsin operating under the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. Travel Wisconsin markets the state as a premier travel destination to generate greater economic impact for Wisconsin through tourism. 

"Our partnership with the Wisconsin Badgers represents a fresh and dynamic approach to modern-day destination storytelling," said Shane Brossard, Chief Marketing Officer of Travel Wisconsin. "By leveraging authentic experiences in Wisconsin's top destinations, we embrace how people discover travel today and invite everyone to explore Wisconsin for themselves."

The NIL partnership officially launched earlier this month with the debut of the first two "Wonders of Wisconsin" videos, which premiered on Wisconsin Athletics and Travel Wisconsin's social media platforms. New videos drop every Wednesday through August, continuing to spotlight many of Wisconsin's top travel destinations.

 "This collaboration with Travel Wisconsin is a powerful example of how NIL partnerships can create authentic, story-driven content," said Scott Silvestri, General Manager of Badger Sports Properties. "By spotlighting student-athletes as ambassadors for our state, we're not only elevating Wisconsin's tourism brand, we're also providing meaningful opportunities for student-athletes to share their experience and connect with Badger Fans and communities across the state."

Badgers Sports Properties, the locally based team of Learfield – the media and technology company powering college sports – is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for University of Wisconsin Athletics and oversees all sponsorship agreements on behalf of the Badgers.

About Learfield
Learfield is the media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield's presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors' Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.