The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JANUARY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 9 BY ANTHONY BROOME L ast spring in collaboration with Altius Sports Partners, the Michi- gan athletic department hired Terése Whitehead to serve as its in-house NIL executive general manager, noting that she would "spearhead Michigan's NIL program in her new role, leading the department's strategy to provide ath- letes with comprehensive support and resources to capitalize on their NIL opportunities." A little over six months after arriv- ing back at her alma mater, Whitehead reflected on the decision to take the position. "You always think you have your dream job until your dream job really appears," Whitehead, who has two decades of experience in sports and entertainment marketing, told Jon Jansen on the "Conqu'ring Heroes" podcast on Dec. 5. "And this has been my dream job. There was no saying no to this opportunity." Whitehead's appearance comes at a time when the university's voice in the NIL space has grown dramatically, headlined by the signing of No. 1 overall football recruit Bryce Underwood. She played a major part in unifying all of the powers that be in executing the plan. "You can think of Altius as the of- fensive coordinator and Michigan as the head coach," she said. "Michigan is set- ting the vision and the culture, while Altius and I are crafting the playbook, analyzing the field and ensuring every move supports the overall game plan. "Altius brings structure and ensures alignment with the university's mis- sion and compliance with NCAA rules. Every day, I'm working alongside [di- rector of athletics] Warde Manuel, the athletes, the coaches, the staff, donors, and even externally with Champions Circle and Michigan Sports Properties. I'm just trying to forecast what's ahead of us and making sure there's a plan and preparation for it, while managing the challenges of today and ensuring that we have a sustainable system where ev- eryone can thrive." An ever-changing NIL landscape would be daunting for most, but White- head says she has thrived in the pursuit of being a tone-setter in the industry. "Most people would be scared by that," she revealed. "It energizes me and excites me. It gives me room to chart the path and create opportunities for the student-athletes, to create a different way of doing things. I am such a huge believer that the way things have always been done is not the only way. "You really have no idea of what's coming tomorrow. You don't have all the pieces either to solve the puzzle. Those are some of the challenges that I have, but it's also the opportunity at the same time. "I've been here now for six months, and I think one of the biggest challenges was the fact that NIL means something different to every single person. One of the things that's most important to me is how can I help people understand it in the way that it was meant to be imple- mented, dispelling some of the misun- derstandings or confusion based on me- dia reports. I truly want to help people translate this foreign language that is ❱ Inside Michigan ATHLETICS U-M's NIL Executive GM Discusses Progress In Ann Arbor Terése Whitehead, a 1999 U-M graduate, is responsible for spearheading the school's NIL program, and is operating in a newly created role that is less than a year old. PHOTO COURTESY TERÉSE WHITEHEAD