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Vanderbilt has announced the launch of Anchor Advantage, a new organization that will take direct control of the university’s efforts towards matters relating to Name, Image and Likeness.
The move comes months after Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee told Vandy on SI that the university will fully fund revenue sharing as a sign of its commitment to athletics. Anchor Impact independently handled Vanderbilt’s NIL matters after being established in 2021, but has been brought under the umbrella of Anchor Advantage with the move.
So, what happens to former head of Anchor Impact Paul Grindstaff? Vandy on SI can confirm that Grindstaff is still involved with Vanderbilt Name, Image and Likeness efforts via his third-party organization West End Sports Partners.
“As Vanderbilt integrates Anchor Impact’s work internally with the launch of Anchor Advantage, independent third-party NIL partnerships remain essential to operating with the greatest range of resources,” Grindstaff said. “West End Sports Partners, which I formed last fall, will continue focusing on third-party deals which provide additional, beyond rev-share opportunities to student athletes through brand partnerships, events, and activations.”
Vanderbilt’s move appears to come partly in response to the NCAA House Settlement, which encourages schools to compensate student athletes directly rather than through independent collectives. The cap on athlete compensation at each school is 20.5 million dollars, although Name, Image and Likeness still appears to have its place as programs look to be competitive financially outside of the revenue sharing allotments they’ve been allowed.
Storey Lee and company led Vanderbilt’s athletic department to a revival of sorts that has included a 10-2 football season as well as an NCAA Tournament berth for each of its basketball programs last season and the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament for its baseball program. High seeds in the NCAA Tournament are inevitable for both of Vanderbilt’s basketball programs. Many of those rosters were built while Grindstaff and Anchor Impact were handling the school’s NIL.
“We are grateful to Paul Grindstaff and everyone who helped Anchor Impact meet a particularly challenging moment in the evolution of college athletics,” Lee said. “Their passion helped drive us forward, and their care for Vanderbilt student-athletes made it clear that our mission to win marches in lockstep with our values and commitment to holistic growth and development for every Commodore.”
Vanderbilt will move forward looking to capitalize on the way that direct player compensation has changed the landscape of college sports. As of now, it appears as if the logistics of revenue sharing and how schools will navigate it are still being ironed out.
“This is extremely complicated,” Vanderbilt basketball coach Mark Byington said at SEC Media Days. “I thought we might get to a certain spot where rev sharing is in place and now we know what we’re going to deal with and what’s going to be the case and we don’t. Things are still changing. When you’re going through such big changes in college athletics, there’s going to be some things you’ve got to work through.”
Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Southeastern 16 and Mainstreet Nashville.
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