Vanderbilt pairs athletes with medical partner for new-look NIL approach – Sports Business Journal

Shan Foster, the all-time leading scorer for the Vanderbilt men’s basketball team, is helping spearhead a deal between Iris Medical Group, Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the school’s men’s basketball program that will center on Vanderbilt Gs Chandler Bing and Mike James being matched with Iris Medical CEO Joel Parker, MD, as part of a mentorship program/micro-internship, in addition to gaining real world experience in their desired fields of work. An official announcement is slated for Tuesday.
“They get a chance to learn that business model, get a chance to be around other executives to be able to glean from their experiences,” Foster, now the director of community engagement at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Sports Business Journal. “That’s what being a Vanderbilt student athlete is really all about — being able to not only compete at the highest level, but also get the highest level of experience so that when you finish your career at Vanderbilt, then you leave with options.”
The deal with Bing and James will be managed and run by the Venn Group — a cohort of sports industry experts headed by attorney Darren Dummit — as part of its “MIL” (Mentorship Influences Lives) initiative.
Dummit’s involvement is noteworthy as his work previously included creating the “MIL” approach via an internship for then-USC QB Caleb Williams and Hawkins Way Capital, a real estate private equity firm, during Williams’ time in college.
The L.A.-based attorney has also done varying consulting in the NIL space with high-profile transfer quarterbacks around contracts and more. Most recently, that work included Wisconsin QB Colton Joseph, who is also an intern on the Venn Group’s MIL team.
“[The MIL approach] is the way to provide opportunity,” Dummit told SBJ. “And to open up their eyes to all of the other opportunity that exists now and for the next 40 years if you make meaningful relationships right now.”
As it relates to Bing and James, the pair will be compensated for their efforts, in addition to contributing time and support to Vanderbilt’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, including donations and fundraising events for Vanderbilt’s Youth Sports Health Center.
“The idea of a kid missing competition unnecessarily is not something that you want to have to do,” Foster said. “Having doctors that understand sport and understand the importance of sport and the lives of kids and their family becomes really, really important to being able to provide a plan of action that gets them back to competition as soon as possible.”

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