CLIMB Program – NIL
4/1/2024
THE CLIMB PROGRAM
Announced by WKU Athletics in summer 2021, CLIMB is a comprehensive program designed to help student-athletes grow and capitalize on their brands as Name, Image and Likeness moves to the forefront of college athletics.
Through enhanced partnerships, WKU's student-athletes will have a full suite of resources at their disposal to take ownership of their own brands and marketability. Following the approval and implementation of the NCAA vs. House settlement in the summer of 2025, WKU Athletics and the Hilltopper Athletic Foundation have announced the creation of the TOPS Fund – Together: Opportunity, Potential, Success. The TOPS Fund is a new fundraising initiative designed to support WKU student-athletes through NIL and revenue sharing opportunities.
Tying to the university's strategic mission of "Climbing to Greater Heights" and the athletic department's "Champions Climb Here" campaign, the CLIMB program will once again position WKU to be a leader among its peers.
The Hilltopper Local Exchange is a free student-athlete NIL business registry, custom-designed for approved businesses, collectives, donors, alumni and any others wishing to connect with WKU student-athletes. It will provide a customized portal where businesses and student-athletes can communicate, negotiate and enter NIL transactions.
Student-athletes will automatically receive access to the Hilltopper Local Exchange through their INFLCR apps. After being approved by WKU's NIL working group, registered businesses or organizations can search, filter and initiate conversations with student-athletes to discuss a NIL deal. Student-athletes may also initiate conversations with registered businesses themselves in the Hilltopper Local Exchange.
Once the NIL deal between a registered business and a student-athlete is completed, the business will use the Hilltopper Local Exchange to create a transaction that will produce a direct payment to the student-athlete and automate a disclosure to the WKU Compliance Office.
WKU and INFLCR do not get involved in the deal, and all transactions within Hilltopper Local Exchange are consolidated into one 1099 at the end of the year for easier tax reporting purposes for registered businesses and student-athletes.
