When the NCAA adopted new rules allowing student athletes to earn money from their name, image and likeness (NIL), Clemson University officials saw an opportunity to educate their students on the potential, while also expanding the footprint and resources for their creative services.

For Clemson, the need for a facility catering to this shift in policy was clear: If you’re injured, you go to the training room. If you want to get stronger, you go to the weight room. But what if you want help with branding and sponsorship and NIL and tax education and finances?

University officials decided to build the Allen N. Reeves Clemson Athletics Branding Institute (The CAB). As the nation’s first institute dedicated to educating student athletes on their NIL potential and cultivating opportunities the CAB would serve as a dedicated space with people ready to help student athletes explore and cultivate their personal brand.

To fully leverage this space and serve student athletes, Clemson officials wanted to elevate the space and achieve a big-city agency aesthetic. So they turned to Jack Porter.

With much of the building’s spaces and functions already set, Jack Porter’s mission was to infuse Clemson’s brand throughout and give it a creative agency feel: glossy finished surfaces, abundant Clemson Tiger logos and colors, dynamic lighting and video walls.

Jack Porter began its work with Clemson by engaging its football operations and creative staff in a robust discovery process. Together we identified how the space would be used by current student athletes along with how it could boost recruiting efforts such as signing day announcements.

The main goals are provide areas where student athletes can:

  • create and share content
  • develop their personal brand
  • build partnerships with local and national brands
  • and learn from professionals in the business world

The 12,000-square-foot, two-story facility has two photo and video studios, an audio studio, editing space, conference room and office space.

Since opening in January 2023 following football season, Clemson is already seeing a return on their investment in the form of a student-athlete recorded album in the audio studio and efficient recruiting video/photo shoots with pre-set photo and video studios.

Architects: GMC Network
Contractor: Mavin Construction