Part 2 – Beyond the Deal: Houston’s Lauren DuBois on Building a Smarter NIL Strategy

Part 1 appeared yesterday here.

Editor’s Note: What follows is Part 2 of an exclusive interview with Lauren DuBois, The University of Houston’s Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director for Governance and Regulatory Affairs and the Senior Woman Administrator. It first appeared in NIIL Institutional Report. DuBois plays a key role in the school’s evolving approach to NIL. More specifically, she helps student-athletes navigate opportunities while supporting the athletic department’s broader NIL strategy. In this interview, DuBois discusses Houston’s approach to NIL, the role of the C.T. Bauer College of Business and the changing college sports landscape and what lies ahead.

Hackney: Collaboration among compliance, communications, legal, development and coaching staffs has become increasingly important. What have you learned about leading those cross-functional efforts?

DuBois: I’ve learned that no single department has all the answers.

Real collaboration has to be genuine because every group brings a different area of expertise. The best decisions happen when everyone is at the table together.

Coaches, for example, often know our student-athletes better than anyone else. They understand what motivates them and what they’re looking for. As administrators, we need that perspective.

My role is often bringing those different viewpoints together, encouraging open communication and creating policies and processes that keep everyone moving in the same direction.

Working collaboratively instead of independently allows us to provide much more comprehensive support for our student-athletes.

Hackney: As Senior Woman Administrator, how do you ensure NIL education and resources are available to student-athletes across every sport, including those that don’t receive the same level of public attention?

DuBois: For us, equity begins with access.

We want every student-athlete to have access to the same educational opportunities, whether that’s branding, financial literacy or entrepreneurship. Every program we offer is available to every student-athlete.

Of course, student-athletes still have to choose to participate, but everyone has the same opportunity.

Market visibility may differ from sport to sport, but the way we prepare student-athletes shouldn’t.

We also believe it’s important to help tell their stories. As an athletic department, we can highlight who our student-athletes are outside of competition, what they’re passionate about and what makes them unique.

That helps businesses and community partners recognize opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.

Hackney: Looking ahead, what will distinguish athletic departments that successfully adapt to the next phase of college athletics?

DuBois: The departments that succeed will be the ones that remain adaptable while staying true to their core mission.

This landscape is going to continue evolving, so we have to embrace change instead of resisting it. We want to be proactive rather than simply reacting to whatever comes next.

That means continuing to build strong partnerships, continuing to collaborate and always keeping student-athlete success at the center of what we do.

If we remain focused on education, collaboration and our institutional mission while staying open to change, I think we’ll be well positioned for whatever comes next.