On Nov. 3, Illinois fans celebrated the grand reopening of the Illinois NIL store at The Lab near Campus Ink. Stocked with a large quantity of licensed apparel, the store gave fans the unique opportunity to support their Illini athletes directly. The Illinois NIL store is part of a broader network of 87 colleges nationwide, launched in 2021 with the help of notable Shark Tank investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban.
“We’ve had this location for several years,” said Lindsay Quick, product and sales specialist at Campus Ink. “We’ve always had this vision of really making it sort of a retail location where Illini fans can come in and make gear and meet players … So that’s what we’ve done. And we’re going to keep making renovations and updates to it, but it’s open, it’s ready for customers and we’re excited about it.”
The grand opening was held during the middle of the football season and the start of the men’s and women’s basketball seasons, which made it an ideal time for fans to explore a wide range of gear.
“We wanted to capitalize on both basketball and football season because it’s kind of that crossover season,” Quick said.
Redshirt sophomore guard Ty Rodgers was the headline of the event, making a scheduled appearance. Before he decided to redshirt, he was the main men’s basketball returner and an ideal option to lure fans out to shop. Fans who purchased an item could receive a free autograph from Rodgers, while others could pay $20 to have personal items signed.
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Quick believes that the store’s mission is to bridge the gap between fans and athletes by making player-branded merchandise readily available.
“We want to create a space where fans can interact with athletes, get autographs and truly feel connected to the players they support,” Quick said. “It’s all about making it a place where they can come and hang out, get their gear and make memories with the athletes they admire.”
The Lab’s reopening also featured customizable apparel options for fans, including T-shirts, hoodies, crewnecks, jerseys and personalized items with player names and numbers on the spot. On top of that, Quick says that a 20-30% portion of each sale goes directly to the athletes, providing them with a sustainable income source.
“(Fans) knowing that they’re helping give money to those student-athletes is huge,” Quick said.
Their grand reopening is just the start, Quick said, and they’ll continue looking for more ways to bring fans and athletes together through Illinois merchandise in the future.
