Clemson Opens “The CAB,” A Dedicated, Brick-And-Mortar Facility for Student-Athlete Branding & Education
The “Best” in “Best is the Standard” got better in early 2023, as Clemson opened the Allen N. Reeves Clemson Athletics Branding Institute to provide Clemson student-athletes best-in-class facilities and resources for branding, marketing, sponsorship, content creation and more.
Attached to the west end of the Poe Indoor Facility, the new 12,000-square-foot, two-story facility now houses two photo and video studios, an audio studio, editing space, conference room and the office of Name, Image and Likeness Coordinator C.D. Davies, all intended to provide on-site resources for student-athletes choosing to pursue sponsorship opportunities and content generation. The facility is also home to the Smart Family Media Center.
From its ideation, “The CAB,” as Head Coach Dabo Swinney nicknamed it, has been intended as a destination for student-athletes seeking branding guidance and resources to help elevate themselves among a crowded marketplace.
“We’re going to call it The CAB because what does a cab do? It gives you a lift to your destination,” Swinney said. “But guess what, you’ve gotta pay the fare. We can’t do it for you. You’ve got to do the work. I’m really excited about it because it’s a living, breathing space where our guys know they can go for expertise.
“If you’re injured, you go to the training room. If you want to get stronger, you go to the weight room. This was an opportunity for our guys to know that if they want help with branding and sponsorship and NIL and tax education and finances and all of these very real-world issues, you go to The CAB where we have a dedicated space with people ready to help them.”
According to Davies, that real-world experience is indispensable and part of Clemson’s educational mission.
“This is a great education for them,” Davies said of the opportunity for student-athletes to monetize their name, image and likeness. “They’re getting an education that a lot of business schools don’t get to give young people as far as actually being in the midst of doing these deals and negotiating for themselves, and we’re giving them all the tools we can to make sure our players are in control of these transactions.”
At the top of the stairs to the second floor of the new facility is a conference room overlooking Clemson’s indoor practice field, providing a location for potential…