Leave is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by West Virginia University, its athletics department or its conference. Everything here comes from what West Virginia University, its conference, the state of West Virginia and the NCAA have published, linked under Sources and read on October 21, 2026. "Not published" means the school has not published it.
The rules at West Virginia
| Question | What is published | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School NIL policy | Not published. No WVU NIL policy or student-athlete handbook with NIL rules was found on wvusports.com or in the documents its sitemap lists as of 2026-10-21; the Compliance page links agent registration policies and forms, and its NIL link leads to the Gold & Blue Enterprises page. West Virginia law lets WVU attach conditions to its own NIL pay, such as limits on conflicting endorsements and on activity during official team activities (W. Va. Code § 18B-22-2(a)(3)) | WVU Athletics, Compliance and Gold & Blue Enterprises pages (read 2026-10-21); /nil/college/west-virginia |
| How deals are disclosed | NIL Go for third-party deals of $600 or more within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). A WVU disclosure rule of its own: Not published. West Virginia's statute sets no direct disclosure duty but lets a state school require athletes to disclose similar agreements as a condition of school NIL pay (§ 18B-22-2(a)(3)). The 2024 NIL Store announcement mentions "West Virginia's INFLCR Exchange" | NCAA Division I Manual 2026-27; WVU Athletics, NIL Store launch (2024-02-08); /nil/college/west-virginia |
| Banned categories | A state ban, not a school choice: no student-athlete may earn NIL pay in connection with alcohol; adult entertainment; cannabis and its derivatives (not hemp); controlled substances; performance enhancing drugs; drug paraphernalia; tobacco, nicotine and vapor products; or casinos and gambling, including sports betting (§ 18B-22-4). A school may add "prohibited endorsements" as a condition of its own NIL pay (§ 18B-22-2(a)(3)). WVU's own list: Not published | /nil/college/west-virginia |
| School marks and group licensing | WVU and The Brandr Group set up group licensing for athletes in all 18 varsity sports (announced 2021-11-16); the release says joining is voluntary, the program "does not limit individual NIL rights", and fans can buy licensed merchandise with names and numbers of athletes who join. A WVU NIL Store powered by Campus Ink launched on 2024-02-08 with "officially licensed" NIL apparel, and the site menu links "The Player Shop, NIL Gear". Rules on an athlete's own use of WVU marks in NIL deals: Not published | WVU Athletics, Brandr group licensing (2021-11-16) and NIL Store launch (2024-02-08) |
| Revenue sharing | The College Sports Commission lists WVU as participating in 2026-27 and puts the cap at "approximately $21.58 million per school". WVU Athletics wrote on 2025-10-09 that "West Virginia is at full revenue share this year and will be at full permissible revenue share again in 2026-27", that scholarships "can count toward revenue sharing", and that it would add 140 scholarships for 2026-27 (260 to 400) after the WVU Board of Governors voted unanimously in September 2025 for a resolution calling for a financial plan that positions athletics in the top funding tier of the Big 12. The Championship Resource Fund in the Mountaineer Athletic Club was set up in August 2025 "to support WVU's innovative revenue-sharing model" and Gold & Blue Enterprises; WVU wrote on 2026-08-07 that it raised more than $5.5 million in its first year, and on 2026-10-06 it launched the Champions Circle giving program for the fund, saying "resources dedicated to revenue share are essential". West Virginia law lets state colleges share athletic department revenue with athletes but not with money appropriated by the Legislature (§ 18B-22-2) | WVU Athletics stories of 2025-08-20, 2025-10-09, 2026-08-07 and 2026-10-06; College Sports Commission; /nil/college/west-virginia |
| Collective or NIL group | Gold & Blue Enterprises (GBE) is WVU's own NIL operation, which WVU calls its "in-house agency" and "in-house NIL agency". It is Gold & Blue, Inc., a nonprofit corporation: on 2025-06-13 the WVU Board of Governors authorized an affiliation agreement with it, and the minutes say it "fulfills the statutory criteria set forth in W. Va. Code § 18B-12-3" and that under the proposed agreement it may offer "education, compliance guidance, compensation, and personalized brand development" and connect athletes with corporate partners. WVU announced GBE on 2025-06-18, its first chief executive started on 2025-09-01, and its page lists financial literacy and tax training. Country Roads Trust, which a WVU release of 2025-08-20 calls "an independent Name, Image and Likeness collective", agreed that its memberships would move to the Championship Resource Fund; the same release says it would keep operating independently, focus on fair market NIL deals for Olympic sports with "a specialized focus on baseball and women's basketball", and stop offering memberships. Its own site was online on 2026-10-21 | WVU Board of Governors, minutes of 2025-06-13; WVU Athletics, Gold & Blue Enterprises page, releases of 2025-06-18, 2025-07-22 and 2025-08-20, story of 2026-08-07; countryroadstrust.com (read 2026-10-21) |
| Agents and representation | WVU's Agent Registration Policies and Procedures (posted 2024-05-28) say athlete agents doing business in West Virginia must be registered with the Secretary of State, register with WVU Athletics on its form (renewed each year, valid July 1 to June 30), give the Athletics Compliance Office written notice before first contacting a current athlete, family members or friends, send written correspondence in duplicate through that office, and give written notice of any agent contract and its terms before the athlete practices or competes or within 72 hours, whichever comes first. West Virginia law: athletes may retain a registered athlete agent or a West Virginia attorney for NIL matters; registration costs $50 and lasts two years; the athlete may cancel within 14 days (§ 18B-22-1, 18B-22-2; § 30-39) | WVU Athletics, Agent Registration Policies and Procedures (2024-05-28); /nil/college/west-virginia |
| Compliance contact | WVU Athletic Compliance Office, Hope Coliseum, wvucompliance@mail.wvu.edu, as listed on the Compliance page of wvusports.com. Since 2026-09-10 compliance is led by the deputy athletic director and chief administrative officer | WVU Athletics, Compliance; story of 2026-09-10 |
| State law | West Virginia's NIL Protection Act (W. Va. Code §§ 18B-22-1 to 18B-22-5, from 2025-04-10) lets state colleges pay athletes for NIL and share athletic revenue (not with legislative appropriations), bans eight deal categories, and bars the NCAA and conferences from penalizing athletes or schools for authorized activity; in force | /nil/college/west-virginia |
What is specific to West Virginia
West Virginia is a Power Four school where state law, not the school, sets the main NIL limits: the eight banned categories in § 18B-22-4 apply to every WVU athlete, and § 18B-22-2 lets WVU share revenue directly but keeps legislative appropriations out of it. WVU's own public NIL rulebook is thin; what it publishes instead is a business structure built on a second 2025 law. HB 2595 (Acts 2025 ch. 99, in effect from 2025-04-10) amended W. Va. Code § 18B-12-3 so a state school's board may contract with a nonprofit corporation "to conduct operational, economic, fiscal, and educational development activities and services related to intercollegiate athletics", whose voting directors "shall consist solely of employees of the institution of higher education or an employee of an affiliate", and whose athletics matters are exempt from the state open meetings rule (§ 6-9A-3) and the public records article (§ 29B-1-1 et seq.). WVU's board approved Gold & Blue, Inc. under that section in June 2025. GBE, led by a chief executive from banking, works as the department's in-house agency for athletes' deals and runs fan revenue programs such as Mountaineer Travel (2025-12-08) and the GBE Partner Network (2026-05-11). In August 2025 the independent Country Roads Trust, whose co-founder Oliver Luck asked members to continue their support through the new fund, moved its memberships into the Championship Resource Fund. WVU's agent policy is older and stricter on contact: agents notify compliance in writing before reaching an athlete or family, and correspondence passes through the compliance office.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the law decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about NIL at West Virginia
Does West Virginia pay its athletes?
Yes, through revenue sharing. WVU Athletics wrote on 2025-10-09 that WVU was at full revenue share in 2025-26 and would be at full permissible revenue share again in 2026-27, and the College Sports Commission lists WVU as a participating school. The 2026-27 cap is about $21.58 million per school, and WVU says scholarships can count toward revenue sharing. West Virginia law allows this pay but bars using money appropriated by the Legislature.
What NIL collective works with WVU?
WVU runs its own NIL operation, Gold & Blue Enterprises, announced on 2025-06-18 and called the department's in-house agency. Country Roads Trust, described by WVU in 2025 as an independent collective, moved its memberships to WVU's Championship Resource Fund in August 2025 and said it would keep working on deals for Olympic sports, especially baseball and women's basketball, without selling memberships.
Is Gold & Blue Enterprises part of WVU?
It is a separate nonprofit corporation affiliated with WVU. The WVU Board of Governors authorized an affiliation agreement with Gold & Blue, Inc., doing business as Gold & Blue Enterprises, on 2025-06-13, and its minutes say the corporation meets the criteria of W. Va. Code § 18B-12-3. Since HB 2595 (2025), that section requires the voting directors of such an athletics corporation to be employees of the school or an affiliate, and exempts its athletics matters from West Virginia's open meetings and public records laws.
What NIL deals are banned for West Virginia University athletes?
West Virginia law bans NIL pay tied to alcohol, adult entertainment, cannabis (not hemp), controlled substances, performance enhancing drugs, drug paraphernalia, tobacco, nicotine and vapor products, and casinos and gambling including sports betting (§ 18B-22-4). The ban applies to every athlete at a state college. WVU has not published a separate list of its own.
How do WVU athletes report NIL deals?
Third-party deals worth $600 or more go to NIL Go within five business days (NCAA Bylaws 22.2.2, 22.2.2.2). West Virginia's statute has no direct disclosure duty, though it lets WVU require disclosure of similar agreements as a condition of its own NIL pay, and WVU has not published a separate disclosure rule.
Does an agent need to register to work with a WVU athlete?
WVU's agent policy says athlete agents register with the West Virginia Secretary of State and with WVU Athletics each year, and give the compliance office written notice before first contacting an athlete or family. State law lets athletes hire a registered agent or a West Virginia attorney for NIL matters, and the athlete may cancel an agency contract within 14 days.
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