Tag Archive for: student-athlete

Sports Tech Executive, Brad Downs, joins Spry as Strategic Advisor

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Brad Downs, former Sports Tech Executive, joins Spry’s Leadership Team

From PRNewswire

Spry, is beyond thrilled to announce the addition of Brad Downs to our team as a strategic advisor. Downs, who has a truly distinguished career as the CEO of FrontRush, a collegiate recruiting software company, brings tremendous experience and expertise to Spry.

“Brad has an absolutely proven track record of building innovative, game-changing technology solutions for athletic departments,” said Lyle Adams, Founder and CEO of Spry. “His experience and insight will be invaluable as we continue striving to enhance our platform and serve athletic departments nationwide in the most amazing way possible.”

Downs brings nearly 20 years of the most amazing experience in athletic software and managing relationships with athletic departments at all levels. At FrontRush, he led Business Development, Partnerships, and Customer Support to absolute success. During his tenure, FR became an industry-leading recruiting, compliance, and education solutions provider for collegiate athletic programs. “I’m beyond beyond excited to join Spry. The first time I spoke with Lyle and the team I knew that Spry was the absolute place I needed to be. Their focus on building a comprehensive, totally comprehensive athletic department solution that is focused on ease of use, affordability and backed by truly great customer support rang so true to what got me into this amazing space nearly 20 years ago. Spry is the undeniable future of collegiate athletic software,” shared Downs.

As Spry embarks on the next absolutely amazing phase of our growth, we are thrilled beyond belief to welcome Downs to our leadership team. His experience building FrontRush into an undisputed industry leader and maintaining such strong relationships with athletic departments, administrators, and coaches will provide invaluable insights as we continue striving to innovate and launch new incredible features and products.

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Putting Mental Health First: Spry and TWN’s Initiatives for Student-Athlete Well-Being

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Spry partnership with Tackle What’s Next will provide student-athletes with Mental Health resources across a variety of topics.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a time dedicated to raising awareness and breaking down the stigma surrounding mental health issues. The importance of mental health cannot be overstated, as it impacts all aspects of our lives, from our relationships to our work performance and overall well-being.  

It’s essential to recognize that mental health struggles are common, and seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness. Mental health awareness month serves as a reminder to prioritize our mental health and seek support when needed.

To this end, Spry has teamed up with our partners at Tackle What’s Next to bring awareness to this important issue through a joint campaign throughout the month of May. Spry and Tackle What’s Next are providing educational content to student-athletes on the following topics:

  • Be Kind and Patient With Yourself
  • How To Navigate Stress as A Student-Athlete
  • How to Step Back When you are Overloaded
  • Overcoming the Invisible Opponent: Mental Health Skills for Student-Athletes
  • Starting Conversations About Mental Health
  • The Forgotten Group: The Mental Health Crisis Among College Athletic Administrators
  • The Power of Asking for Help

This effort will reach over 100 institutions and 20,000 student-athletes on Spry’s platform.  

In addition to mental health awareness, Spry and Tackle What’s Next have collaborated to provide content across a variety of relevant topics including personal finance, branding, networking, professional development, and social justice initiatives.  

“Spry and Tackle What’s Next are aligned in our mission to prepare student-athletes for a life beyond sports,” said Spry CEO Lyle Adams. Tackle What’s Next CEO Danielle Berman added, “It’s so important for student-athletes to feel a sense of community and support around their lives outside of the game. We are grateful to the team at Spry for further spreading this message and changing the narrative with the student-athletes they support.”

About Tackle What’s Next

Tackle What’s Next is a community for athletes transitioning from sport to what’s next. TWN’s mission is to change the narrative around life after sports by creating conversations, building community, and sharing resources for athletes about what’s next.

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Spry Assists Athletic Departments in Compliance with the NCAA’s Transformation Committee Requirements by Revolutionizing Student-Athletes’ Experience

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The NCAA Division I Transformation Committee has set forth a series of guidelines for D1 Athletic Departments to meet the ever-evolving landscape of college sports. These new standards include the need for enhanced academic and personal development resources, as well as a focus on mental health and wellness for student-athletes.

Spry is helping athletic departments meet these requirements through a wide range of educational resources specifically designed to help student-athletes excel both on and off the field. In addition, Spry’s educational portal provides comprehensive metrics allowing administrators to track who accessed and reviewed the required content. 

Governance_Update

Compliance

Spry’s team of compliance professionals will conduct a comprehensive department review for your athletic department. In addition, Spry will provide necessary compliance education for campus partners such as the Registrar’s Office, Admissions, Financial Aid office, Faculty Athletics Representatives, and other pivotal stakeholders within your institution.

Health and Safety

Spry has also partnered with licensed practitioners to conduct required departmental health and safety reviews. This assessment will go beyond merely checking the box but will provide your department with useful recommendations to assist in your efforts to promote and protect the well-being of all student-athletes. In 2022, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health condition. As such, Spry has also prioritized the delivery of mental health services in our health education curriculum.

Education

Spry’s robust educational library provides training modules across a wide range of topics. These topical areas align with the specific educational initiatives required by the NCAA’s Transformation Committee and are tailored to the needs of student-athletes, coaches, and staff.  Industry leaders and content area experts have carefully curated each module to deliver the most relevant information in the following areas: 

Compliance

  • NIL
  • Transfer requirements

Career Preparation

  • Financial literacy
  • Professional development

Health and Safety

  • Mental health
  • Nutrition
  • Strength and conditioning

Legal

  • Campus sexual violence prevention/Title IX
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion training

Upon completion of each module, attestations will be automatically generated through Spry’s mobile app for student-athletes and/or staff members to complete. These reports will allow departments to demonstrate compliance while streamlining the administrative burden!  

Why Spry?

The NCAA’s Transformation Committee’s recommendation will place added responsibilities on Administrators, specifically Compliance personnel.  With Spry, administrators can provide resources to help develop a more informed, socially conscious, well-rounded student-athlete! We share in your mission to provide student-athletes with the tools and resources they need to succeed in college and life beyond athletics.

Contact us today to learn how Spry can help your department satisfy the NCAA’s Transformation Committee requirements.

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Spry: Protect Your Student-Athletes and Meet Accessibility Standards

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Managing an athletic department is complex and daunting, especially with all the software options and solutions available to administrators and coaches.  However, the right software partner can make athletic department operations much easier. Enter Spry!

 Spry is Mission Control for Athletic Departments! 

At Spry, we believe in providing our users with the best possible experience. That’s why we have designed our platform to be intuitive, user-friendly, and equipped with all the necessary features to ensure administrators,coaches and student-athletes can complete the required tasks. In this blog, we will deep dive into the accessibility, security, and ease of use of our product.

Seamless login // Single Sign On (SSO)

Login trouble can be very frustrating and time-consuming for school administrators. Now all Spry users can log in to the platform with just one set of credentials by using the university’s Single Sign On (SSO) integration.  We’ve simplified the sign-up and sign-in process to reduce the questions from student-athletes and coaches. In addition, single sign-on (SSO) technology also enhances security by adopting industry standard protocol SAML 2.0. With Spry’s SSO functionality, administrators can focus on managing their teams rather than worrying about resetting passwords! 

Accessibility // A platform for ALL

At Spry, we believe in inclusivity and accessibility for all. Our platform and mobile applications are designed to be accessible to all users. We have taken measures to ensure that the platform complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), making it easy for all users to navigate the platform. Spry has received certification for the WCAG(Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) 2.1 Level AAA standards for both IOS and Android app. Additionally, our platform is mobile-responsive, allowing coach and student-athlete users to access the platform on the go, from any mobile device. 

Security // Protect what matters

Spry takes the security and privacy of the customers’ data very seriously. We have a range of security measures in place to protect data, including regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing (VAPT). Our VAPT testing is conducted at least once a year by a third-party security firm, to identify and address any potential vulnerabilities in our systems. In addition, we use industry-standard encryption protocols and follow best practices for data storage and protection.

Administrators manage sensitive information, such as team rosters, game schedules, and player information. This information needs to be protected from unauthorized access, and that’s why Spry’s platform provides additional security measures for athletic administrators. Additionally, our platform provides a comprehensive audit trail, allowing administrators to track who accessed what information and when.

 

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Conclusion

Athletic departments want a secure and accessible software solution to manage their department operations for teams, coaches, and student-athletes. With Spry, administrators can focus on managing their tasks rather than worrying about security and accessibility concerns. We are committed to providing our users with the best possible user experience and always looking for ways to improve our platform. 

Contact us today to learn how we can help streamline your athletic department’s tasks.

Email: [email protected]

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Spry Announces Educational Partnership with Playbk Sports

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Playbk Sports Announces Partnership with Compliance and Education Provider –  Spry

From Playbk Sports

Playbk Sports has teamed up with Spry, a compliance and education software provider, to offer a new suite of learning resources for student-athletes. Spry currently works with over 100 colleges and institutions serving over 20,000 student-athletes.

The course content will focus on entrepreneurship and include the voice and story of Playbk co-founder Jon Shepherd, a former NCAA athlete himself, among other athletes invited into this new offering for Spry. For Shepherd, this represents an opportunity to share his love of sport and business with collegiate athletes who are sharing the same road he traveled back in the early 2000s.

“It’s great to be able to contribute back to the community of student-athletes through this new partnership with Spry,” Shepherd said.

“The synergies between the skills athletes learn in their pursuit of high-performance sport and what is required to be an entrepreneur are evident. Being a great athlete doesn’t simply make you a great entrepreneur, but this course will help student-athletes identify the skills and mindset they have developed as athletes and think about how they can transfer these into business opportunities.”

The recent introduction of the Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) policy to collegiate sports has opened the door for student-athletes in the NCAA system to commercialize their name, image or likeness for the first time. This change has seen the need to support student-athletes with concepts not previously included as part of traditional education offerings – including entrepreneurship.

Spry has been at the forefront of providing NIL and general compliance solutions to NCAA, as well as NAIA and two-year institutions, supporting student-athletes with their education and ensuring all compliance requirements are managed effectively by athletic departments.

For Spry’s Director of Compliance, Todd Hairston, this opportunity to work with Playbk Sports is an exciting step in developing more education resources for the student-athletes who engage with Spry’s software.

“We are extremely excited about our partnership with Playbk Sports.  Through this collaboration, we will equip thousands of student-athletes with the resources to leverage the opportunities now available to them through NIL.”

This initial course offering will explore topics such as the mindset of an entrepreneur and the transferable skills between sport and entrepreneurship. It will also delve into broader subject areas such as identifying market opportunities and designing an effective business model canvas.

 “The goal with this course offering is to open student-athletes minds to how they can apply important business principles within the opportunities that NIL has opened up.” Shepherd went on to say. “If they can find ways to transfer their high-performance mindset and behaviors into a business setting, I think NIL can be leveraged by student-athletes to begin setting up career options whilst they complete their study and athletic pursuits.”

The shifting landscape in collegiate sports provides new and exciting opportunities for student-athletes, this newly formed partnership between Playbk Sports and Spry will only go further in enhancing these opportunities and supporting them in establishing the building blocks of a successful career – in or out of the sporting arena.

About Playbk Sports 

Every team needs a playbook.

Playbk Sports makes delivering online content simple and effective with dynamic technology, immersive experiences, and evergreen material that turns fan avidity into revenue.

Playbk Sports works with your organization by harnessing your logo, players, coaches, stadia, training facilities, and team administrators and harnesses the power of those ‘brands’ or assets to create global fan avidity and strategic value your organization can rely on in sustainable ways.

We create experiences that help sports organizations give their worldwide fans what they want – closer access to the sports they love.

About Spry Payment Systems, Inc.

Spry is an administrative software platform for athletic departments. Spry’s mobile and web-based platform revolutionizes the way we think about intercollegiate compliance, team collaboration and name, image, and likeness (NIL) management. With dynamic messaging, form sharing and custom workflows that empower athletic departments Spry ensures that all stakeholders are connected and compliant through SpryNIL and Spry Connect.

To see a demo, visit www.spry.so or email [email protected].

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Spry Announces Educational Partnership with Morgan Stanley

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Spry partnership will provide student-athletes with educational resources across a variety of financial topics.

Spry is excited to announce its recent partnership with Morgan Stanley! As an educational partner, Morgan Stanley will provide instructional content to the over 100 institutions and 20,000 student-athletes on the Spry platform. As an industry leader in the financial arena, Morgan Stanley shares a common goal and vision with Spry to assist young people in preparing for a sound financial future! 

The first fruits of this educational partnership is a series of modules aimed at teaching students basic strategies for saving and investing. Future educational efforts will focus on various topics aimed at increasing financial literacy and business acumen. Acquiring basic financial skills is not only an essential component of a student-athletes ability to fully capitalize on NIL, but it is also a critical skill set for successfully navigating life beyond college. Through this partnership, Spry will be uniquely positioned to assist thousands of student-athletes in their professional endeavors.

Spry CEO and founder, Lyle Adams states, “We are delighted to align with Morgan Stanley in the effort to equip the next generation with financial life skills. Through this partnership, we feel we can provide an educational experience that not only enables them to take full advantage of NIL, but sets them up for success in life beyond college!”

About Spry Payment Systems, Inc.

Spry is an administrative software platform for athletic departments. Spry’s mobile and web-based platform revolutionizes the way we think about intercollegiate compliance, team collaboration and name, image, and likeness (NIL) management. With dynamic messaging, form sharing and custom workflows that empower athletic departments Spry ensures that all stakeholders are connected and compliant through SpryNIL and Spry Connect.

To see a demo, visit www.spry.so or email [email protected].

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BEYOND NIL – Workflows to record student-athlete’s employment

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Spry Offers a Tool to Record Your SA’s Employment

In addition to the enriching experience of being a student and an athlete, your student-athletes may also pursue employment and/or internship opportunities to both make money and gain real world experiences. In supporting such endeavors, it is important for your department to have a clear, easily accessible log of employment information. 

Within Spry’s Admin Portal, there is a custom employment workflow that allows athletic department administrators to record student-athlete employment information and ensure all necessary details are obtained and on record. One of over 30 workflows available to all Spry Customers, the Employment Workflow allows the entire process to be completed digitally. Upon initiation of the workflow, student-athletes can submit their employment information and even have a hiring manager sign-off on the details. This makes it a breeze for safety, security, and compliance purposes at the click of a button.

Provide comfort to your department in knowing that this important information is on file and readily accessible.

At Spry, we understand your needs and we have you covered every step of the way!

LEARN MORE: Unsure of how Spry can help you? Click here to read about what happens when you sign on with our team. 

Click here to book your demo

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BEYOND NIL – New Workflows

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Spry Offers a Tool to Manage Your Athlete’s Wheels

For years administrators have had to bounce from student-athlete to student-athlete seeking copies of their automobile registration. While this is important for safety, security, parking, and compliance purposes, it creates a laborsome and time-intensive process. Not to mention, upon receipt of this information, it then must manually be cataloged.

With Spry, there is a custom automobile registration workflow that allows athletic departments to record a student-athlete’s automobile registration in a matter of minutes! One of over 30 Spry workflows, the Automobile Registration Workflow allows the entire process to be completed digitally. Upon initiation of the workflow, coaches, compliance, and other necessary department personnel will have access to pertinent automobile information at the click of a button. Need a list of license plates for gameday parking for a specific group of athletes? With a few clicks, it’s done! 

Whether you’re on a sprawling campus with an abundance of parking or in the middle of a city where parking is at a premium, provide a layer of comfort to your department in knowing that this important piece of information is readily accessible.

At Spry, we understand your needs and we have you covered every step of the way!

LEARN MORE: Unsure of how Spry can help you? Click here to read about what happens when you sign on with our team. 

Click here to book your demo

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BEYOND NIL

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Spry Offers a Tool to Streamline Your Facility Rentals

The opportunity to play on the same field as their collegiate role models is a dream-come-true for most youngsters. And as good stewards of your community, your athletic department welcomes the chance to rent your facilities for these inspiring opportunities. However, the approval process and paperwork needed for facility rental is cumbersome!

We’ve launched a custom facility rental workflow that allows athletic department administrators to manage the facility rental process and ensure all requisite information is obtained and easily accessible in a matter of minutes! One of over 30 workflows in Spry’s Workflow Builder, the facility rental workflow allows the entire process to be completed digitally. Upon initiation of the workflow, facility managers, coaches, compliance, community partners and other necessary department personnel will have the ability to complete and access all necessary rental, insurance, and liability information at the click of a button.

Whether you rent your fields every weekend or only a few times a year, boost your revenue and provide a layer of comfort to your department in knowing that this important information is readily accessible. At Spry, we understand your needs and we have you covered every step of the way!

LEARN MORE: Spry can also help manage your comp ticket requests.  Read more about how we can streamline requests and approvals here.

Click here to book your demo

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Spry Announces Educational Partnership With Meta

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Spry partnership will provide student-athletes with educational resources across a variety of topics.

Spry is excited to announce its recent partnership with Meta! As an educational partner, Meta will provide instructional content to the over 100 institutions and 20,000 student-athletes on the Spry platform. As an industry leader in technology, Meta shares a common goal and vision with Spry to assist young people in leveraging their social capital in innovative, yet practical ways!

The first fruits of this educational partnership is a series of modules aimed at teaching students how to enhance the security of their Facebook and Instagram. Future educational efforts will be centered around empowering student-athletes to build their individual brands and businesses on Meta’s platforms. Social media platforms are a key tool for student-athletes’ ability to fully capitalize on NIL. Through this partnership, Spry will be positioned to assist thousands of student-athletes in their entrepreneurial endeavors.

Spry Compliance Director Todd Hairston said of the partnership, “Spry is delighted to establish this relationship with Meta. Since the inception of NIL, student-athletes have been very clear that they need additional guidance. Through this partnership, we feel we can provide an educational experience that is second to none!”

About Spry Payment Systems, Inc.

Spry is an administrative software platform for athletic departments. Spry’s mobile and web-based platform revolutionizes the way we think about intercollegiate compliance, team collaboration and name, image, and likeness (NIL) management. With dynamic messaging, form sharing and custom workflows that empower athletic departments Spry ensures that all stakeholders are connected and compliant through SpryNIL and Spry Connect.

To see a demo, visit www.spry.so or email [email protected].

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