College basketball programs are hiring GMs to manage NIL. Could Kentucky Wildcats be next?

Years before DeWayne Peevy made a nearly first-of-its-kind hire at DePaul University by naming a general manager for the men's basketball program, he was already familiar with the concept. Working in the University of Kentucky's athletics department from 2008 until 2020, Peevy held a variety of jobs — from SEC liaison to fundraiser to senior executive.

When DePaul hired Peevy as its athletics director in August 2020, John Calipari noted he "worked hand-in-hand with me on just about everything we do." In working closely with Calipari and the Kentucky men's basketball program, overseeing media relations and helping put together the Wildcats' schedule each season, among other things, Peevy said he also had an unofficial title, known to the parents of men's basketball players.

"They always used to refer to me as 'the GM,'" he recently told The Courier Journal over the phone.

In promoting Litisha Hall in August 2022, making her DePaul men's basketball's first general manager, Peevy also became one of the first nationally to name someone to such a role.

It's a position more men's basketball programs at schools across the country are creating, with players now able to profit off their name, image and likeness. Along with the transfer portal, NIL has transformed college athletics and how coaches build and manage rosters.

Kentucky isn't among the group of schools that have added a men's basketball GM to help in navigating the new realities.

But it is likely only a matter of time.

'We've done NIL as well as anybody in the country'

When former UK men's basketball staffer TJ Beisner was hired as the Wildcats' director of player development in August 2021, the university touted him as "the first college basketball staff member in the country" to guide a program’s NIL strategy.

Beisner's role includes many responsibilities similar to that of a GM.

"From a basketball perspective," Kentucky athletics director Mitch Barnhart said at the SEC spring meetings earlier this year, "we've done NIL as well as anybody in the country. … Cal and his staff have been very thoughtful about how they've done NIL. And we've done it well."

So far, every school that has added a basketball GM has made its NIL approach the primary thrust of the position. But that could change going forward, where the job includes things like roster management and more closely resembles GMs at the professional level.

"One good thing about my job is it takes (NIL) off the plate of the coach," Hall said. "Yes, the coach is always worried about it. But they don't have to be hands on. I can serve as that liaison and let them coach, which is what they're paid for."

Two months before Hall was named DePaul's GM, Duke became the first men's basketball program to name a general manager when Rachel Baker was hired in June 2022.

Villanova became the latest school to join the growing trend, tabbing former Quinnipiac coach Baker Dunleavy as its first men's hoops GM in April.

'You've got to be on top of it'

Hall spent 18 years at Nike, working for the shoe giant's basketball marketing team, before joining the DePaul athletics department. Similarly, Baker spent eight years at Nike — and a year in the NBA, where she led marketing initiatives — en route to becoming college basketball's first general manager.

With the fluidity of NCAA rules and state laws, Hall's job constantly presents new challenges. She keeps tabs on the latest national news regarding NIL legislation to ensure she's in the best position to educate athletes about opportunities, rules and personal branding, among other things.

"(We'll bring in) a financial literacy coach who says, 'OK, now you're making some money. Who knows if you're gonna continue to make it after this? Who knows if you're gonna get drafted? Who knows if you're gonna go to the G League or overseas? So while you have a little bit, how can we make it grow or save or whatever?'" Hall said. "And they'll go through different investments and savings, taxes — those things that come with making money, being an adult."

While Duke, DePaul and Villanova are at the forefront of the GM movement in college basketball, some have taken a different path in navigating NIL. Cincinnati, Marquette and Southern Cal are are among the schools using Altius Sports Partners' GM Program to bridge the gap.

Hall works for DePaul and is focused exclusively on the university's men's basketball program; schools that use the GM Program have an Altius employee on campus who works with every athletics program at the school.

"We want to get in front of student athletes, we want to talk to coaches, we want to talk to stakeholders and we want them to have a really good understanding of the landscape," said Brittney Whiteside, Altius' vice president for collegiate partnerships. "And then we come alongside to really help drive the NIL priorities for the institution."

As UK men's basketball prepares for its 2023-24 campaign, the program will have plenty of options as it looks to stay ahead in the ever-changing college sports landscape.

"NIL is not something where you can not play that game," Peevy said. "(You can't say), 'I don't like the rules of it. I don't want any parts of it,' because it's going to affect everybody in a negative way. You've got to be on top of it. You've got to be thinking about how you can be innovative."

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated TJ Beisner left Kentucky's men's basketball staff earlier this year. Beisner remains on staff as the director of player development.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Could John Calipari name Kentucky basketball GM to help navigate NIL?