Athletes as Brands - Ethics, Opportunity, and the NIL Revolution
Jennie Barancyk
OU Women's Basketball Coach
OKC
Devon Energy Tower 50th Floor
Wednesday, August 20th
11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Networking Time: 10:45-11:15
OK ETHICS will host a half-hour networking event in the adjacent room to the Infinity Room beginning at 10:45 a.m. The buffet will open at 11:15 a.m., and the meeting will start at 11:30 a.m.
Downtown OKC VENUE!! (w/ FREE parking!)
Devon Energy Tower 50th Floor
333 W Sheridan Ave
printable map
Open parking address in Google Maps
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Premium Members: Free for the number of pre-paid registrants included in membership
Members: $50
Non-Members: $60
CPE Details:
1. Instruction Delivery Method: Group Live Instruction
2. Prerequisites: None
3. Category: Behavioral Ethics (Non-Technical)
4. Attendance requirement: 50-minute presentation
5. Refund or cancellation policy: refunds are not available after the event
6. Complaint resolution policy: email mary@okethics.com with concerns
7. Advanced preparation: none
Content reviewer: Executive Director & CPE Coordinator
Program Description:
This is the age of social media and multimillion-dollar endorsements, and not just competitors of athletes becoming their brands. This is the transformative impact of Name, Image, and Likeness on college sports, as well as the ethical questions, career opportunities, and cultural shift that occur when the sports and branding worlds collide.
Key Takeaways:
- Athletes are evolving into personal brands
- NIL creating opportunities
- Ethical Questions are growing around fairness, exploitation, and influence
- Education is essential
- Institutions must adjust and adapt
About the Speaker:
Jennie Baranczyk was named the ninth head coach of the Oklahoma women's basketball program on April 10, 2021. She is set to enter her fourth season at the helm in 2024-25 and usher the program into a new chapter in the Southeastern Conference.
Baranczyk (pronounced bah-RON-check), a 12-year head coach, spent nine seasons at Drake before starting her Oklahoma tenure in 2021-22. In each of her first three seasons in Norman, Baranczyk was a National Coach of the Year semifinalist and was named the 2024 Big 12 Coach of the Year. Her 74-26 (.740) record through three seasons is the best three-year start in program history.
Her teams have reached 20 wins in nine of the last 10 seasons, including three consecutive 23-plus wins at Oklahoma. She's led her teams to six NCAA Tournaments and produced 34 all-conference honorees over the previous 12 seasons.
Baranczyk delivered the program's second-straight Big 12 Conference regular season championship during her third campaign as the Sooners' head coach. Her efforts earned her Big 12 Coach of the Year honors, and she was a semifinalist for the Naismith National Coach of the Year award. The conference title was OU's first outright conference title since 2009, as OU compiled a 15-3 league record and a 23-10 overall record. Oklahoma was tabbed as a fifth seed in the program's third consecutive NCAA Tournament, where Baranczyk led OU to the second round.
Baranczyk and her staff saw Skylar Vann claim OU's first Big 12 Player of the Year honor in 15 years, while Payton Verhulst was named the league's Newcomer of the Year. Four Oklahoma players received All-Big 12 honors, with Vann and Verhulst making the first team and Nevaeh Tot and Sahara Williams receiving honorable mentions. Vann and Verhulst both earned All-America honors, pushing Baranczyk's All-America total to five as the Oklahoma head coach.
In her second season, Baranczyk guided the Sooners to their first Big 12 championship since 2009, sharing the regular season title with a 14-4 record in league play and a 26-7 overall record. OU also made its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance under Baranczyk. The Sooners secured a program-record six sweeps in league play and secured the most conference wins in 13 seasons.
Baranczyk's coaching saw Madi Williams selected unanimously to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Taylor Robertson and Ana Llanusa received second-team honors, and Skylar Vann received an honorable mention. Vann also won the Sixth Player Award for the second year in a row, and freshman Beatrice Culliton was named to the All-Freshman team. Additionally, Williams became OU's first WNBA Draft Pick since 2013 and earned WBCA and AP All-America honors along with Robertson.
In her debut season, Baranczyk orchestrated one of the greatest turnarounds in the country, guiding the Sooners to a 25-9 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The 13-win improvement from the season before Baranczyk's arrival was the second-largest turnaround in program history. The Des Moines, Iowa, product was named a WBCA National Coach of the Year finalist for her efforts. In addition, the team reached 20 wins faster than all but two teams in program history, rising to No. 12 in the AP Poll midway through the season. Madi Williams and Taylor Robertson earned unanimous All-Big 12 first-team selections, while Skylar Vann was named the league's Sixth Player of the Year.
She became the only first-year head coach in OU history to sweep Baylor and Oklahoma State in the regular season and added a win over Texas in her first campaign. Her four wins over top-25 teams were the most for a first-year Sooner head coach and were the most for the program since 2009-10, the last time OU posted 25 wins in a season.
She coached two Sooners, Taylor Robertson and Madi Williams, to unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selections, the first Sooner pair to do so since 2012. Under Baranczyk's watch, Skylar Vann was named the 2022 Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year, and Kelbie Washington earned All-Big 12 Freshman Team honors. Robertson became OU's first All-America selection since Aaryn Ellenberg in 2014, earning an honorable mention.
Baranczyk came to OU after amassing a 192-96 (.667) record at Drake and leading the Bulldogs to six consecutive 20-win seasons (2014-15 through 2019-20) and three NCAA tournament berths (2017-19). A two-time Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year, Baranczyk's .667 winning percentage ranks fifth in the league's history.
Baranczyk won back-to-back MVC Coach of the Year awards after her team's historic 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns. She led the Bulldogs to an 18-0 regular-season conference record both years and won both MVC Tournaments. After the 2018-19 squad posted a 17-1 league record, the Bulldogs had amassed a near-perfect three-year MVC mark of 53-1 (.981).
Drake's 2016-17 team finished with a 28-5 record, including a school- and MVC-record 22-game winning streak. That season, Baranczyk was named Mid-Major Coach of the Year by ESPNW.
Three of Baranczyk's players at Drake combined to win five Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year awards. During her Drake tenure, she produced 24 all-conference selections, including a league-high 18 first-team honorees and a league-leading 38 MVC Player of the Week winners. In addition, she coached four players to MVC Freshman of the Year honors and the program's first two MVC Defensive Player of the Year recipients in 2018 and 2019.
Baranczyk began her coaching career in the Big 12 Conference, serving first as an assistant coach at Kansas State during the 2005-06 season (the Wildcats won the WNIT) and returning to the league as an assistant coach at Colorado from 2010-12. Between her Big 12 stints, Baranczyk was an assistant coach at Marquette from 2006-10, helping the Golden Eagles to an 81-53 record and four postseason appearances. The 2007-08 squad won the WNIT title.
Formerly Jennie Lillis, Baranczyk spent her collegiate career at the University of Iowa (2000-04) and is regarded as one of the best all-around players in Hawkeye women's basketball history. She was a three-time All-Big Ten Conference selection, earning first-team honors as a junior (2003) and second-team recognition as a sophomore (2002) and senior (2004).
The Des Moines, Iowa, product led the Hawkeyes to four postseason appearances, including three NCAA tournament berths and the 2001 Big Ten Tournament title. Baranczyk graduated as the only player in Iowa history ranked in the top 10 of five major statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. Additionally, she was one of only two Hawkeyes to score more than 1,700 points and grab 800 rebounds in their career.
Baranczyk earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Iowa in 2004. She was the recipient of the 2004 Big Ten Conference's Medal of Honor, the award given annually to a student in each university's graduating class who demonstrated proficiency in scholarship and athletics. She was also a three-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, a WBCA Scholarship Award recipient, a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, and a Collegiate Basketball Award for Excellence semifinalist as a senior in 2004.
Baranczyk, who obtained a master's degree in counseling and student development from Kansas State in 2006, is married. She and her husband, Scott, have a son, Eli, and two daughters, Jordi and Hope.
