ATLANTA, Ga. – Gator gymnasts Leah Clapper and Megan Skaggs claimed awards Monday evening at the inaugural INFLCR Name Image Likeness (NIL) Summit at the Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame.
Clapper and Skaggs joined fellow Gators Elise Bauer (swimming), Trinity Thomas (gymnastics) and football players Kamari Wilson and Derek Wingo at the banquet tonight to kick off the NIL Summit.
Leah Clapper: Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Clapper is recipient of the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award, honoring the student-athlete who achieved exceptional results in the classroom and in their respective sport while maximizing their NIL for the greater good.
Clapper has earned both academic and athletic All-America honors at Florida. As a junior in 2021, Clapper earned her first collegiate 10.0 for balance beam, claimed All-America and All-Southeastern Conference honors and was gymnastics’ SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year. She’s a three-time Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association (WCGA) Scholastic All-American and was named to the 2021 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America first team.
She graduated summa cum laude in August of 2021 with her bachelor’s degree in advertising. Clapper is currently pursuing her professional master’s in UF’s College of Journalism and Communications, earning a 4.0 GPA in the 2021-22 academic year.
Clapper anticipated the start of NIL, working to develop her brand. She launched the first-ever gymnastics board game Balance Palace<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_AthleteNIL_status_1459165800472842245-3Fs-3D20-26t-3Dj3pDfRto7x8ZXbQqCGfFhA&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=68dF8O5j2OSqUkJviZ_CtY-iuSAl6bkSM3B8OtzuZaA&e= >. Her ball challenge video went viral<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tiktok.com_-40leahclapper_video_7020528528244428037&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=gwPLzAqgrLYpn4uyXnFIdvqnxOY59jbZvyABEVlOsTs&e= > and she hosts a podcast<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__podcasts.apple.com_us_podcast_zest-2Dand-2Dprogress_id1545070406&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=7Fjg-E1IRhOwvWACY9EhBIomzIrq0-SThdlsQIy33ts&e= >. Her capstone project, NIL Island<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__nilisland.com_&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=G3P_w63840YY36eQ-6a7m3xZygPfHl4MXWrWBWph-R8&e= >, is a recently launched site to provide student-athletes a place to discuss NIL experiences and struggles. She’ll take part in leading discussions of student-athletes regarding the future of collegiate athletics at the NIL Summit<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_NILSummit_status_1534581871018921984-3Fs-3D20-26t-3Dj3pDfRto7x8ZXbQqCGfFhA&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=YJZZM81GgGMlR6qkB3JQ_8PbgqqUfVMIgbEHYlpIIOM&e= >.
Megan Skaggs: Athlete Advocate of the Year
Skaggs received the Athlete Advocate of the Year. Her final season with the Gators was spectacular, joining teammate Trinity Thomas as the only competitors at the 2022 NCAA Championships to claim the maximum of five All-America honors. Skaggs earned her third All-SEC honor in her Super Senior year. A four-time WCGA Scholastic All-American, she joined Clapper on the 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-America first team. She graduated summa cum laude in August of 2020 with her bachelor’s degree in Advertising and completed her master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in April of 2022.
Heading into her final season, Skaggs sought to pair performance with purpose. She used her go-to competition hairstyle, double braids and two tiny bows, as the identity for her charitable program. Skaggs’ Tiny Bow Project benefited 10 causes in the 2022 regular season<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__twitter.com_AthleteNIL_status_1478798879248236547-3Fs-3D20-26t-3DC9Wx2Vt758eK4LuV2MLi2A&d=DwIFAg&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=o5LKAX7slotfFMyE71jI7L22NYBIi1-KbRGNSXudTPo&m=9fl4lHbZEVUJ5xWADFGEJbkfNFqn4lW92BK-phIpjsCmPXEk5_jBrzqLMCKmIjkn&s=YpjCWvmdpXLgTA5veAgYmni_xTICwbm3xbbIPuj6co4&e= >.
About Student Athlete NIL
Student Athlete NIL (SANIL) is a full-service agency of record dedicated to helping brands, universities, and student-athletes navigate the new era of Name, Image and Likeness. SANIL leverages decades of experience in collegiate sports management and marketing, alongside a second-to-none understanding of the regulatory environment, to ensure its partners and clients are equipped with the knowledge, data and insights necessary to take full advantage of the greatest arbitrage opportunity in marketing history. The agency was founded in 2020 by industry leaders Jason Belzer, Vince Thompson, and Matt Roberts.
About INFLCR
INFLCR, a Teamworks company, is the leading content and compliance platform for elite athletic programs, educating and preparing staff and athletes for the NIL era, all powered by best-in-class content delivery via mobile app. INFLCR works with more than 3,500 collegiate and professional sports teams with a network of over 70,000 active athlete users. With revolutionary new products like the Compliance Exchange, Storyteller Playbook, and administrator dashboard, INFLCR enhances the athlete experience with a comprehensive solution for responsible brand-building on social media, as well as a fully compliant path to external commercial activity from NIL.
About The College Football Hall Of Fame
The Chick-fil-A College Football Hall of Fame is a 94,256 square-foot interactive experience located in the heart of Atlanta’s sports, entertainment, and tourism district. Adjacent to the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park, the Hall provides visitors with a highly immersive and engaging experience using a blend of historic college football artifacts and state-of-the-art multimedia exhibits. The National Football Foundation (NFF) established the Hall in 1951 to stand as one of the nation’s premier sports shrines, immortalizing the game’s greatest players and coaches as positive role models for future generations. Atlanta Hall Management, Inc., partners with the NFF to operate the Hall of Fame experience, which provides a platform for community outreach, education, and character development initiatives; and serves as one of Atlanta’s premier special event spaces.
