GOT A SWEET DEAL
Southern Columbia's Katie Moncavage is used to coming in first.
Earlier this month, the two-time PIAA Class 2A 800-meter gold medalist did it again, signing the region's first Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deal. The junior came to an agreement with Triple Play Custom Apparel in Danville.
Moncavage wasn't sure what to expect at first, but after she and her parents, Ray and Christi, met with store owner Jim Burns, they quickly warmed up to the idea.
"[Triple Play] let me know that they were interested and I went over to meet. We talked about the process and how it would go. My parents went with me and we agreed that it was a good opportunity," the two-time District 4 cross country champ said. "Everyone involved was really nice and they chose me. With cross country and track, usually, football and other sports get more recognition. It's nice that a runner gets recognition. It's nice that they recognized the work I put in."
When the PIAA approved a NIL policy in December — a 25-4 vote — Burns immediately got to working on the tiniest of details to ensure signing the first athlete was as easy as possible. Finding that athlete, though, came with a few boxes to check. Burns wanted someone:
• Who competes in more individualized sports than team sports for the time being because it's easier to market individual in this case;
• Has social media skills to market themselves;
• Has a winning track record;
• Is a good student;
• And has a positive influence on the community.
Moncavage — who also twice medaled at Class A cross country (7th in 2021; 4th in 2022) — checked all the boxes for Burns.
"Once we heard of Katie, we knew she was who we had in mind for this. We don't like to sit back and wait for things to happen. We go after things," Burns said. "We wanted to be the first in the area to do this and give back to the athletes. ... This isn't meant to be a distraction -- it's meant to be fun and something fun to do."
Moncavage who will post to mainly Twitter, but also Instagram, doesn't feel any added pressure with this agreement — something she isn't contractually obligated to and can back out of at any point.
"I know there are expectations put on me, but it's not because of this," Moncavage said. "This is more of a reward for the stuff I have done."
The junior will receive clothes from the store to wear to practice and meets and she will post about such every few weeks on social media. Burns said Moncavage gets a percentage of sales when customers use a code from her promotional work.
Per PIAA policy, Moncavage is not permitted to promote Southern or its logo in her promotional work. She also cannot promote Triple Play during PIAA events.
Both sides hope to carry this out well beyond her high school years. Moncavage, who has recently looked into state schools such as Penn State and Pittsburgh, wants to keep running both sports while majoring in business or marketing.
"She will have a lot of opportunities come her way and we'd like to be there the entire time," Burns said. "Hopefully, this agreement keeps going into college and even beyond that with her running career."
Safe to say Moncavage won't be running from this agreement anytime soon.
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