TOLEDO, Ohio - The University of Toledo men's basketball program announced a partnership with brand marketing consultant and best-selling author Jeremy Darlow on Thursday that will educate its student-athletes on how to build their personal brands and prepare them for success in life following their player careers.  The men's basketball team is the third Rocket athletic program to partner with Darlow, joining football and women's basketball from earlier this summer.

"Partnering with Jeremy Darlow is a game changer for the young men in our program that will benefit them while they are on our campus and for the remainder of their lives," Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk said. "Jeremy is an industry leader on brand building, and the opportunity to engage with and learn from him is a tremendous one. We can't wait for our players to begin working with him."

Darlow is a former director of football and baseball marketing for adidas, an adjunct marketing professor, and wrote the books "Brands Win Championships," a branding guidebook for college sports programs, and "Athletes Are Brands Too," an athlete's roadmap to building a stronger personal brand. Now he has produced The Darlow Rules; the video-based course dedicated to teaching college athletes how to build personal brands that transcend sports.

"The University of Toledo continues to prove their dedication to preparing their student-athletes for life beyond sports," Darlow said. "It's an honor to extend our partnership with the addition of the men's basketball program. This staff and leadership team is focused on setting these young men up for success over the next forty years of their lives, not just the next four." 

Each video lesson will cover one of Darlow's philosophies on brand development. At the end of each video, student-athletes are then given the option to complete an assignment. Those homework assignments provide guidance to the student-athletes on how to begin building their plan for life after sports. Each student will graduate from the course with their own personal brand marketing plan, as well as a certificate of completion to include on their professional resume.

Over his career, Darlow has worked with and built marketing plans for some of the most heralded athletes, celebrities, and NCAA programs in and around sports, including Aaron Rodgers, Von Miller, Dak Prescott, Kris Bryant, Carlos Correa, Lionel Messi, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, Notre Dame, Michigan, UCLA, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Texas A&M. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
 
WHAT THE ROCKET PLAYERS ARE SAYING
 
"The chance to work with Jeremy Darlow is a great opportunity for me to continue to build my brand. I've worked hard throughout my life to be a great representative of my family and for my teams. This opportunity will allow me to look at my personal brand and what I want it to be in the long-term. – senior Marreon Jackson

"I can't wait to learn about Jeremy's plan and how I can start using it to prepare for life after basketball. Being a marketing major, I already know how important your brand can be. It's going to be great to see how I can make mine better!" – senior Spencer Littleson

"I'm excited for the opportunity to learn about branding from a person with Jeremy Darlow's expertise. I want to put myself in the best position possible for when my basketball career is over and this will be a great way to begin that process." - sophomore AJ Edu


Men's Basketball announces partnership with brand consultant, Jeremy Darlow.