LSU football's Brian Kelly: NIL QR codes on helmets take away 'collegiate' feel of game

BATON ROUGE – Efforts to get fans engaged in schools' Name, Image and Likeness general funds have taken all sorts of shapes and sizes these days.

The latest water cooler talk has centered around QR codes on players' helmets, an initiative enacted by Oklahoma State for this season. During games, fans can scan the code, which will lead them to a website where they donate to the school's NIL fund directly.

A few days ago, UConn became the first school to display its NIL Collective logo on its field.

LSU football coach Brian Kelly said Wednesday that he feels how some schools are tackling NIL is leading the sport away from the "collegiate" arena an d he doesn't anticipate LSU venturing into NIL displays of any kind on game days.

"The collegiate kind of feel that you have, and this is just my personal feeling, putting a QR code on your helmet just doesn't feel collegiate to me," Kelly said during the Southeastern Conference coaches teleconference. "As much as we can continue to keep this game with the band and with college-aged kids playing the game, I get it. NIL is here to stay and that's great but I think we can be separate from that and still at the end of the game, go to work on NIL.

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"I think the QR code to me, begins to, I don't know – for us, I think we can keep NIL off the field. I think we can generate the things that we need here at LSU separate from the game day atmosphere."

Recently, the Tiger Athletic Foundation formed a partnership with Bayou Traditions, LSU's official NIL collective, to help streamline donations from supporters for LSU student-athletes. Each donation will earn points that will qualify them for gifts from the athletic department.

The No. 12-ranked Tigers kickoff the the 2024 season against No. 23 USC at the Vegas Kickoff Classic in Las Vegas Sunday (6:30 p.m. CT, ABC).

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Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com .

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: LSU football's Brian Kelly: NIL QR codes on helmets take away 'collegiate' feel of game