Bognar believes that NIL has brought a significant advantage to student-athletes in terms of building personal relationships with their own fan bases. This is evident in the success of Illinois swim and dive, where Top Tier Lessons has already had a positive impact.

“I’ve had parents personally reach out asking when our meets are, saying that their kids want to go see their coaches,” Bognar said. “Swimming and diving isn’t typically a sport that we get many people from the community to come watch us. We want to make sure that these non-revenue sports are getting more attention from the community.”

As a Division-I athlete with high ambitions, a demanding schedule, an academically challenging degree, frequent business trips around the country, relationships to maintain, and a successful company to continue building upon, Bognar faces challenges in balancing her time effectively.