TORONTO—The sports landscape in Canada is evolving, particularly at the university level. Brands and companies are beginning to recognize the untapped market in Canadian university athletics, where elite student-athletes are increasingly becoming valuable partners for major brands. 

Interest in sports in Canada, particularly women's sports, is at an all-time high. According to a study conducted by Canadian Women & Sport, two in three Canadians (67 per cent) consider themselves fans of women's sports, equivalent to more than 17 million Canadians. 

With such a large market, companies are increasingly looking beyond professional sports and toward the grassroots level, including university athletics.

A growing interest in university athletics sponsorships has emerged due to the influence of the "NIL culture" embedded in American collegiate sports.

NIL, or name, image and likeness, refers to the ability of college athletes in the U.S. to monetize their personal brand and identity. In 2021, the NCAA passed a policy allowing athletes to engage in paid NIL activities while maintaining their college eligibility. This opened up a new market for brands and companies to leverage athletes for endorsements and social media sponsorships. 

After seeing the success of NIL in the U.S., companies have begun making their way across the border, exploring sponsorship opportunities with U SPORTS athletes.

That interest is reflected in consumer attitudes. According to Bell Media, 58.6 per cent of Canadians agree they would support a brand that promotes women's professional sports, so why not go down the ladder?

In Canada, there is currently no formal NIL structure in U SPORTS comparable to the NCAA, but that doesn't mean these opportunities aren't materializing.

So far in 2026, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold athletes have been featured in two national campaigns for major brands, all involving female athletes.

Sephora Canada's "Pretty Badass" campaign featured TMU women's basketball athletes Hailey Franco DeRyck and Myriam Kone. The campaign was created to celebrate Sephora Canada's new role as the official beauty partner of the Toronto Tempo, the first WNBA franchise in Canada. Centred on the idea that women don't have to choose between athleticism and femininity, the campaign looks to reclaim the word "pretty".
 

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Bold athletes appeared alongside Toronto Tempo players Marina Mabrey, Kiki Rice, Nyara Sabally, Isabelle Harrison, Temi Fágbénlé, head coach Sandy Brondello and other influential women in the Canadian sports community.

One of the first opportunities of its kind in Canada, Kone and Franco DeRyck were thrilled to be recognized on such a large scale.

"I thought that was really amazing because it's not every day that you know a U SPORTS athlete who gets to be on these big stages," said Kone.

Franco DeRyck said participating in the campaign gave her a glimpse of what life as an NCAA athlete can look like.

"It's really cool to be a part of something big and a part of the first big partnership with the first WNBA team ever in Toronto," said Franco DeRyck. "I'm just super honoured and glad I could have been a part of that."

Soon afterwards, Bold women's volleyball athlete Rayanna Amos-Ross Fisher was the subject of a collaboration between PRSVRE Media Group and Under Armour Canada.

The collaborative digital content piece, titled "You vs. You", was built around the theme of overcoming internal hurdles in sport. 
 

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Amos-Ross Fisher described the opportunity as "surreal". It was her first experience with a sponsorship opportunity.

"It's not something that I would expect to happen in U SPORTS, It's something you normally would see in the NCAA," said Amos-Ross Fisher. "People get sponsored a lot over there and get to do super cool campaigns and get to experience a lot of cool things."

Although sponsorship opportunities are emerging at the individual athlete level, brands have also pursued program-wide partnerships, leveraging entire university programs.

The TMU Bold have BMO as their official banking partner and CWENCH Hydration as their official hydration partner. 

Ian Stansfield, the Head of Partnerships at Cizzle Brands Inc., the parent company and creator of CWENCH Hydration, said their partnership with TMU helps the brand connect with a younger audience while strengthening its ties to grassroots sports. 

"We feel like we really want to tie in with our community," said Stansfield. "It's really important for us to sort of establish ourselves as a grassroots leader here in Canada."

When asked about why they decided to sponsor the Bold as a collective, Stansfield said, "TMU Bold as a whole, I think, given the price point, given the sales component, given the fact that we can work with the collective, it just presented more value for us, especially as a leaner team."

At the provincial level, Ontario University Athletics (OUA) is also helping foster this ecosystem by creating sponsorship opportunities for student-athletes.

OUA President Gord Grace supports the growing focus on student-athlete partnerships.

"What we're seeing now is more of a shift where there is interest in the student-athlete themselves," said Grace. "I do think that the idea of engaging student-athletes to help promote products and things like that is the path moving forward."

The OUA is creating opportunities for student-athletes through conference-wide partnerships, including with BioSteel, their official hydration partner. 

In partnership with the OUA, BioSteel launched a student-athlete ambassador program. OUA athletes can apply to the program, which allows them to earn a $1,000 stipend, receive monthly product deliveries and earn a 20 per cent commission on their sales. In return, participating athletes are required to post twice a month and promote their unique discount code on campus and social media.

"They've taken a more of a grassroots approach," said Grace on the BioSteel ambassador program. "I think we all know who their competitors might be and they've gone more toward the professional ranks, such as celebrity and professional athletes endorsements, whereas BioSteel wanted to get to the grassroots, get to Canadian student-athletes and OUA student-athletes."

With the growth of women's sports globally, the OUA is also looking to support its female student-athletes. 

In May of 2026, the OUA hosted its inaugural On the Rise: Women in Sport Summit. The two-day event brought together female student-athletes from across the province who are passionate about pursuing careers in sport. 

Grace said the rapid rise in visibility for women's sport in Canada through professional leagues, increased media coverage, and brand investment influenced their decision to create the summit. 

He was thrilled with the direct impact the event had.

"You could see how meaningful it was for all participants, how they loved the opportunity to come together," said Grace.

Elise Pridmore, a Bold women's volleyball athlete who attended the summit, noted its emphasis on sponsorships and personal branding. 

"A big thing was, you have to make yourself known for brands to want to work with you," said Pridmore. "You create yourself as a brand."

Grace emphasized the importance of teaching these personal branding skills at the summit.

"I do think it's an opportunity for our student-athletes to see the value that they have," said Grace. "But it's not only the value that they have in the market, but to encourage them to really think ahead and plan about their own personal brand."

Why U SPORTS athletes?

So what makes Canadian student-athletes such compelling brand ambassadors?

These developments are not isolated. The move toward influencer-style marketing at the university level is part of a broader shift in sports marketing, as brands look for authentic ways to connect with consumers. 

According to Grace, student-athletes offer an authenticity that professional athletes sometimes cannot.  

"When you really think about [student-athletes], they're trying to accomplish their academic and athletic goals, marry that with a social life; I just think it's a more authentic approach to the marketplace," said Grace. "And in Canada with our student-athletes, they really are student-athletes, and I think that's certainly a big part of the attraction."

Cost is another factor. University athletes can offer brands the potential for significant reach and engagement without the same investment associated with professional athletes. 

"I personally believe that there's just so much more value in this space than there was two years ago," said Stansfield.
 
In an already growing market, brands have also discovered the potential of partnering specifically with female athletes. 

"Companies have figured out that it's about time we should be investing in women's sport and women's university sport is just as strong a pathway as professional sport," said Grace.

Stansfield believes female athletes bring unique value to brand partnerships, pointing to their engagement and willingness to go beyond expectations.

"If you work with a female athlete, you're getting someone who's more engaged, someone who's willing to go the extra mile," said Stansfield.

Athletes themselves are also recognizing the importance of developing their personal brands and the benefits that can come with sponsorship opportunities.

"I do think it's quite important for an athlete to build their personal brand because it does help them get out there and be seen," said Amos-Ross Fisher.

"I think it's so important," said Franco DeRyck. "I think that's one of the reasons why I came to Toronto is because you have so many networking opportunities here and people want you for who you are."

For some athletes, the potential benefits of NIL go beyond personal branding. Formal Canadian NIL structures could also provide financial support for student-athletes and potentially influence where they choose to pursue their university careers.

Kone believes that NIL could help remedy some of the financial pressures faced by Canadian athletes, who balance academic and athletic responsibilities while often struggling to find time for employment. 

"If we were offering NIL, it would be so much easier for students to not have to think about getting a job," said Kone.

Franco DeRyck agrees, "It's hard to work and make money when you're playing."

NIL opportunities in the NCAA could also influence Canadian athletes' decision about where to pursue their post-secondary student-athlete careers.

"When I was going into university, NIL really wasn't a thing in the States to the extent that it is now, so that wasn't something that was drawing me over there," said Franco DeRyck. "But now, if I were back in Grade 11 or 12, maybe that would interest me more in going to the U.S., because they're making crazy money over there."

If similar NIL opportunities were established in Canada, some wonder whether more athletes would choose to stay and compete in U SPORTS rather than take their talents elsewhere.

"If we had Canadian NIL, maybe a lot of people would stay home," said Kone.

Keeping more athletes in Canada could increase the talent and competitiveness of U SPORTS while also expanding the reach of Canadian university sports. 

"I think starting to open these doors and getting more sponsors could help U SPORTS as a brand to grow further," said Kone. 

The future of NIL in Canada remains uncertain, but brands and athletes are already finding ways to work together within the current Canadian landscape. 

Unlike the U.S. NIL system, which has a regulatory framework, U SPORTS does not currently have the same structure regarding athlete sponsorships. 

For Stansfield, that creates an opportunity for brands to connect directly with Canadian student-athletes.

"The problem is NIL just opened the doors, and then the toothpaste was out of the tube, and now they're trying to regulate," said Stansfield. "I think the beauty of U SPORTS, honestly, is that you don't have all of that baggage."

As more brands tap into U SPORTS and student-athletes become increasingly aware of their value as ambassadors, it will be interesting to see how the landscape evolves in Canada.

Until then, the 2026-27 U SPORTS season will offer another look at how the relationship between athletes, brands and university athletics continues to develop.