Wisconsin is the first Big Ten school to sign a jersey patch sponsorship. The Badgers inked a partnership with UW Health across four women’s sports.

The UW Health ad will appear on both home and away jerseys for Wisconsin women’s basketball, volleyball, hockey and softball, the school announced Thursday. Learfield and Badger Sports Properties facilitates the agreement, which will take effect with the 2026-27 school year.

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Additionally, Wisconsin female athletes will take part in different campaigns to promote health messages. UW Health is also the title sponsor for Badgers women’s sports.

“We are incredibly proud to have UW Health, a trusted and longtime partner, as the Badgers’ first jersey patch sponsor,” said Wisconsin athletics director Chris McIntosh in a statement. “Women’s sports have a powerful and storied legacy at Wisconsin, and UW Health’s landmark commitment sends a clear message about their support for our student athletes and the future we are building together for Wisconsin Athletics.”

Under the new NCAA legislation, which takes effect Aug. 1, schools will be able to place up to two additional commercial logos on uniforms and one additional logo on equipment during both the preseason and postseason. They can also add another logo on uniforms and apparel during conference championships.

Patches are limited to a maximum of 4 square inches per logo, according to the NCAA. The legislation is in effect for non-NCAA championship competition.

Wisconsin latest school to land jersey patch deal

Wisconsin is the third Power Five program to announce a jersey patch sponsorship since the NCAA approved new legislation in January. The other two are in the SEC. LSU signed an agreement with Woodside Energy across all sports while Arkansas landed a landmark partnership with Tyson Foods, which also spans across all Razorbacks sports programs.

Additionally, three Group of 6 schools are also cashing in through jersey patch ads. UNLV was one of the first to announce such an agreement, landing a partnership with Acceso Biologics in December ahead of the anticipated rule change. Acceso’s logo will appear on football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball jerseys.

In February, Louisiana-Monroe announced a partnership with Samaritan’s Purse for its football jerseys. Most recently, in late March, New Mexico State announced a deal with Inn of the Mountain Gods Resort and Casino late last month for six sports – football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball.

Arguably no female college athletes have better maximized their NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities while in college like the Cavinder Twins.

As college basketball players at Fresno State and Miami, Haley and Hanna Cavinder revolutionized how female athletes can utilize NIL by monetizing their personal social platforms. Those efforts helped the 25-year-old twins set the stage for their post-college careers as social media influencers and budding entrepreneurs, and maybe future WWE superstars.

Haley and Hanna Cavinder opened up about their own experience with NIL and how it helped shape their future outside of athletics during a recent sit-down with former WWE executive Stephanie McMahon, daughter of WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

“I think nowadays, name, image and likeness for female athletes in college has been so huge,” Haley Cavinder told McMahon on her What’s Your Story? with Steph McMahon podcast. “Because even in women’s basketball, there’s such a limited percentage of you going pro. … So being able to learn about the networking and the name of the game in college for females has been good to see. The younger generation can (learn how) you can maximize your name, image and likeness in college and kind of profit off that, and then learn your entrepreneurial skills and business skills for the future when you graduate.

“So I think it’s been so beneficial for females, and it’s so good to see. Because you never would have thought (about) name, image and likeness for female athletes. It’s always about the quarterback at the big Power Five schools.”

McMahon harkened back to a previous conversation with Livvy Dunne about how the former LSU gymnast-turned-content creator started an educational program for female collegiate athletes to learn the ins and outs of making the most of their NIL opportunities while in school. It was then that Hanna Cavinder highlighted the importance of building a strong foundation while in school, including signing with a reputable agency, to better be able to hit the ground running upon graduation.

“And you can set yourself up right afterwards too. … How you continue it, because everybody’s always like, ‘What’s next?’ And I think it’s really important to have a team (around you),” Hanna Cavinder added. “We have a great agency that we’ve been with for five years and they’re very big on getting us equity within deals, having us start our own brands, and being very creative within those brands. So I think that’s really important too, and it’s amazing that Livvy is doing that too.”

The Cavinder twins first signed with WWE in 2021, as part of their Next In Line (NIL) program to develop college athletes into professional wrestlers. One of the signings from that class, Isaac Odugbesan (Oba Femi), is making his WrestleMania debut against Brock Lesnar in the coming weeks.

The Cavinders, meanwhile, have continued to bolster their public image by signing endorsement deals with Champs Sports, SoFi, Eastbay, and GoPuff. They were even tabbed as brand ambassadors for Under Armour in July 2024 and are part of MGM’s Final Four advertising this weekend in Las Vegas.

— On3’s Daniel Hager contributed to this report.

Tennessee transfer Alyssa Latham has committed to Virginia Tech, sources told On3.

Latham, a 6-2 forward from Glenwood (IL) averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this season for the Lady Vols. Latham entered the transfer portal as a grad transfer on March 25 and also visited Ole Miss before making her decision.

Latham was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team in 2023-24 following her rookie campaign at Syracuse. She averaged 8.6 points per game and seven rebounds to rank fourth and first on the team, respectively.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal tracker. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter (X) account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.