Top Tier Lessons: Bognar Turns Dreams into Reality, Pioneers Thriving…

Bognar believes one of the biggest benefits of NIL is the ability for student-athletes to capitalize off who they are outside of their sports, creating meaningful, personal relationships with their own fan bases. For Illinois swim and dive, the ripple effect of Top Tier Lessons is already paying major dividends. 

“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 really many people out from the community to come watch us. We’re not as publicized or in the media as different sports, unless it’s an Olympic year. We want to make sure that these non-revenue sports are getting more people in from the community.” 

With her sky-high ambitions, a Division-I athletics schedule, the rigors of an academically challenging degree, frequent business trips around the country, relationships to maintain, and a successful…