“When people see athletics, they don’t think being involved with the community is part of that. They think it’s just covering sports.”
For Bianca Miceli, Assistant Director of NIL and Community Outreach at UW-Madison, it’s much more than that, and she’s determined to correct any and all misconceptions you may have.
“I wanted to be both.”
Although secure in her current position, Miceli didn’t get to where she is now without a few bumps in the road. She didn’t always know what she wanted to do, and she wasn’t always comfortable saying outright that she wanted to be just one thing.
She started in video production following her graduation from UW-Madison, and then eventually transitioned to brand manager and, finally, into her role as Assistant Director of NIL and Community Outreach. But that isn’t always where she thought she’d end up.
“I actually wanted to be a journalist,” said Miceli. “And in my head, there are two types of journalism – the people who are the numbers and the people who are the emotions, and we need both. That doesn’t mean you have to be both. Not everyone can be both. But I wanted to be both.”
When asked if she feels as though she leans more toward the emotional side of things now, Miceli said she “one hundred percent” does, and it’s in part because of her work with the UW volleyball program. It was important to her to tell a story in the videos she made, to highlight not just the statistics of the players but the women behind those numbers, too.
Her advancement from video production and brand management came when she found herself at the edge of plateauing.
“I wanted to make an actual difference in the athletic department,” she said. “In my head I kept thinking, ‘where can I help here?’ So I made presentations for my supervisor about where I thought I could fit and about a position that could be created for me.”
Miceli would later find out that while she was making those presentations, the department was already tailoring a position specifically for her – NIL.
“We’re trying to make a real impact.”
Eventually, Community Outreach was added to Miceli’s position.
“They were trying to find somebody to fill a communications role for Community Outreach, but it was impossible,” said Miceli. “When people see athletics, they don’t think being involved with the community is part of that. They think it’s just covering sports.”
According to Miceli, this led to confusion from applicants about what the Community Outreach title actually meant and what the position would entail. After countless interviews, she realized there was a widespread misconception about what those working in athletics actually do.
“Everyone thought they were just going to work in the athletic department,” she said. “Which – yes. But also no.”
I then asked her to explain the role to me as though I were sitting across from her as an applicant, not as an interviewer.
“We’re trying to be bigger than what’s happening out there on the field,” she said. “We’re trying to make a real impact on the community and on the state. There’s a misconception with athletics that we just use these players to play and that’s it – that’s how we make our money, and that’s how we do things. That’s not the case.”
Miceli wanted to make it clear that as an athletic department at a major university, they recognize the privilege that they have to help the Madison community. She believes that without the fans who fill the stadium every game night and the community members who rally around them, they wouldn’t be successful.
Because of that privilege, Miceli is able to lean in to what she hoped to get out of journalism in the first place — telling a story, and this time through the lens of community relations.
“My job is the storytelling of, you know – ‘what are we giving back?’ Instead of just ‘what are we taking?’” Miceli said.
“It’s not just about the four years you’re here.”
Working directly with student athletes has solidified Miceli’s decision to focus on the emotional side of her job as opposed to just the numbers.
“I’m invested in who they [student athletes] are as individuals,” she said. “Whether or not they’re a good person. I’m not their agent. I don’t make money off the deals they get. I’m just there to make sure we’re protecting them and their identity and their brand, and I think you have to care about them to do that. Your emotions have to come to play.”
Although her position requires her to market the players she works with as a ‘brand’ as opposed to an individual, Miceli is determined to give student athletes at UW-Madison the comfort of knowing they’re people and not just entertainment pieces.
For her, they’re more than just their name.
While she does still market the athletes, Miceli tries to do so as ethically as possible. She makes a point out of only aligning them with causes and sponsorships that actually make sense with them, whether that’s the Humane Society or the Madison Food Pantry.
The most important thing is that they use their NIL to amplify their message in a way that will benefit them in the future, which is where her two positions mix.
“My belief system – and the belief system we have in the athletic department – is that it’s not about the next four years that you’re here,” said Miceli. “We’re trying to make sure that we’re preparing you for the next forty.”
Miceli believes that giving back to the community is an integral part of creating a holistic, well-rounded human being.
That sentiment is exactly why she played such an important role in the initial development of Wisconsin’s NIL program YouDub, which serves as a valuable research for student athletes as they attempt to navigate the complexities of NIL and develop their own personal brand.
When I joked about NIL being about more than just securing a Pepsi advertisement, Miceli laughed, but the genuine care she has for the students she works with was apparent.
“It’s about student-athletes leaving Madison knowing how to protect themselves and their image for the rest of their lives, and us having taught them that,” she said.