EAST LANSING, Mich.–Michigan State University Federal Credit Union (MSUFCU) has announced the second cohort of its Women of Sparta program.
As the CU Daily reported when the program debuted, Women of Sparta was developed by MSUFCU to be a comprehensive name, image, likeness (NIL) program for women’s sports at Michigan State University. It is designed to provide student-athletes with support beyond typical NIL deals, which are often focused solely on financial compensation.
The 2025-26 cohort includes:
• Cross-country: Cookie Baugh (senior)
• Field hockey: Madeline Lawlor (graduate student)
• Golf: Shannon Kennedy (senior)
• Soccer: Emerson Sargeant (senior)
• Softball: Britain Beshears (senior) and Payton Conroy (junior)
• Track and field: Mia Rogan (junior)
• Basketball: Isaline Alexander (redshirt senior), Kennedy Blair (junior), Jalyn Brown (senior), Marah Dykstra (senior), Theryn Hallock (senior), Rashunda Jones (junior), Abbey Kimball (senior), Jordan Ode (freshman), Emma Shumate (senior), Inés Sotelo (sophomore), Amy Terrian (freshman), Anna Terrian (freshman), Grace VanSlooten (senior), and Juliann Woodard (sophomore).
What Program Offers
According to MSUFCU, the Women of Sparta program offers financial education, personal-branding workshops, mentorship programs, job shadowing, and internship opportunities. Offering more than traditional NIL arrangements, MSUFCU’s expanded program is dedicated to helping student-athletes build essential professional skills and achieve success in their future careers.
“This year’s Women of Sparta cohort exemplifies excellence on and off the field, demonstrating dedication, resilience, and leadership,” MSUFCU President and CEO April Clobes said in a statement. “We are proud to support them with opportunities to build leadership skills, gain financial education, and prepare for success as future leaders in their communities.”
‘Rich History’
MSUFCU said it has a rich history of supporting MSU women’s athletics, having partnered as a presenting sponsor of the MSU women’s basketball team for more than 10 years and offering NIL contracts for all eligible women’s basketball players for the past four years.
The MSU coaches can be seen and heard discussing the partnership in this video.
