Bryan Bedford is CEO of the Bedford Agency and Recruit Route. Bryan has over 25-years of College Sports Recruiting Experience serving as Division I Recruiting Director at TCU and Division II Recruiting Director Southern Nazarene University as well as an executive at some of the leading sports video, recruiting evaluation and fortune 50 tech companies.
Today the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association announced a guideline clarifying their amateurism policy as well as support of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) which includes the following statement. “The OSSAA does not specifically prohibit students from engaging in certain commercial activities as an individual. These activities, commonly referred to as name, image and likeness (NIL) will not put a student’s amateur status at risk provided the student meets all the requirements for maintaining amateur status in compliance with Rule 5, and there is no violation of rules prohibiting influencing a student to attend or remain at a member school. (Rule 9).” To read more on the OSSAA NIL guidelines.
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The OSSAA went on to endorse the Bedford Agency and Eccker Sports as the partner of record with the following statement:
“After extensive research and diligence, the OSSAA has selected Eccker Sports as their partner to provide Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) education, guidance and support to the organization and our stakeholders across the state. Eccker Sports is the National leader in providing these services and have partnerships with 10 other states including Texas (Texas High School Coaches Association), Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts and Mississippi among others. On a statewide basis, Eccker has partnered with the Bedford Agency, led by Bryan Bedford who is a longtime friend and associate of the OSSAA and someone well known in sports circles around the state. Bryan will provide a personal touch to the relationship, act as a liaison between the parties and support the activations of the various NIL and educational programs Eccker provides throughout the state.” -OSSAA provided statement
Global strategic alliance set to transform how high school football coaches manage data in the ever-changing world of college recruiting
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, June 02, 2022 – Recruit Route, a Bedford Agency brand, announced today that it has entered a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with RPM Data to jointly offer a bundled set of solutions that will help transform how high school football coaches manage data for college sports recruiting. Launched in August of 2021, RPM Data is a sports data company revolutionizing how people think, operate and execute with a focus on high school football, college football and the NFL Draft.The agreement combines data and game analysis from RPM Data with Recruit Route – a college recruiting education and empowerment platform – to provide coaches with managed services like best-in-class game and data analysis and turnkey college sports recruiting solutions to enhance the way they work in and out of season.
The collaboration of Recruit Route and RPM Data will help jointly meet the needs of coaches and their athletes and programs. Together, we will provide enormous benefits to improve their existing workflows, help them prepare for games, and support them during the college recruiting process in a truly comprehensive way.
“There is a considerable amount of data at the fingertips of coaches at all levels of the sport that goes unused. Coaches are looking for solutions that are powerful, educational and affordable,” said Kegan Reneau, President of RPM Data. “Partnering with Recruit Route allows us to continue to work closely with coaches to understand and meet their current and future needs.”
“Together with RPM Data, we can transform how high school coaches manage data and game preparation and support them through education and management of the college recruiting process,” said Bryan Bedford, CEO, Bedford Agency & Recruit Route. “We are excited to continue to champion high-quality professional development for high school Coaches through our education and empowerment tools paired with RPM Data’s best-in-class academic eligibility solutions to help transform this industry.”
About Bedford Agency Bedford Agency provides actionable insight and expertise for companies, coaches, student-athletes and families navigating the world of Sports Business, College Sports Recruiting and Name, Image and Likeness process! A family-owned Christ-centered business that is uniquely positioned to offer expertise, strategic consulting, educational content and technology to transform the college recruiting process like never before. Its rich foundation includes a history around college recruiting, camps, consulting and events. In 2021 the Bedford Agency launched its first set of brands, Recruit Route, Recruit Route Elite, and Transfer Route. Earlier this year, the agency launched Teams Route, a solution intended to help high school and club coaches manage their programs and become educated on recruiting and NIL.
About RPM Data RPM Data is a sports data company using multiple solutions to revolutionize how people think, operate and execute with a focus on high school football, college football and the NFL Draft.
Recruit Route and Honest Game enter global partnership to transform how high school student athletes, parents, and coaches connect requirements for academic eligibility with the college sports recruitment process
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma, June 15, 2022 – Recruit Route, a Bedford Agency brand, is partnering with Honest Game to jointly educate, guide, and support families that are navigating the world of academic eligibility and college sports recruiting.
The Recruit Route suite of solutions — Recruit Route Elite, Transfer Route, and Teams Route — offers education and resources for student-athletes or transfers and their families and coaches in an easy-to-consume manner. With access to over 80,000 college coaches’ emails, phone numbers and social media handles, personalized digital tools, one-on-one coaching, a recruiting checklist, and expert-hosted virtual learning sessions, clients are empowered to manage the recruiting and name, image, and likeness (NIL) processes.
Honest Game is a technology solution for high school student-athletes, school counselors and college coaches that delivers transparency via verified academic data to demystify and deliver equal access to academic eligibility.
As part of the agreement, both partners will be allowed to jointly promote the other’s solutions to their client base.
“A key element of the Recruit Route strategy is to bring together the best of the best in college sports recruiting to help educate and empower as many student-athletes, parents, and coaches as possible,” said Bryan Bedford, CEO, Bedford Agency and Recruit Route. “We are very excited to partner with Honest Game to offer their top-of-the-line academic eligibility software to our clients to help them navigate an otherwise complicated process.”
“Being able to complement our academic eligibility platform with Recruit Route’s best-in-class recruiting education and empowerment solutions was a no-brainer,” said Kim Michelson, Co-Founder and CEO, Honest Game. “Working closely with Recruit Route allows us to meet the needs of our shared clients and provide tremendous value as they look to improve their probability of success, both in meeting academic requirements and preparing for recruitment.”
About Bedford Agency The Bedford Agency provides actionable insight and expertise for companies, coaches, student-athletes and families navigating the world of Sports Business, College Sports Recruiting and Name, Image and Likeness process! A family-owned Christ-centered business that is uniquely positioned to offer expertise, strategic consulting, educational content and technology to transform the college recruiting process like never before. It’s rich foundation includes a history around college recruiting, camps, consulting and events. In 2021 the Bedford Agency launched it’s first set of brands Recruit Route, Recruit Route Elite, Transfer Route. In 2022, it launched Teams Route a turnkey offering to help high school and club coaches and their entire programs managed & become educated on recruiting and NIL.
About Honest Game Honest Game is the industry leading technology solution for student-athletes, school counselors, and college coaches automating the complex and constantly changing NCAA rules and requirements. Honest Game partners with thousands of high schools and families to leverage students’ passion for sports to fuel their motivation for learning using short-term goals and clear visual guidance.
Contacts Media Relations: Ashley Pries, +1 (559) 908-9559 ashpries4@gmail.com
AUSTIN, Texas, August 2, 2022 – Eccker Sports, an information company for high school athletics, is partnering with Recruit Route, a Bedford Agency brand and expert in college recruiting, to jointly educate, guide, and equip high school coaches, student-athletes, and parents who are navigating the complicated world of college sports recruitment and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL).
NIL has been called the most disruptive concept in the sports market in 40 years and has quickly thrown high school coaches, administrators, student-athletes and their families into highly challenging territory. According to experts, lack of education and resources on the high school level is a significant issue that could lead to exploitation and mistakes, especially in recruiting. Eccker Sports and Recruit Route are working together to mitigate those issues.
Through its platform and relationships in college athletics, Recruit Route helps high school coaches, student-athletes, transfers and parents become educated and empowered to manage the process of college sports recruiting and NIL. Their four ready-to-use solutions: Recruit Route, Recruit Route Elite, Transfer Route, and Teams Route include access to over 80,000 college coaches’ emails, one-on-one training, recruiting checklists, academic eligibility tools, and expert-hosted virtual learning sessions.
“Being able to complement our NIL Education platform, Coach Assist, with Recruit Route’s best-in-class recruiting education and empowerment solutions and services was a no-brainer,” said Randy Eccker, Founder and CEO, Eccker Sports. “Working closely with Recruit Route allows us to meet the needs of our shared clients and provide tremendous value as they look to improve their probability of success, both in meeting a huge need for college sports recruiting education, empowerment, academic eligibility and knowledge transfer in the ever-changing world of college sports recruiting.”
With more than 60 years of experience in the sports industry, Eccker Sports has developed a comprehensive NIL education platform that includes a video curriculum of six module courses online that will educate users on the history of NIL, key terms and concepts, and best practices. Additionally, the Eccker Sports resource hub offers the most detailed library of NIL information for the high school market, including articles, state laws, abstracts, summaries, bylaws, interpretations, as well as college and universities policies and procedures. Coach Assist provides high school coaches NIL presentation templates, one pagers and other tools to help them educate their communities. Finally, the company is building a network of legal, financial and tax experts to help families build and execute an effective NIL strategy.
Randy Eccker, and Tim Prukop, Co-Founders of Eccker Sports with Bryan Bedford CEO of Recruit Route
“The Recruit Route strategy has always been to connect with the best in this industry to help provide the best tools and support for student-athletes, and in the area of NIL education the team at Eccker Sports is truly top-notch,” said Bryan Bedford, CEO, Bedford Agency and Recruit Route. “We are very excited to partner with Eccker Sports. Together, we can transform college sports recruiting and NIL to help high school coaches feel empowered and educated, and ultimately help lead them to success in supporting student-athletes and parents.”
As part of the agreement, the Eccker Sports and Recruit Route solutions will be made available through both companies’ content libraries, adding tremendous value to both client bases and offering even more support and equipping tools to coaches, student-athletes, and their families. Eccker Sports’ educational services are already available to all high schools in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
About Eccker Sports
Eccker Sports is an information platform serving student-athletes, coaches, parents, and administrators navigating the disruption of NIL issues and opportunities coming to high school sports. They bring 60-plus years of experience mainstreaming new innovations in sports to help high schools guide, inform and protect their student-athletes on their NIL journeys. Their goal is to help schools create successful programs for their students rather than to represent any individual student in the NIL marketplace.
About Bedford Agency
The Bedford Agency provides actionable insight and expertise for companies, coaches, student-athletes, and families navigating the world of Sports Business, College Sports Recruiting and Name, Image and Likeness process. A family-owned Christ-centered business that is uniquely positioned to offer expertise, strategic consulting, educational content, and technology to transform the college recruiting process like never before. It’s rich foundation includes a history around college recruiting, camps, consulting and events. In 2021 the Bedford Agency launched it’s first set of brands Recruit Route, Recruit Route Elite, Transfer Route. In 2022, it launched Teams Route a turnkey offering to help high school and club coaches and their entire programs managed & become educated on recruiting and NIL.
Recently our CEO, Bryan Bedford sat down with the folks at Ten12 Podcast (which covers the Big 12 Conference and College Sports in general) to talk all things college recruiting. We hope you enjoy this interview during the second half off the podcast!
