FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2022
WATERVILLE, Maine – Alyssa Bourque, a sophomore track and field athlete at the University of Vermont (UVM) and Kaylyn Bourque, a high school ice hockey and lacrosse player at Lawrence High School announced today they have signed a name, image and likeness agreement to make a $5,000 in-kind donation to the Waterville Humane Society in Waterville, Maine. This is the first NIL agreement of its kind in the country and the first NIL agreement in Maine involving two athletes and first for a high school athlete.
The Bourque sisters and Pliable, a Maine-based marketing company that helps high school, college and professional athletes build their brand, approached the Waterville Humane Society about an opportunity to use the sisters’ name, image and likeness in a positive way and help support the local animal shelter with a public service announcement.
Earlier this year, the Bourque family adopted their dog “Cooper” from the Waterville Humane Society.
Pictured (left to right): Kaylyn Bourque, a high school hockey and lacrosse player at Lawrence High School and Alyssa Bourque, a sophomore track and field athlete at the University of Vermont. Photo courtesy: Pliable Marketing
Alyssa Bourque, 19 and Kaylyn Bourque, 16, are both from Benton, Maine. Alyssa is a sophomore on the UVM track & field team as a javelin thrower.
“Both Kaylyn and I love animals. We wanted to find a meaningful way to be able to use our name, image and likeness in a positive way to help educate and inform people about responsible pet ownership. After adopting our dog Cooper, we felt like there was more we could do to help. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Waterville Humane Society and the work they are doing in our community,” said Alyssa Bourque, track & field athlete at the University of Vermont.
Alyssa is majoring in Biomedical Engineering and plans to attend medical school after graduation. Kaylyn is a junior at Lawrence High School in Fairfield, Maine and plans to plays play Division 1 ice hockey and professional ice hockey. She will post the PSA on her YouTube channel and website at KaylynBourque.com.
In June of 2021, a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s decision that NCAA restrictions on “education-related benefits” for college athletes violated antitrust law. As a result, college athletes now have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness.
As part of the NIL agreement, the Bourque sisters were part of the script development and production for two public service announcements, a 60-second video PSA and a 30-second video PSA that will also be distributed to Maine radio and TV stations. The sisters donated their time and use of their name, image and likeness to help support the animal shelter to encourage responsible pet ownership, including reminding people to have their pet spayed or neutered. In addition to the production time, the sisters will donate their time and use the value of their name, image and likeness to promote the PSA with a series of posts their social media accounts. The agreement value was $5,000 and was donated in-kind to the Waterville Humane Society.
Pliable also donated $5,000 of in-kind services to produce and record the PSA as part of the company’s Mission E50, an initiative to increase the popularity of women’s sports.
Based in Augusta, Pliable is working with both Alyssa and Kaylyn Bourque for NIL representation and athlete branding services. Alyssa Bourque was the first college athlete to sign with Pliable and Kaylyn Bourque was the first athlete in the country to complete Pliable’s 10-Step Athlete Branding Playbook and build her brand with the company.
“Alyssa and Kaylyn are two outstanding young women who have a very bright future. When I heard about their passion for animals, we all wanted to help the Waterville Humane Society by using their name, image and likeness to spread the word about responsible pet ownership. It was also a great way to help build their brand by showcasing their passion for animals. I am so proud of the Bourque sisters for producing two really good PSAs. They are trailblazers for women’s sports and a lot more athletes and brands across the country are going to see what they are doing and take notice,” said Greg Glynn, Founder & CEO of Pliable.
Pliable’s list of current athlete branding clients includes, Kaylyn Bourque (Benton, ME), a high school ice hockey player; Alyssa Bourque (Benton, ME), a track & field athlete at the University of Vermont; Catie Boudiette (Redding, CT), ice hockey goalie at Quinnipiac University; Colin Cook (Brookline, NH) a triathlete and triathlon coach; Tyler Jewell (Sudbury, MA), two-time Olympic snowboarder; Caleb Manuel (Topsham, ME), a golfer at the University of Georgia; Rylie McIntyre (Brunswick, ME) ice hockey player at Norwich University and Kaylee Sakoda (Cypress, CA), a golfer at Quinnipiac University. To learn more about Pliable, visit PliableMarketing.com.
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Editor’s note: To request an in-person or Zoom interview with Alyssa Bourque, sophomore at the University of Vermont or Kaylyn Bourque, ice hockey and lacrosse player at Lawrence High School or with Greg Glynn, Athlete Brand Advisor & CEO of Pliable, email PliableMarketing@gmail.com or call 1-707-PLIABLE.
About Pliable
Pliable is a versatile marketing, PR and broadcasting company that identifies opportunities and creates tailored content for its clients. Based in Augusta, Maine, the company specializes in athlete branding for high school, college and professional athletes. Athlete Brand Advisor & CEO, Greg Glynn is one of only 5,000 public relations professionals to earn the national accreditation from the Public Relations Society of America. He has more than 20 years of marketing, public relations and broadcasting experience, including his role as host of The Athlete Brand Advisor Podcast. Learn more at PliableMarketing.com.
