He was hired first by Sara Hill, who is the associate athletics director for business services, and then by the former AD, Bob Grant.
Lawrence represented the Raiders at numerous functions and took on the most menial tasks — all with a smile.
Most of the time, that is.
“When you’re young and dumb, some things annoy you. But you look back on it and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so thankful for that person because they made me grow and pushed me to my limits.’ Sara was a huge part of what made me who I am today,” he said.
“And BG had no reason to give me the time of day. I was a student-worker, not a student-athlete. But I did anything they asked. I loved my gig. And I’m super grateful I had a job in something as awesome as college athletics.”
Though they couldn’t know it at the time, Hill, Grant and others were grooming Lawrence to take on a position that would make him one of the most important people at Wright State, even if he’s not listed in the staff directory.
He runs the Name, Image and Likeness initiative at the school called the 1903 Collective. And no college basketball program can survive without a robust NIL to pay players substantial amounts in addition to their scholarships and other perks.
Wright State has had a presence in that arena for a few years. But it really took root after a trip to the 2022 NCAA tourney, which included a First Four win over Bryant.
The Raiders figured to have a loaded team coming back. But it all fell apart when Grant Basile left for Virginia Tech and Tanner Holden for Ohio State.
Big schools poaching a mid-major’s best players? Welcome to the NIL world.
“That was the first real salvo for the entire Wright State community. Everyone felt it. We all felt the what-ifs of what could have happened with them,” Lawrence said.
“We were thrilled for their opportunities, but, from Wright State’s perspective, we felt: ‘NIL is here and NIL is real. No one’s avoiding it. It doesn’t matter what size you are or who you are. We need people to get on board and figure out how we’re going to do this.’”
The response has been impressive. Even though the collective — it’s called 1903 in honor of the Wright brothers’ first flight — didn’t even have a website until last spring, local corporations, ex-players and even fans from the cheap seats have contributed to the cause.
“What people maybe underestimate is just how loyal and how fierce the vigor of Wright State fandom is. At times, it can get overlooked. But we have great fans, great supporters, great people in the community and great alums. And when things happen, people come together,” Lawrence said.
The collective currently has $250,000 to $300,000 in its coffers, according to Lawrence. The money for now is targeted just for men’s basketball.
But unlike the majority of Division I schools — who are constantly negotiating with recruits and building rosters from the transfer portal in a pay-for-play model — Lawrence said Wright State has tried to “do things the right way.”
That means requiring services for NIL checks. Players have worked at the Miami Valley Child Development Center, among other organizations, and have made appearances at charity events such as the Dayton Gala of Hope Foundation, which raises money to fight cancer.
“Community service is a huge piece of this. … They’re not going to just be sitting around putting up Instagram posts,” Lawrence said.
The website is “weare1903.com” and provides a list of giving options. And apart from any NCAA rule changes, the need won’t be diminishing since the Raiders want to set the bar in the Horizon League.
“For the tier of what we are, we’re ultra-competitive, which is incredible for us and incredible for the future of what we want for the program,” Lawrence said.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to get to the point where we’re punching at the same level as the Big Ten. But we’re also not naïve to this. There’s tiers to it. We want to be the top dog in the Horizon League year over year.”
Lawrence, who graduated with an accounting degree in 2015, said star players such as Brandon Noel and Alex Huibregtse can expect to make more than reserves. But he wouldn’t discuss payouts.
“One thing I promised our former players and guys we currently have is that I would never share what they made,” he said.
“I know people want to know that, but my bond with them is too important to me.”
The collective isn’t the 32-year-old Lawrence’s only job — he’s also CEO of Tiedemann-Bevs Industries in Richmond, Ind., and EJ Thomas Company in West Chester — and he has plenty of help.
The past player advisory board includes Loudon Love, DeShaun Wood, Dr. Drew Burleson, Vaughn Duggins and Kendall Griffin.
The 1903 advisory board includes Janel Barnett, Bill Duncan, Mark Starkey, Chris Tobey and the former AD Grant.
Nobody, though, lives it day to day like Lawrence, who has a wife, Julia, and two small kids with another on the way.
“I love the university. I’m incredibly thankful for where I’m at in my life, both personally and professionally. And it was impossible to look at this situation at a weird time (in college sports) and not want to take it on,” he said.
Basketball coach Clint Sargent, who is in his first season after spending eight years on staff as an assistant, is certainly grateful for the collective — though he needed time to warm up to the idea of dealing with professional players.
“I’ve spent some nights, early as a coach, where I took on a victim mentality with NIL — saying, ‘Can you believe this? Can you believe that?’ Then I was like, wait a second, we have unbelievable kids here and unbelievable families with great parents and a great department and a great fan base. And what they need is people that will lead it well,” he said.
“We’re not going to just flippantly jump into NIL because we’re fearful of getting behind with kids in recruitment. We’re going to stay within our core principles here as best we can.”
Though the NIL is a new threat to the culture of any locker room, taking a measured approach to compensating players is probably the best way to preserve team chemistry.
“We have 14 on this roster, and we have a handful of commitments for our 2025 class that I can’t publicly speak on, and we don’t have one person that’s here or is coming here based on finances. That’s been very important to me,” Sargent said.
“NIL has to be a box that’s checked, where players and their families know they can grow with you. But if it’s the first box, I don’t think they fit here. I don’t think it’s a healthy mindset. And it’s just not how I’ve seen winning happen.”
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