BATON ROUGE – NILSU hosted its fifth annual Sweats to Suits, professional dress fashion show on Monday, September 28, in Tiger Stadium.
This year, NILSU continued its partnership with Dillard’s and expanded the event to include several Nike Blue Ribbon Elite athletes. Dillard’s styled and provided outfits for 28 student-athletes selected from the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and Black Student-Athlete Association, giving them the opportunity to showcase their personal style while representing LSU. Additionally, eight student-athletes from the 2026-27 Nike Blue Ribbon Elite program participated in the event wearing Nike gear. The collaboration provided student-athletes with hands-on experience in fashion, personal branding, and storytelling while reinforcing the importance of professional dress in building their personal brands.
"In the NIL era, a student-athlete's brand is built on more than what they do in competition. It's how they carry themselves in a media interview, at a brand event or when they walk into a room for a job. Sweats to Suits teaches those skills in a hands-on way; those lessons carry into every NIL opportunity they'll have and well beyond their time at LSU," said Keava Soil-Cormier, Associate AD/NIL.
Through partnerships with Dillard’s and Nike, Sweats to Suits continues to provide student-athletes with opportunities to build confidence, strengthen their professional presence, and develop skills that extend beyond competition. By emphasizing the role of professional dress in personal branding, NILSU equips student-athletes with practical tools to navigate the ever-changing NIL space and prepare for life beyond their athletic careers.
To see a recap of Sweats to Suits, watch here.