CHAMPAIGN – The Golden Age of Sports hit the U.S. in the Roaring Twenties, when Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and Illinois’ own Red Grange captivated the nation.

Imagine how much product the Wheaton Iceman could hawk these days with the NCAA poised to adopt recommendations from the NIL (name, image, likeness) committee to allow student-athletes to be paid for sponsorship and endorsement deals.

The NCAA Board of Governors announced its support, and the recommendations, if adopted, would allow athletes to benefit from their name, image and likeness from deals with third parties and businesses.

For anyone who watched the slimy side of college recruiting and gazed at the parking lot of football and basketball rosters, it seems like 100 years too late, but perhaps this is truly the golden age of college sports, when a game-saving interception or a clutch basket on Saturday could turn into an endorsement deal on Monday selling chicken wings or import cars.

“Allowing promotions and third-party endorsements is unchartered territory,’’ said Ohio state president Michael V. Drake.