Wisconsin Badgers players Caroline Harvey and Lacey Eden are plenty familiar with the power of teamwork. Now, a new NIL opportunity allows the student-athletes to capitalize on both the rise of women’s hockey and the surge of social media to show how they truly are “Better Together.”
A New NIL Opportunity
Harvey and Eden have joined UScellular and T-Mobile’s new “Better Together” NIL program. The program celebrates the power of teamwork through a series of Instagram videos offering a look into their off-ice lives.
Harvey and Eden are part of a roster of athletes participating in the new program with UScellular and T-Mobile.
“It was an awesome opportunity that was presented to us,” Harvey told The Ice Garden. “We were both like, ‘oh, this sounds awesome.’ It aligns with our beliefs, and we wanted to showcase our great friendship and how that translates to our on-ice chemistry.”
“We were super excited to film it, and we had a lot of fun with it,” she added. “It definitely showed our personalities and our connection, and it translated to what they’re trying to sell with their product.”
How it Came Together
“We met as a team [Harvey and I], and UScellular, and they pitched some ideas,” Eden said. “First, they got to know us a little bit as humans, to understand our likes and dislikes. With that, they came up with a few different scenarios or ideas that we’d end up filming, and that really showcased KK [Harvey] and I coming together and our relationship on the ice and off the ice.”
“We ended up picking playing pickleball on the ice together, thrift shopping, and describing each other’s playing styles,” Eden added. “Those three allowed us to showcase our playful nature with each other and the idea of actually being better together, because that’s what we are – and also a little bit of our competitive side.”
“We had so much fun,” she added. “They had to take the pickleball paddles out of our hands, because we were going over time just playing. It was just fun to be with your friend and get to do some things that you typically don’t do.”
The Power of Social Media & the NIL Program
.For Harvey, Eden and other student-athletes, the power of social media has likely never been stronger. Social media networks like Instagram offer athletes an unprecedented way to connect with people and get themselves out there.
“It’s so important to use your reach to connect with others,” Harvey said. “It’s definitely a different day and age than it was just even a couple years ago, but also 10 or 20 years ago. It continues to grow, and I think it’ll do so heading into the future. That’s how you foster those relationships and get these connections; it’s important to be active in that way.”
The NIL program is still relatively in its infancy, but one like this—capitalizing on the rise of social media—seems to be a perfect fit. Wisconsin launched Badger Athlete Partners in December 2025 to help student-athletes earn more and benefit from such partnerships.
“It’s so important, the way it’s growing and continues to do so,” Harvey said of the NIL program. “When wonderful opportunities come along, like the UScellular one, obviously it’s something we really enjoy doing. Being able to showcase our friendship and being ‘Better Together,’ but through that, the compensation aspect. That’s wasn’t a thing even just a couple years ago, or as well known in that way.”
“Being able to [get compensation] is important, especially in setting yourself up for success heading into the future,” Harvey added. “If you can make money while in college, it’s huge. It sets you up for down the road.”
The Growth of Women’s Hockey
Between the success of the PWHL, the recent U.S. Olympic gold medal team—which Harvey was a part of—and their own success at Wisconsin, Harvey and Eden are mindful of just how powerful women’s hockey (and women’s sports) are right now.
“There’s definitely been a big women’s sports movement over the past few years,” Eden said. “I feel like it really started or blossomed with Caitlin Clark. Obviously, there were a lot of eyes on the Olympics, and them bringing back a gold medal brings even more recognition. Sign-ups probably are going to go way up for youth hockey in the USA [Hockey] organization.”
(Note: just days after this interview, USA Hockey welcomed its 100,000th female hockey player of the 2025-2026 season—a new milestone.)
“Hopping on that train now and connecting with female athletes is going to reach those young hopefuls and a few crowd that maybe they weren’t going to reach before,” she added.
The Badgers just earned the No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will face the winner of Quinnipiac/Franklin Pierce in the Wisconsin regional on Saturday, March 14. Eden and Harvey are the Badgers’ top scorers, with a combined 46 goals, 88 assists and 134 points. The two have accounted for 11 game-winning goals. Both are finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award.
The duo are expected to enter the PWHL draft following the culmination of their college hockey careers.