The marketplace for college athletes to engage in Name/Image/Likeness (NIL) deals was created in 2021 after the NCAA v. Alston case and now it seems like every college is ready to start spreading the wealth. There are already more than 100 “collectives” either in operation or being formed. They allow alumni/fans/whoever to donate money to assist a specific school in creating opportunities for student-athletes to make some money off of their celebrity. We have reached out to many collectives and will try to interview representatives from as many of them as possible to see how each of them operates. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel continues our coverage with Paul Grindstaff of the A-Mountain Sports NIL collective, who discussed what his group is about and what it has accomplished so far.
You are the founder of an NIL collective called “A-Mountain Sports” that was formed last year: how complicated was it to create (if at all), and why did you do it? As is usually the case in a new industry, there were a lot of people facing the same challenges. At A-Mountain, we were fortunate to have somewhat of a template based on relationships with individuals and collectives at other schools, among them SMU and the PonySportsDTX collective. Other conversations with collectives and their leadership have created something of an open source dialogue across the landscape.
Your focus is on every sport: why did you decide to do that rather than just focus on 1 specific sport? When we 1st got started we had a couple of 1-off deals with men’s basketball, dating back to our upset win over UConn in the 2022 NCAA tourney. New Mexico State hired Jerry Kill as their football coach at the start of that season and we were approached by people interested in contributing to a number of different sports. To the extent there is interest, we are happy to get involved in all sports: for example, this year we are placing an emphasis on women’s basketball.
What kind of connection does your group have with Coach Jason Hooten/Athletic Director Mario Moccia? We are really fortunate because Mario has given us open-door access and tacit endorsement. I remember a road trip last year where we lost to Coach Hooten’s Sam Houston team. When Coach Hooten arrived here he mentioned that there was zero NIL activity at his former school so we discussed what assets he would have at his disposal in New Mexico.
What kind of deals have you been able to work out so far? On the football side we have just under 30 deals and will wind up with 15 basketball deals this year, which is an increase from last year.
You played football in college: how would your experience have been different if there was NIL money back then? I played D-2 football so I think that my experience would have been the same! That being said, I know some D-2 schools that have an NIL presence so you never know. It is more of an intentional approach to fundraising so I have had conversations with multiple athletics directors at my alma mater about how they could try to do that.
You went to grad school at SMU: how do you feel about their recent announcement that they are joining the ACC next year? It has been a long time coming: I used to be the fundraising chair of the “Mustang Club” at SMU. What is remarkable is the number of significant stakeholders who have bought in. I remember when Chad Morris became football coach after June Jones: his pitch was that it was an arms race that we would lose unless we had better facilities. On the flip side, I remember Mike Locksley stating that his players would be willing to dress in garbage cans if it meant more NIL money for them!
You offer 5 membership levels ranging from $100 to $1,500 per month: what kind of extra perks do people get for being at the highest level? The #1 thing we can offer is access to players so 1 of the most popular/easy things are “player partner dinners”. A player partner dinner consists of a group of 2 to 3 student athletes and 5 or 6 business leaders, collective contributors and the like. Of course, these sorts of things are only allowable with an NIL deal in place. This kind of setting allows the student athletes and contributors to have a different kind of dialogue, one that we hope will lead to a worthwhile relationship. We have seen business connections, job opportunities, life mentoring and professional internships come out of these sorts of things. We also have players do appearances at businesses: all of the access complements the players’ own experience and helps set them up for life after ball. I saw a quote from the mayor of Oxford, MS: “We want our Rebels to not just be athletes but also active contributing citizens to the community.” That is exactly what we hope to foster in Las Cruces. Other things include events with players and coaches, and those sorts of things are always expanding.
People are obviously free to do whatever they want with their hard-earned money…but do you ever have any second thoughts about whether you should be encouraging your donors to do something else like fight cancer/reduce homelessness? We never talk about doing things in absolutes and have a forthcoming non-profit partner that will give us a philanthropic bent. There was a fear that philanthropy that would have otherwise gone to the university could get cannibalized but the data shows that is not the case. Each sport has its own “excellence” fund that is used by each coach at their discretion. I tell folks that we are not trying to divert funds: we just want to give them options to help by buying tickets, supporting our teams, and winning games. After a New Mexico State basketball game culminating in a big win for example, people will go out and about and visit our local breweries/ice cream shops. The entire community benefits from success on the field and court.
Do you think the NIL model will be as effective at a CUSA school, and what is the biggest difference between your collective and those at high-major schools (if any)? There are essentially 3 levels of NIL: there are about a dozen schools that are “other-worldly”, a level like ours where we are “in the game”, and a level below us for schools who are “not in the game”. We are not going to go out and target an All-American PG but even within each conference it is different: Liberty/Western Kentucky are big NIL players in the CUSA.
Earlier this year we saw a basketball team’s season suspended (New Mexico State) and a football team’s coach fired (Northwestern) due to hazing: how concerned are you about entering contractual relationships with teenagers who might end up behaving badly? The agreement is governed by the contract and according to the legislation there is a quid pro quo that cannot include on-field performance. However, it can include stipulations such as being a good citizen and conforming to the school’s code of conduct. Last week all of our student-athletes went to a hazing workshop that they were required to attend. As with any business or organization, I would love to highlight all of the positive things that are likely to come to pass. That said, just as with any contractual relationship, it is an absolute must to discuss expectations consistent with upholding the expectations of the community, the institution and the collective and its contributors.