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 Ed Cantu of the Shakas Up Sports NIL Collective, who discussed what his group is about and what it has accomplished so far.
You are the co-founder of an NIL collective called “Shakas Up Sports” that was launched last March: how complicated was it to create (if at all), and why did you do it? Creating an NIL collective is a highly complex process. We were fortunate to work directly with our friend Keith Miller of Influxer, the former Compliance Director at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and an attorney who helped develop the legislation adopted by the State of Texas for NIL collectives. My four colleagues and I founded Shakas Up Sports, Inc. for the love of our student-athletes, especially those who helped Islander Athletics expand our University’s visibility and reach throughout the country and beyond.
Your focus is on basketball but you also work with some other sports: what makes basketball so important? TAMUCC does not play football so men’s/women’s basketball are our marquee sports. Our men’s team’s national exposure during March Madness the past two years was incredible. Taking advantage of this exposure is essential to our athletic program, our university, and our community.
What kind of deals have you been able to work out so far? Most of our deals have been community-based/free autograph sessions for our fans that were paid for by local businesses. Our inaugural event was sponsored by Hicks Automotive Group and Jason’s Deli and hosted at local restaurant Brewster Street Southside, where our fans were treated to free autographs and a meet-and-greet with our men’s/women’s basketball teams. Our second event was a free women’s basketball autograph signing held during the Corpus Christi Hooks’ “Women of Sports” Weekend. Farmers Insurance/Ed Cantu provided 4,400 Hooks fans at Whataburger Field the opportunity to meet the student-athletes and get their favorite Islanders gear signed. Rally Credit Union helped us develop a Meet Your Favorite Islander Podcast where listeners heard from Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Player of the Year Alecia Westbrook for our inaugural airing. We have since interviewed up-and-coming men’s basketball star Owen Dease. Alecia Westbrook recently locked down a deal representing Colonel’s Coffeehouse for their online coffee. You can secure your own bag of fresh grommet coffee and help Alecia by going to https://colonelscoffeehouse.com/collections/all (be sure to apply the code ALECIA10 now that you are an Islander Fan!). We are also working with AutoNation for upcoming watch parties. Many more regional businesses have shown interest and are pursuing unique opportunities to promote their organization by utilizing the services of our student-athletes.
You offer several membership levels ranging from $25/month to $1,000/month: what kind of extra perks do people get for being at the highest level? Perks for a $1,000 monthly membership still need to be finalized. We aim to arrange exclusive opportunities for VIP members, including dinners and other special events with our student-athletes and co-founders.
You graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi a few decades ago: how has the school changed from your era to now? The University has seen a significant transformation. We’ve gone from a state school named Corpus Christi State University to a member of the Texas A&M System. Ward Island, the TAMUCC campus, has grown from a small, non-traditional, 3,000-student body upper-level University without first- or second-year students to a vibrant, beautiful campus of 12,000. Today’s campus life matches that of a resort, and Best College Review has named TAMUCC “The Best College By The Sea” for several years. We have gone from not having an Athletic Department to being a competitive D-1 Mid-Major University that competes in sixteen different sports, inducing the fastest-growing collegiate NCAA sport: women’s beach volleyball.
In the 2023 NCAA tourney you beat Southeast Missouri State before losing to Alabama: how big a deal was it to get the 1st NCAA tourney win in school history? Our first victory was huge. The exposure we gained, especially from social media fans of “Barstool Sports,” put us on the sports map. Their campus conversation, “That Can’t Be a Real Place,” spiked applications for enrollment: our freshman class numbers have grown and our total University enrollment is up as well. And yes, our victory over Southeast Missouri State helped us recruit new athletes…and I am sure it helped us retain others too.
Later that month Coach Steve Lutz left for Western Kentucky: how do people feel about your new coach Jim Shaw? Coach Shaw is very likable and his team loves him. He helped build our two Championship teams so we know he will continue to recruit and retain high-caliber student-athletes who will continue to make us proud to be Islanders.
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? Like it or not, athletics is the front door to most Universities. There are many great causes and improving the education level of our community is one of them. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is designated as a Hispanic-Serving and Minority-Serving Institution where most of our students are first-generation college students. Helping develop student athletes and the whole student body by improving their level of education is our primary goal/mission at Shakas Up Sports, Inc.
Do you think the NIL model will be as effective at a Southland school, and what is the biggest difference between your collective and those at high-major schools (if any)? Our model is different from most: we truly are doing this for our student-athletes. My co-founders and I keep $0 for ourselves. In addition to a quality education value, our mission is to enrich the student-athlete experience at TAMUCC and create unforgettable moments for our dedicated fans. By fostering a supportive environment, we aim to empower athletes to excel on/off the field while offering fans unparalleled opportunities to engage with their favorite teams and players. Shakas Up Sports, Inc. provides many opportunities and offers mentoring to our student-athletes to prepare them for life after they leave our Island.
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? That is always possible but Shakas Up Sports has complete confidence in our coaches. Islander Athletics is about to celebrate our 25th Anniversary. With absolute certainty, our coaches do a fantastic job recruiting high-caliber student-athletes who make us proud of them on and off the court/field. Our student-athletes have a GPA above 3.0 and continue to exceed the national average year after year.
*If you would like to contact Shaka Up Sports please go to: www.shakasupsports.com