NIL: Wisconsin supporters launch The Varsity Collective
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Days after Ohio State head coach Ryan Day shared to a group of boosters that he thought his team would need at least $13 million dollars to compete at the top level of college football, a group of alumni and supporters for Wisconsin athletics announced the launch of a new collective.
While the group is not affiliated with the University of Wisconsin, the primary goal of The Varsity Collective, LLC is to "provide Wisconsin Badgers student-athletes with the opportunity to monetize their name, image, and likeness (NIL) and to offer guidance to help them succeed on and off the field," according to a press release shared Saturday.
Given the shifting nature of college athletics with NIL, the move comes at the same time as Wisconsin has some of their top college football prospects in the 2023 class on campus.
UW graduate and a long-time supporter of Wisconsin athletics, Ted Kellner, had this to say about his involvement with the group, and it's overarching goals:
"We have witnessed the fundamental shifts in college sports over the past year and we are thrilled to launch our platform for Wisconsin Badgers student-athletes so they can participate in NIL Deals. We have studied the landscape and done our due diligence to establish The Varsity Collective which we believe will be one of the premier collectives in all of college sports."
With student-athletes able to profit off their name, image, and likeness, cooperatives such as this have been popping up around the country to help athletes find local business opportunities.
Earlier this year, the University of Wisconsin shared a pair of NIL related initiatives for this reason, but The Varsity Collective will provide another point of contact between supporters, businesses, and athletes.
Wisconsin has found sustained success across the athletic department, and this announcement signals that supporters are willing to compete in the NIL space to carry on that longstanding tradition.
Former Wisconsin quarterback Brooks Bollinger had this to say about the collective in a press release shared:
"I love what we are doing with The Varsity Collective. It is an honor to be partnering with a group of successful and passionate Badger alumni who want to enhance the Wisconsin Badgers student-athlete experience."
Businesses, brands, and Wisconsin supporters can support and follow the new collective at varsitycollective.com
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