The post Kai Trump follows in Travis Kelce, Livvy Dunne’s footsteps with NIL bonanza appeared first on ClutchPoints.

While she is not in college yet, future University of Miami golfer Kai Trump has made an NIL deal, which means she will join Travis Kelce and Olivia “Livvy” Dunne as part of a top brand.

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Trump’s ever-growing portfolio has added another partnership. She has become a brand ambassador and equity partner of Accelerator Active Energy, meaning she joins Kelce and Dunne as part of the brand.

“I love energy drinks,” Trump told NIL Daily on Sports Illustrated. “They fit into my daily lifestyle pretty well[,] and honestly, it was a very natural partnership. I just can’t wait to continue working with them[,] and the team is amazing. The product fits my daily lifestyle very well.”

Trump is the granddaughter of President Donald Trump. She also discussed being part of the same brand as Kelce and Dunne, two top-tier athletes.

“I’m really looking forward to just like meeting them in person, picking their brains,” she revealed. “I met Livvy actually the other day at the airport — funny enough — and she was super nice. They’re both amazing athletes[,] and obviously[,] a lot of people look up to them. I’m very lucky and excited to be alongside them working with the Accelerator, so I’m looking forward to it.”

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Kai Trump joins Travis Kelce and Livvy Dunne as a NIL brand ambassador

Trump is making moves before she heads to the University of Miami to play golf. She is in her senior year of high school, and she will subsequently head to college after.

To date, she has partnerships with TaylorMade and Leaf Trading Cards. Accelerator Active Energy is the latest brand to partner with her.

Previously, Accelerator nabbed Kelce and Dunne as brand ambassadors. Kelce praised the former LSU gymnast, calling her an “awesome” person.

Dunne was one of the major players when it came to NIL. She was a driving force behind the movement, and she was the first NIL athlete signed by WME. Since then, she has landed countless brand deals and is the face of several campaigns.

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That was done as she started her career at LSU. Dunne has since finished her time on the Tigers’ women’s gymnastics team. Her journey with NIL was spotlighted in The Money Game: LSU on Prime Video.

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Coralville, Iowa – The Iowa Heartlanders, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild and American Hockey League’s Iowa Wild, announced that rookie forwards Luke Mobley and Matt Hubbarde have come to terms on contracts with the team for the 2025-26 season.

Mobley joined the Heartlanders at the tail end of the 2024-25 season, recording two assists in 11 regular-season games, before adding four points (1g-3a) in five postseason games. He spent five seasons playing college hockey, first skating for Clarkson University, where he totaled 22 points in 91 games before transferring to Augustana University. At Augustana, Mobley quickly found his groove, totaling 39 points (25g-14a) in 68 games, leading the team in goals in each of his two seasons.

Hubbarde signed with Iowa in March 2025 after completing his collegiate career, and he put up six points (3g-3a) in 13 games. The Pickering, Ontario native spent two seasons with Dartmouth, before transferring to Providence. He totaled 29 points in 65 games between the two schools. Finally, he spent his final college season with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, where he became the team’s leading goal and point scorer with 23 points (13g-10) in 30 games. 

The biggest names in sports trekked to Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles for the 33rd ESPY Awards, the “Academy Awards” of sports.

Athletes with Colorado connections struck out. 

Comedian and host Shane Gillis made jokes about the New York Knicks, the Jeffrey Epstein files and a couple on ex-Colorado football stars.

“Shedeur Sanders had his jersey number retired at Colorado this year. People are saying it’s because of nepotism because of his father, and it’s not,” Gillis said. “It’s because he went 13-12 over his career and he almost won the Alamo Bowl.”

The second joke was about Travis Hunter, one in which Gillis tried to emulate the late Norm McDonald when he hosted the ESPYs in 1998.

“Travis Hunter won the Heisman Trophy this year. He’s the first defensive player since Charles Woodson to win the Heisman. Congratulations, Travis Hunter,” Gillis said. “Winning the Heisman, that’s something they can never take away from you, unless you kill your wife and a waiter, in which case they can take that away from you.”

The awards ceremony pressed on and the winners of each category were revealed.

Here’s how the seven Colorado athletes faired at the 2025 ESPY Awards:

Colorado-connected athletes had a 75% chance to win the ESPY for Best Comeback Athlete: Gabriel Landeskog, Lindsey Vonn and Mallory Swanson.

Gabriel Landeskog (Avalanche): Landeskog’s knee was injured in a playoff game against the Dallas Stars during the 2020 NHL ‘bubble’ Stanley Cup playoffs. The Avalanche captain played through pain up until his last game on June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to win the Stanley Cup.

On April 23, Landeskog returned to the ice at Ball Area for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. 

Ovations from the crowd, and chants of “Landy, Landy, Landy” resonated upon his return. There were signs all over the arena, including one held up by his kids that read, “So proud of you Daddy!” The team also played a video tribute, with Landeskog tapping his heart in appreciation.

Mallory Swanson (Littleton): Swanson’s rise to fame in professional women’s soccer started at an early age. 

She debuted for the USWNT at the age of 17 in 2016, later becoming the youngest American to play and score in the Summer Olympics.

Swanson was a member of the USWNT squad that won the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

However, a knee injury sidelined Swanson in April 2023, before the start of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. She made a strong recovery, however, returning to play forward for the Chicago Red Stars on March 16, 2024, and for the USWNT in April 6, 2024.

Lindsey Vonn: The former Vail resident retired from alpine ski racing after the 2019 FIS Alpine World Cup season. She finished third in her final race — the women’s downhill at the World Championships in Sweden. 

Vonn suffered multiple injuries, mainly to her knees, over the course of her ski racing career.

After five years of retirement and a successful partial knee replacement, Vonn came out of retirement ahead of the 2024-25 World Cup season, making her comeback debut at Copper Mountain on Dec. 7.

She was back on the World Cup circuit on Dec. 21 in St. Moritz, finalizing her return to the highest level of women’s ski racing.

However, as luck would have at, gymnast Suni Lee won the Best Comeback Athlete award.

Suni Lee: Lee was diagnosed with two kidney diseases in 2023. She was having issues on the uneven bars, once her best event, due to swelling in her hands causing her to lose her grip on the bars.

The symptoms also included, headaches, hot flashes, cold spells and cramping, all of which had mental impacts on Lee.

Lee began a medication regiment that included infusions, causing her to have to retire from college gymnastics. However, after a five-month training break, Lee returned to gymnastics training on a modified schedule, and by January 2024, she was back to training full time.

At the U.S. Olympic Trials in June 2024, Lee officially qualified for the Paris Games.

When interviewed following the announcement, Lee said: “A year ago, I didn’t even think this was possible.”

Lee went on to win three medals at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris: gold in the team all-around and two bronze.

At Wednesday’s ceremony, Lee said, “Winning this award means so much more that I can say and to my fellow nominees you inspire me and I am so honored to stand here with you. When I was diagnosed with two rare kidney diseases, I was told I would never compete again, but I refused to believe that. There were days when I felt scared, defeated and alone, but I always found strength around me.”

As for the other four athletes representing Colorado… well, they were skunked, too.

Best NBA Player: Oklahoma City Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander beat out Nuggets center Nikola Jokić

Best NHL Player: Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl beat out Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar

Best NFL Player: Philadelphia Eagles star Saquon Barkley beat out Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II

Best College Athlete – Men’s Sports: Duke basketball’s Cooper Flagg beat out Hunter, the former Buffaloes star

Here are the other award winners from Wednesday’s ceremony:

Best Championship Performance: Simone Biles, 2024 Summer Olympics gymnastics all-around

Best Play: Philadelphia Eagles RB Saquon Barkley’s backwards hurdle, Nov. 3, 2024, against the Jacksonville Jaguars

Best Athlete – Men’s Sports: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

Best Athlete – Women’s Sports: Simone Biles, USA Gymnastics

Best Record-Breaking Performance: Alexander Ovechkin, NHL all-time goals leader

Best Team: Philadelphia Eagles – NFL

Best Breakthrough Athlete: Ilona Maher, Rugby‬

Best College Athlete – Women’s Sports: JuJu Watkins – USC Basketball‬

Best WNBA Player: Caitlin Clark, Basketball, Indiana Fever

Best MLB Player: Shohei Ohtani – Los Angeles Dodgers

Icon Award: Diana Taurasi and Alex Morgan

Best Athlete with a Disability: Noah Elliot, Snowboarder, U.S. Para Ski & Snowboard

Best Driver: Max Verstappen, F1

Best UFC Fighter: Merab Dvalishvili

Best Boxer: Katie Taylor

Best Soccer Player: Christian Pulisic, AC Milan, USMNT

Best Golfer: Scottie Scheffler

Best Tennis Player: Coco Gauff

Jimmy V Award for Perseverance: Katie Schumacher-Cawley

Capital One Cup – Men’s: Ohio State University (OSU) Men

Capital One Cup – Women’s: University of North Carolina (UNC) Women

Pat Tillman Award for Service: Los Angeles County firefighters David Walters and Erin Regan

Arthur Ashe Award for Courage: Oscar Robertson

Gatorade Players of the Year: Jane Hedengren and Cameron Boozer

Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award: Sloane Stephens

Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year winner: Indianapolis Colts

Sports Philanthropist of the Year Award honoree: Michele Kang

Corporate Community Impact Award winner: Buffalo Wild Wings

Stuart Scott ENSPIRE Award honoree: Billy Bean, former Major League Baseball player and executive

Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award honorees: Maegha Ramanathan, Rishin Tandon, Ian Waite

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kirk Brackelman is in his second year as a Defensive Analyst for Adrian College Football, after joining the staff in the spring of 2024. He concluded his 31 year high school coaching career as an analyst, contributing to Lenawee Christian’s impressive run of three state championships over the past four years, compiling a 45-3 record.

Kirk’s coaching experience spans multiple high schools, including Sand Creek, Madison, Waldron, Camden Frontier, and Adrian Public Schools. His career highlights include serving as a High School Special Teams Coordinator, Defensive Coordinator, and Head Coach. These leadership roles have allowed him to build a well-rounded coaching resume, working with athletes at all levels from junior high to high school.

A 2001 Honors graduate of Adrian College with a degree in education, Kirk has continued his academic pursuits at Fresno Pacific University, Marygrove University, and the American College of Education, while earning a Master’s in Education. Currently, he is a dedicated teacher at Lincoln Elementary, part of the Adrian Public Schools system.

Kirk resides in Adrian with his wife, Tracey, his daughter Kiersten, who is studying at the University of South Alabama, and his son Cameron, a student at Madison Schools.

Jay Pandolfo’s name had been bandied about earlier this offseason as eight NHL franchises, including the Bruins, searched for new head coaches.

But the Boston University men’s hockey coach, who played four seasons with the Terriers before signing with the New Jersey Devils in 1996, doesn’t appear eager to leave BU any time soon.

Already under contract for next season, Pandolfo on Wednesday agreed to a multiyear extension. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“I’ve said that choosing to play at Boston University was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and the same is true about coming back here to coach,” Pandolfo said in a statement released by the school. “It’s been an absolute honor to be the head coach at BU and I’m excited for the future of our program.”

BU has gone 81-35-4 in three seasons under Pandolfo, advancing to the Frozen Four each time, including this past spring, when the Terriers reached the national championship game before falling to Western Michigan.

The Terriers figure to be back in the mix in 2025-26 as well, with the return of Cole Hutson and Cole Eiserman, among others.

Pandolfo thanked associate head coach Joe Pereira, assistant coach Kim Brandvold, and the team’s support staff in his statement.

“Finally, I want to thank all the players I’ve been fortunate to coach during my time here,” said Pandolfo. “They represent the university with tremendous pride and that has translated into success on the ice and in the classroom. Working with them every day has been such a joy.”

Pandolfo led BU to its 32nd Beanpot title in February and was named Hockey East Coach of the Year in 2023 after he led the Terriers to the regular-season and tournament championships during his first season behind the bench.

He is the only active head coach to win an NCAA Tournament game in each of the last three years.

“We’re committed to the continued and sustained success of Boston University men’s ice hockey, and that commitment starts with ensuring that Jay remains home as our head coach,” said athletic director Drew Marrochello. “It’s hard to think of anyone who is prouder to be a Terrier than Jay. His passion and dedication are contagious, and he has established not just a winning culture but one that values family and a love for the university. We’re thrilled that he will be our leader for years to come.”