Visit On The Line at www.athleticsontheline.com for more information.When brought to college athletics and pitched in the NIL world it created an interesting opportunity to get fans who wouldn’t normally classify themselves as donors involved.The Petersens have found that those involved enjoy the reward of both watching the success and contributing to what’s happening on […]
Visit On The Line at www.athleticsontheline.com for more information.When brought to college athletics and pitched in the NIL world it created an interesting opportunity to get fans who wouldn’t normally classify themselves as donors involved.The Petersens have found that those involved enjoy the reward of both watching the success and contributing to what’s happening on the playing field. And it’s not cost prohibitive. Want to participate? Pick an amount to pledge and then root for your team.”We presented with Nebraska and they were onboard immediately,” Petersen said. “It was really shocking, but there wasn’t any pushback. This was a no cost to them platform and it has fans participating in a new, innovative way.” Andy and Drew Petersen created On The Line, a contribution platform for collegiate programs, allowing fans of all types to contribute based on a chosen statistical achievement. Since the idea originated the Petersens brought in Ashley Ibach (Andy’s daughter, Drew’s sister) as well as business partner Brian Galloway. Between this group every one of Nebraska’s D-1 universities received representation.A father-son business duo stepped up with a solution that not only benefited UNO, but has caught on with programs at Creighton and Nebraska. At Creighton the statistical trigger for the 2024-25 season has been 3-point field goals. Each time the Blue Jays splashed from behind the arc their own internal pot of money grew.Petersen was quick to point out that this isn’t the first attempt to base contribution off team success, but what makes On The Line unique is that it allows customization per school, per sport.Nebraska has five sports currently involved with On The Line as baseball, football, volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball are all available on the platform.And despite the program’s best efforts to generate NIL money for the local product, it wasn’t likely to compete with Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC programs if they came calling. While it hadn’t been a terrific season the Mavs were feeling good about some players with returning eligibility, players like Marquel Sutton and JJ White, but Frankie Fidler, a multiyear starter who joined up from nearby Bellevue West High School and second on the Mavs all-time scoring list, was set to enter the portal. Creighton and UNO immediately followed suit and On The Line went from idea to a real operation where fans were encouraged to donate to sports based on statistical achievement. “At the end of the day for us it’s a platform it can be wedged into whatever the schools want,” Petersen said. Following a tough loss to Denver in the semifinals of the 2024 Summit League Tournament the Omaha Mavericks and its boosters were looking for answers to a near unsolvable problem.How can the smallest D-I basketball program in the state compete on the court and off it in the Name Image and Likeness (NIL) era? “What about the people that want to give 100 or 200 or 300 dollars a season just to support their team in a new way,” Petersen said. “From a fan stand point we wanted to cast a bigger net to that level of donor that want to participate but financially are at a different level.”Each sport involved chooses how the contributions work. For instance with Nebraska football the contribution trigger would be takeaways. Every time Nebraska’s defense forced a takeaway in 2024 more money rolled in for the program — which could be used either as NIL for the athletes or help supplement other costs.All schools have donors, most schools have collectives, but at a place like UNO where its basketball program lags behind the state’s only D-I hockey program in terms of popularity, what else could be done? On The Line continues to seek more programs within the state’s three schools to get involved and has branched out with conversations with other colleges and even some high schools who are interested in setting up the platform.The Petersens went to all three of Creighton, Nebraska and UNO with the idea born out of a late night conversation following the Mavericks loss and found the schools to be immediately receptive.The idea was born out of youth athletics, Drew Petersen said, referring to little league teams that have fundraisers built around the idea that the more wins they achieve or the more home runs the team hits, the more donors would give.The goal for On The Line is to continue to grow and for the Petersens, who root for all three athletic programs, it’s for college athletes to enjoy that success both on and off the court.”It gives the ability for someone to participate based on performance,” Petersen said. “Everybody wants to see the team win. Everybody wants to see the team score. Everybody wants to see the team play well, so I’ll pay to see that performance.”
