The NCAA spent decades making sure student-athletes weren’t allowed to make a single penny off of their name, image, and likeness, but that changed in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that ushered in the NIL Era in 2021. A lot of fans have had issues with the impact that pivot has had on […]
The NCAA spent decades making sure student-athletes weren’t allowed to make a single penny off of their name, image, and likeness, but that changed in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that ushered in the NIL Era in 2021. A lot of fans have had issues with the impact that pivot has had on the landscape of college sports, but there are more than a few sponsorship deals you have to respect based on how much of a no-brainer they were.
iStockphoto / SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
A lot of schools have harnessed NIL deals and the collectives that hand them out to create an environment where players are essentially paid to play without having to do too much in return, but there are also plenty of companies and brands that have taken advantage of the chance to launch some wildly organic partnerships.
That includes a number of NIL sponsorships that stemmed from a unique name and some others where the two parties were just a match made in heaven—including…
Decoldest Crawford And An HVAC Company
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Decoldest Crawford’s name got some attention when he was making a name for himself as a high school football player in Louisiana; he claimed his middle name was ToEvaDoIt (sadly, it’s actually “Juan) and got his first taste of viral fame before heading to college.
He was injured before his freshman season got underway and transferred to Louisiana Tech. However, he only had two receptions in 2023, didn’t play in 2024, and transferred to Grambling State ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Ga’Quincy “Kool-Aid” McKinstry And Kool-Aid
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The man born Ga-Quincy McKinstry earned his nickname immediately after he was born thanks to his grandmother, who noted he had a ” big Kool-Aid smile” as soon as he came out of the womb.
He declared for the NFL Draft in 2024 and has been a member of the Saints since they selected him in the second round with the 41st overall pick.
General Booty And An Underwear Brand
NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
In 2002, Abram and Amy Booty welcomed a new son into the world before he received a birth certificate emblazoned with the name General Maximus Axel Booty.
They initially planned on calling him Axel, but he insisted on going by “General” and subsequently attracted plenty of attention for some fairly obvious reasons after he transferred to Oklahoma in 2022 after a season at a junior college.
Booty ended up transferring to Louisiana-Monroe, and while he entered the portal after the most recent season, it doesn’t appear he’s found a new home.
Dieunerst Collin And Popeyes
NIL Summit via USA Today Network
If you’ve spent enough time on the internet, you’ve likely come across the GIF of a young Dieunerst Collin giving side-eye to a camera after being mistaken for the Vine star Terio while inside a Popeyes restaurant.
He was on the roster at UT-Permian Basin in 2024 but didn’t end up taking a snap.
Purchase, Moore, Hamann, Bacon And The Iowa Pork Producers Association
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In 2023, Iowa State’s football team boasted a quartet of players named Myles Purchse, Tyler Moore, Tommy Hamann, and Caleb Bacon.
The Iowa Pork Producers Association seized on a golden opportunity by giving all four of those players an NIL deal to encourage people to “Purchase More Ham And Bacon,” which the Sports Business Journal rightfully named the best one to come out of 2023.
The association also added Alec Cook and Zach Lovett to the equation in an attempt to further its message, and the deal was renewed in 2024.
Jake Retzlaff And A Kosher Food Company
Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
BYU is the nation’s preeminent Mormon university, and while every student-athlete has to sign its honor code, there have been plenty of players who weren’t members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints.
That includes Jake Retzlaff, the Jewish quarterback who embraced his “BY-Jew” nickname after earning the starting job in 2023.
Bijan Robinson reaped the benefits of being a big name at Texas, as his list of NIL deals included partnerships with Lamborghini, C4 Energy, and Raising Cane’s.
However, none of them were more unique than the one that led to the creation of the running back’s very own condiment—Bijan Mustardson—in 2022 to take advantage of the fact that his first name rhymes with “Dijon.”
Mohamed Ibrahim And Gushers
Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Plenty of athletes rely on small snacks to stay fueled during a game, and former Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim garnered some attention when he was spotted gobbling down some Gushers on the sideline.
Jeremy Roach And Darianna Littlepage-Buggs Link Up With Raid
Bob Donnan/Chris Jones-Imagn Images
We have our first non-football players courtesy of Jeremy Roach and Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who both play basketball at Baylor (although the former was still at Duke when the deal in question was signed).
In 2024, the pest control brand Raid became the latest brand to execute an incredibly organic NIL agreement, and Roach and Buggs were both tapped for pretty obvious reasons.
John Daly II and Hooters
Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
John Daly has famously spent close to three decades posting up in the parking lot of the Hooters down the street from Augusta National during The Masters, and his son ended up reaping the benefits.
In 2022, John Daly II (who plays golf at Arkansas) got an NIL deal from the chain a few years before it filed for bankruptcy after it signed him to serve as an official ambassador.
Armendariz promoted to Assistant Sports Performance Coach
NEWBERRY — Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance David Scorzelli announced the promotion of Sylvester Aremendriz from graduate assistant to Assistant Sports Performance Coach. “We are excited to have Sylvester step into the role of assistant director of sports performance,” said Scorzelli.” “He has become an integral part of the program over the past […]
NEWBERRY — Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Performance David Scorzelli announced the promotion of Sylvester Aremendriz from graduate assistant to Assistant Sports Performance Coach.
“We are excited to have Sylvester step into the role of assistant director of sports performance,” said Scorzelli.” “He has become an integral part of the program over the past few years. The Newberry Sports Performance Department strives to put athletes at the forefront of our mission and Sylvester is a big part of that.”
Coach Armendariz assisted with the design and implementation of football strength and conditioning sessions, under the direction of David Scorzelli, offering guidance and supervision during workouts to maximize player development and injury prevention.
He also ran entire lifting sessions independently with the Football team, providing guidance, instruction, and supervision during workouts to maximize player development.
He also developed and implemented strength and conditioning programs for Women’s Soccer, Women’s Volleyball, Track and Field teams, and Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams. He also assisted in the design and execution of strength training, conditioning, and injury prevention protocols tailored to the specific needs of each sport.
Before coming to Newberry, Armendariz served as a Football Strength and Conditioning Intern at the University of Southern California.
He aided in the development of student – athletes athletic performance under the direction of Bennie Wylie.
Armendariz began his career at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif. as a Football Strength and Conditioning Intern.
He received his undergraduate degree from California State Los Angeles and his master’s degree from Newberry College.
Amateur vs pro athletes: How an Overland Park athlete aims to bridge the gap
An Overland Park track and field runner, now attending Louisiana State University, is combining his interests to build a strong athletic community in his hometown. 20-year-old Trenton Sandler has taken it upon himself to bring the running community in the Kansas City metro together to bridge the gap between hobby-joggers and professional athletes. Advertisement While […]
An Overland Park track and field runner, now attending Louisiana State University, is combining his interests to build a strong athletic community in his hometown.
20-year-old Trenton Sandler has taken it upon himself to bring the running community in the Kansas City metro together to bridge the gap between hobby-joggers and professional athletes.
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While Sandler played soccer as a kid, his special knack for running took off when he joined his high school track and field team.
“I didn’t really get into running until I was like 15 or so, right after the pandemic,” said Sandler. “I realized I had a calling for it when I ran good times my junior year of high school and started getting college offers.”
Trenton Sandler at a track and field meet, Louisiana State University.
While his interest in running came later in his youth, Sandler says that videography has been a passion of his since his early childhood.
“I’ve been obsessed with making videos since I was a kid, when my parents put a little camcorder in my hand for the first time,” said Sandler. “I took a formal videography class in high school, which got me really interested in the statistical side of cameras and how to compose good shots and make cinematic videos.”
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With the rise of influencers, Sandler saw an opportunity to be a voice for amateur athletes. Now, Sandler has curated over 80,000 followers across his social media platforms.
“I combined all those interests into trying to make a running YouTube channel that non-runners could relate to and to try to get past the stigmas around runners,” said Sandler.
“I wanted to try to be a normal voice in the community and make videos that are personable so that even people who don’t run can enjoy them,” he said.
A running dilemma
For Sandler, the biggest issue in the community is the discrepency between the number of people who run as a hobby compared with the number of people who actively follow the professional running scene.
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That increase in runners but decrease in professional running fans puts weight on running influencers, according to Sandler.
“Professional runners often aren’t personable and don’t put themselves out there,” Sandler told the Star.
“I think it then falls into the influencers hands to try to be more personable, so the general hobby-jogging community can watch a runner that is also an influencer,” he said. “That runner can then promote the sport of running and the competitions that are just trying to bridge that gap between professional and amateur.”
What comes next
For the second year in a row, Sandler is hosting a run club for all runners in the metro.
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Held at Roe Park in Overland Park on Saturday, July 12, the long distance run will begin with a meet-up at 7:30 am at 10400 Roe.
Sandler hopes to draw in a crowd of about 100 and to secure food truck vendors for following years.
ALPENA — The access driveway for Mich-e-ke-wis Park will be closed to all vehicular traffic while improvements to the park, including the installation of the new volleyball courts, are being completed. Access to this area will be limited for the duration of the construction of the volleyball courts. Also, the Alpena Municipal […]
ALPENA — The access driveway for Mich-e-ke-wis Park will be closed to all vehicular traffic while improvements to the park, including the installation of the new volleyball courts, are being completed.
Access to this area will be limited for the duration of the construction of the volleyball courts.
Also, the Alpena Municipal Council will vote at its next meeting on Tuesday to move forward with other proposed improvements at the park, which would include a new parking area, and a rain garden storm-water drainage, as well as pedestrian trials.
This closure will also allow for the removal of the existing gravel drive within Mich-e-ke-wis, but the park will remain open throughout the construction process, however, access to areas of the park under construction will be limited.
Construction of the volleyball courts will be completed through volunteer work provided by the Alpena Mixed Volleyball League, and as such, work will not be performed every day. The project is anticipated to take up to a month to complete.
The overall project includes a new paved parking lot and rain garden which will be installed tentatively in September as work is completed on the new clear well project at the water treatment plant.
This delay will eliminate overlapping construction operations which could damage the new road and parking area. The project is being funded through a Michigan Passport Grant, donations acquired by the Alpena Mixed Volleyball League, and the City of Alpena General Fund for a total project cost of $301,200.
Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.
Mondo Duplantis figured out a way to hack the World Athletics bonus system for world records in track and field. The greatest athlete in pole vault history has bills to pay!
He is finally willing to admit what we already knew.
Duplantis already accomplished everything there is to accomplish in track and field. His place in history is already written at the young age of 25 years old. However, there is always room to improve.
And for more money!
The current world record in pole vault is set at 6.28 meters. Duplantis actually set that mark at a Diamond League meet last month. He also set the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that, and the record before that and the record before that. 12 in a row.
Mondo Duplantis broke Renaud Lavillenie’s record at 6.17 meters in 2020. It has been a nonstop one-centimeter increase ever since. 6.18 meters, 6.19 meters, 6.20 meters, etc. All the way to 6.28.
Here is where the financial side of his world records comes into play. World Athletics grants any athlete in track and field with a $100,000 bonus when he or she breaks a world record.
Duplantis broke 12 world records over the last five+ years for a grand total of $1,200,000!
We all know what he is doing with this extremely slow build. His goal is to rack up as many world records (and paychecks) as he can, one centimeter at a time. As he should!
However, up until very recently, Duplantis had not publicly addressed his world record money hack. Tiara Williams of Real Talk With Tee finally got him to talk.
Mondo Duplantis, with a big smile on his face, directly referred to his world record progression as a “glitch” and quipped about the bills he has to pay. He has to do what he has to do. It’s good for the sport.
There’s not so many people who are making an abundance of bread in track and field so I guess that’s a good thing that I can capitalize on things.
— Mondo Duplantis
There are more centimeters to be had, slowly but surely. Every centimeter comes with a $100,000 bonus. Stay tuned!
Oologah volleyball team to serve community needs Monday | Local News
People in and around Oologah who need a helping hand with chores can get one free Monday. The Oologah high school and middle school volleyball teams will visit homes and work sites around the Oologah-Talala area Monday for their third Day of Service event. Abby Piha, the head coach, said the girls will start at […]
People in and around Oologah who need a helping hand with chores can get one free Monday.
The Oologah high school and middle school volleyball teams will visit homes and work sites around the Oologah-Talala area Monday for their third Day of Service event. Abby Piha, the head coach, said the girls will start at 8 a.m. and work until their jobs are done.
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