Kentucky, Club Blue create 'Kentucky Blue Light' beer for NIL proceeds

Kentucky has a found an innovative way for its fans to support their favorite athletes. The university’s official NIL collective, Club Blue, teamed up with Gravely Brewing to create a beer called “Kentucky Blue Light.”

According to Kentucky Sports Radio’s Matt Jones, all proceeds generated by the beer will go toward Kentucky’s NIL efforts. Kentucky isn’t the first school in the Bluegrass to create a beer for fans to drink while celebrating wins.

In August 2023, Louisville introduced “Cardinale,” the official craft beer of the Cardinals. Louisville also partnered with Gravely Brewing to make the beer a reality. Now, the in-state rivals will not only be competing on the hardwood and gridiron, but the store shelves too.

Kentucky Blue Light is only Club Blue’s latest success story. Earlier this year, the collective generated $1 million in annual pledge donations after launching a grassroots fundraising campaign.

With multiple donations levels, fans enjoyed an abundance of options to contribute to Kentucky’s programs. All Kentucky diehards who signed up for annual pledge by May 15 were invited to attend Kentucky’s New Era Basketball Event, where head coach Mark Pope and his players introduced themselves to fans.

Kentucky’s decision to hire Pope has revitalized the school’s NIL efforts. After Pope’s hire, two boosters reportedly pledged a combined $4 million to Kentucky basketball, specifically. With the integration of Club Blue’s subscription system, the sky is the limit for Kentucky’s NIL efforts.

Mark Pope embraces the NIL era at Kentucky

Pope is certainly embracing the importance of NIL.

“Listen, it’s a big change. It’s another significant time but I love it,” Pope said. “C’mon! Like, we get to come and do this here at the University of Kentucky. This is another way where we get to connect with BBN. It’s another real, tangible way that we get to build and forge connections.

“I’m telling you, like, devotion increases with investment also. It is certainly a new wrinkle and a new challenge associated with college athletics but anything that gives us an opportunity to connect with, touch, reach out, and build relationships with every single fan of Kentucky Basketball and every single member of BBN is beautiful.”

Now, BBN can connect with its favorite programs by throwing back a few Kentucky Blue Lights. While Pope believes Kentucky boasts one of the best NIL programs in the country, he hasn’t been shy to admit there’s still room for growth.

“We are growing, and we need to grow desperately fast,” Pope said during an appearance on KSR. “NIL is a massively important part of the landscape of college athletics and certainly of Kentucky basketball. It’s massively important. It’s one of the foundational factors in whether we can hang banners or not. There’s no two ways about it.”