Cal's Legends NIL Collective raises over $1.2 million following ACC move

Kevin Kennedy knew he needed to act swiftly once word leaked Cal was invited to join the ACC.

The co-executive director of the California Legends NIL collective, he pooled a group of donors including himself, Ron Rivera and Lance Cooper for a match campaign last Friday. Together the collective was able to launch a $500,000 match campaign.

Those phone calls and a quickly organized fundraising campaign worked. The collective announced to donors on Wednesday it raised more than $1.2 million for 21 varsity sports in less than two full business days. In total, more than 1,100 separate donations were made in the time span.

“Partially as the result of the chaos surrounding the ACC admission process and partially just because the Riveras, Lance Cooper and myself were inspired to come together to do this somewhat at the last minute, we didn’t have a single dime in donations lined up before launch,” Kennedy said in a letter obtained by On3. “In fact, we weren’t sure if we were going to raise any money at all.

“… Many of our most generous donors who have been instrumental in helping to fund our efforts to date coming in yet again with new major contributions. And several five-figure checks from individuals who not only have not given to the collective before but really have not donated to Cal athletics in any capacity before. It is so amazing and gratifying to start tapping into this large portion of our alumni base, who clearly has the means but until recently has lacked the impetus to get involved. We are now seeing that change.”

Importance of NIL fundraising for Cal in jump to ACC

Making sure the Golden Bears were not lost in the shuffle of conference realignment was of utmost importance. Cal leaves behind a 108-year-old conference that only has two members remaining past this academic year: Oregon State and Stanford.

When Kennedy and Stephanie Rivera, Ron Rivera’s wife and co-executive director of the California Legends collective, initially started spreading the word on the match campaign, they knew how important NIL would be for Cal. Now safely in the ACC, the focus must continue to be on ensuring Cal sports stay competitive with the move. And that means boasting a strong NIL collective.

For as much as college football is about pageantry and tailgates, the sport has turned into an arms race in the past 16 months. NIL collectives have surfaced at nearly every Division I school. Plus, the word collective, which has no ulterior meaning, has become synonymous with name, image and likeness. The race is to stockpile the most cash to distribute to current players so recruits know what they can make once they enroll at the college.  

That isn’t limited to just football anymore, with NIL making a difference in all realms of college athletics. Launched last August, California Legends is an LLC and has the backing of former running back turned NFL star Marshawn Lynch.

The fundraising for California Legends won’t slow down soon, especially with the move to the ACC now less than a year away. For comparison, the Ole Miss-focused NIL collective The Grove told On3 last week it raised more than $3 million in the last 10 days.

Cal can continue to work to an SEC mark like that. But now the collective has a bank account that’s ready to start competing in the ACC.

“You helped rebut the national narrative that Cal fans were disinterested in the success of their athletic department,” Kennedy said in the closing of his letter to his donors. “You were able to show our new partners in the ACC that they made a wise business decision in looking through our recent struggles and focusing on our potential as both a premiere academic institution and a major athletics power.”