Kentucky basketball NIL fund set to launch

Kentucky basketball and coach John Calipari are gearing up to jump head-first into the NIL space.

According to Matt Jones of On3’s Kentucky Sports Radio, the Wildcats are expected to launch an NIL fund on Thursday with the “purpose of making UK basketball the top NIL destination in college basketball.” Calipari is expected to be included in the launch of the third-party NIL entity, per Jones.

The news comes after Calipari launched “The LaFamilia Club” last June to fundraise NIL dollars from the former players and top Kentucky boosters. It’s unclear if Thursday’s announcement will be a formal rollout of the club, but fans and boosters will be able to donate.

NIL has long been a hot issue in Lexington, with the Wildcats opting to slow play collectives. The Wildcats were one of the last schools to add a collective in the SEC. Athletic director Mitch Barnhart has not been a major proponent until recent months. The 15 Club, the Kentucky-focused NIL collective run by Athlete Advantage, an NIL agency, hit the market back in December 2021 with the primary focus of serving the football program. The club was relaunched in November 2022 and played a key role in attracting talent in the transfer portal.

Thursday’s announcement will be solely focused on Kentucky basketball. The launch will come just days before Selection Sunday and the start of the college basketball transfer portal window, which opens on March 18. Collectives and third-party NIL entities have become crucial in retaining and attracting talent, specifically in football and men’s basketball.

“Don’t know all the details but sounds innovative and interesting to me. Should be exciting,” Jones wrote on X.

Sources have indicated to On3 in recent weeks that the top college basketball collectives operate with a payroll between $1 to $4 million. The rush for Kentucky will be to raise dollars as quickly as possible, allowing Calipari to jump be aggressive this offseason.