Penn State-focused NIL collectives plan events around the Rose Bowl

Penn State announced Monday the NIL collectives Success With Honor and Lions Legacy Club will hold events in Los Angeles prior to the Rose Bowl Game with the proceeds going to the school’s football players.

There will be an autograph mixer at 7 p.m. PT on Wednesday, Dec. 28 at the Mixing Room inside the JW Marriott in downtown L.A.

At 6 p.m. PT Saturday, Dec. 31, there will be a special edition of the Penn State coaches show, featuring Penn State coach James Franklin, former football players and other guests. No. 11 Penn State (10-2) will face No. 8 Utah (10-3) in the Rose Bowl Game at 2 p.m. PT on Monday, Jan. 2.

The two pregame events are examples of creative NIL programming and activations surrounding bowl games. The NCAA’s latest NIL guidance prohibits athletes from “receiving compensation directly or indirectly for promoting an athletics competition in which they participate.”

The destination marketing organization Visit Myrtle Beach offered every Marshall and UConn football player an NIL deal during their time in town for the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Cheez-It has offered football players hotel stays in “Feelin’ the Cheeziest” hotel rooms as part of activations.

Penn State football players to attend autograph mixer

There are currently 21 Penn State football players scheduled to attend the autograph mixer.

They include Curtis Jacobs, Dvon Ellies, Juice Scruggs, Sal Wormley, KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Adisa Isaac, Dani Dennis-Sutton, Jaylen Reed, Johnny Dixon, Kalen King, Tyler Duzansky, Kaytron Allen, Olu Fashanu, Zakee Wheatley, Tyler Warren, Drew Shelton, Abdul Carter, Hunter Nourzad, Tyler Elsdon, Chop Robinson and Beau Pribula.

“The goal that Success With Honor and Lions Legacy Club both have is to provide unique access for fans, alumni, and businesses to Penn State student-athletes,” Success With Honor CEO Mark Toniatti said in a statement. “Tapping into the excitement surrounding the team and the Rose Bowl is precisely why our collectives successfully create these events.”

During the Penn State coaches show, Franklin will discuss the Nittany Lions’ preparation for the Rose Bowl Game. He’ll also discuss “the power of NIL in the rapidly changing college athletics landscape,” according to a news release.

The coaches show is free to the public inside the JW Marriott lobby. Fans can purchase tickets to take a picture with Franklin after the radio show.

Penn State NIL collectives Success With Honor, Lions Legacy Club work together

Since Penn State Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Pat Kraft started in his current role on July 1, he has been vocal about the importance of the university’s NIL infrastructure and the collectives that support its athletes.

“I felt like we were really behind from a total NIL perspective in educating our student-athletes,” Kraft said earlier in December. “The infrastructure [now], I think we’re in a really good spot. What we’ve got to do now, we’ve got to put it together so that it’s easier to comprehend. So from an internal perspective, I feel really good [about the] infrastructure. Success with Honor has been really, really strong, and the fundraising efforts there is starting to pick up.

“I feel like we’re really in a good spot. I don’t lose as much sleep over that anymore. Do we have to get better? Yes.”

There are three collectives that support Penn State athletes: Success With Honor, Lions Legacy Club and We Are. Success With Honor has entered agreements with more than 150 Penn State athletes across 22 athletic programs. Lions Legacy Club has branded itself as the first football-specific NIL collective at Penn State.

After a rebrand, We Are plans to focus on football and men’s basketball players. It has helped provide catastrophic injury insurance for Penn State football players.

Two of the three collectives are now teaming up for the events prior to the Rose Bowl Game, which is relatively rare in the NIL landscape.

“Our combined goals align perfectly to partner with Success With Honor for these events to provide access for Penn Staters everywhere to Coach Franklin, and these team members,” Lions Legacy Club co-founder and former Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti said in a statement. “As a former All-American linebacker for the football team, I know firsthand how important these bowl games are, and the Rose Bowl is about as special as it gets.”