The Matador Club to hold concert fundraiser for Texas Tech athletes

The Buddy Holly Hall of Performing Arts and Sciences will host a fundraiser called “An Evening with Lubbock Legends” on Feb. 9 and proceeds will benefit Texas Tech athletes’ NIL opportunities through The Matador Club. Musicians and Texas Tech alums Josh Abbott, Pat Green and William Clark Green will perform starting at 7:30 p.m. CST. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets cost between $40 and $150, plus taxes and fees. They’re available online.

The Matador Club is a nonprofit NIL collective. The organization’s website describes The Matador Club as “community-serving.”

“The stars of West Texas are aligning Thursday, February 9th for an evening showcase of songs, stories, and support of our athletic programs with Texas Tech Alumni Josh Abbot, Pat Green, & William Clark Green,” the event description states online. “Combining support of our prestigious alumni in music at Buddy Holly Hall, a landmark to one of West Texas’ own, is the perfect backdrop for our Red Raider community to show support of our athletic programs at Texas Tech. Proceeds from this event will directly impact the Texas Tech Athlete’s (sic) through Name, Image, and Likeness by way of The Matador Club.”

One of the biggest questions surrounding collectives is their sustainability of their fundraising.

Several stakeholders in the NIL landscape told On3 in the fall that a sustainable model for collectives requires the organizations to appeal to both fans and the local business community. If a donor is able to provide a six or seven-figure contribution, then that’s obviously beneficial, too.

An event like a concert fundraiser could provide a valuable experience to consumers that’s detached from the potentially fickle nature of a school’s athletic or recruiting performance.

The Matador Club signed 100 Texas Tech football players

The Matador Club made headlines in July, when it announced its plans to sign 100 Texas Tech football players to one-year agreements worth $25,000 each. The collective planned to sign all 85 scholarship players, plus 15 of the most talented walk-ons. The players involved reportedly received monthly payments.

As part of the agreement, the players reportedly agreed to take part in community service activities and raise awareness for charities in Lubbock.

“Collectives have done things a number of different ways,” The Matador Club co-founder Cody Campbell told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. “You see some of them paying large amounts to individual players. You see others doing different things. But what we want to do, really, is support the entire program. This is kind of a base salary for the guys. They’re not going to be restricted from doing any other NIL stuff with anybody else. In fact, we’re going to encourage and help them to do that.”