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The Grove Collective, Realtree reveal limited edition Lane Kiffin Nike AF-1s

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham•08/24/23•

AndrewEdGraham

OLE MISS PRACTICE
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin (©Bruce Newman)

If you’re an Ole Miss football fan looking for some new game day kicks ahead of the 2023 season, The Grove Collective has you covered. The Ole Miss NIL collective has some special edition white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers as part of “The Lane Kiffin Collection” going on sale on Thursday evening.

The limited run of the shoes — there are just 50 pairs available — will go on sale at 7 p.m. EST on Thursday, Aug. 24. They’ll be available on The Grove Collective’s members-only site.

The white Air Force 1s, designed in collaboration with outdoor camouflage apparel and outfitting company Realtree, feature a blue and white cloud-like pattern on the iconic Nike swoosh, standing out from the all-white sneaker. A small red tree — a bit of Grove Collective branding — is just above the sole on the heel.

The decision to offer up the custom kicks is a move that On3’s Pete Nakos thinks sets The Grove Collective — among others — apart in the NIL space.

“In the current landscape of NIL, creating unique opportunities for donors remains a moving target for collectives. Pleading with fans for funds without providing a meaningful return does not equal success. The Grove Collective continues to come up with innovative ways to raise funds while making donors’ commitments worthwhile,” Nakos said. “Props to Walker Jones on this one. And having Lane Kiffin help out shows the alignment across the athletic department to the NIL collective.”

The Grove Collective recently raised nearly $2 million in a day for Ole Miss NIL deals

Jones, the executive director of The Grove Collective, told On3’s Andy Wittry that on the first day of their “Grove Collection Week,” that the group raised around $1.7 million on Day 1

The goal for the entire week-long campaign is $3 million.

The campaign, which kicked off on the first day of classes for the fall semester at Ole Miss, was “magic,” Jones said.

“It was the first day of school yesterday,” Jones said Tuesday morning. “So we had athletes on campus for the first day. We had coaches running around, making sure their team, their roster and their athletes were getting to the right classes. It was kind of a crazy day but that was the magic. We wanted to do something to kick off the start of school, the first day back. But really, logistically, we had to have everybody pulling together and that’s why it was successful.”

Realtree and TV personality Tyler Jordan were a big cog in the fundraising campaign, giving what Jones called a “major gift” to the campaign.

“The pledges, we want those by year-end,” Jones said. “So $3 million, either now or by December, we want to raise this week. We closed the day out right at $1.7 million.”