NIL for good: Troy collective raises $11K to help beat writer battle cancer

Check out Josh Boutwell’s story on Troy University’s new head football coach and you’d think he’s like any other college football beat writer this month, keeping readers abreast of staff changes, transfer portal movement and preparations for an upcoming bowl game.

You’d have no idea he slept on his bathroom floor the previous night, wracked by intense nausea and vomiting from another five-hour infusion of two types of chemotherapy treatments. Or that the 35-year-old took a call from his doctor while driving to an interview on July 12 and heard the four words that changed his life: stage-three colorectal cancer.

And you’d have no idea that the Troy-focused Trojans Together Collective has raised $11,087 for Boutwell’s medical expenses since starting the crowdsourcing campaign in early October. As collectives nationwide loom as a polarizing third-party entity in the NIL space, this is one example of how they can touch a community in a profound way, galvanizing donors for a common purpose.

“NIL gets a bad rap,” Boutwell of The Troy Messenger told On3. “Obviously, there are certain places that probably use it in a way that it’s not intended for. But this type of thing – obviously I’m biased – I can’t think of a better way you could use this now. The guys who are the head of it [Chuck Carson, Jason Jones] the whole week of the Sun Belt championship, they pushed it really hard. This whole time they’ve been there. I really appreciate them.”

Boutwell is both The Troy Messenger‘s sports editor and the team’s beat writer. He began covering the team in 2016 for another publication. And, according to those affiliated with the collective, what he has meant to the team can’t be overstated.

Josh Boutwell ‘has become one of the family’

Early this season, Troy coach Jon Sumrall, who has since taken the Tulane coaching job, addressed Boutwell’s diagnosis with his team. Sumrall told players that Boutwell is an inspiration, that he keeps coming to practice, keeps interviewing players and coaches and keeps writing stories even though he may look like he is going to pass out on the sideline.

Sumrall also mentioned Boutwell’s battle from time to time during press conferences – and each time he did there’d be a spike in donations. 

“Josh is a very warm individual. Very easy to approach and does a great job covering our team,” the collective’s co-founder Carson told On3. “The coaches, it’s been amazing to watch the coaches respond to this campaign. And their help in promoting and getting the word out has been amazing. Josh is really just ingrained in our culture around here. He has become one of the family here.”

Trojans Together Collective launched in August with a community-focused mission. The collective has partnered with Nashville-based Champsraise, a crowdfunding platform connecting college athletes to charities and fans in need. 

“One of the first things they wanted to do on the platform was raise money for Josh,” Champsraise CEO and founder Tyler Jordon told On3.

The collective connected with The Troy Messenger President Bobby Rice with interest in supporting his fight against cancer. Rice submitted Boutwell’s personal story to the platform, which was ultimately used for the campaign page. The collective then selected standout safety Dell Pettus to utilize his NIL to help raise money for Boutwell’s medical expenses.

And Jordon coordinated the so-called virtual surprise.

Troy community rallies around Boutwell

One word springs to mind when Boutwell remembers when he was told of the Trojans Together campaign – speechless.

It was early October, and Rice told Boutwell that he needed to jump on a Zoom call for a training session. When Boutwell signed on, he saw a familiar face and thought, “Why am I looking at Dell Pettus?” 

Pettus told Boutwell that he heard his story and they wanted to fundraise for him. Overwhelmed, Boutwell said, “C’mon, man. I really don’t know what to say. I just really appreciate y’all.”

Looking back now, Boutwell said, “I just couldn’t believe it. Asking for help has never been something that I’m good at. So when you have people telling you that they want to help you, it means the world.”

The collective posted the first social media video for Boutwell on Oct. 9, amassing 80,000 views just in the first couple of days. The goal was to raise $10,000 – a figure they eclipsed before the end of the season.

DONATE: Help Josh Boutwell beat cancer 

When Troy recently replaced Sumrall with Gerad Parker, Boutwell secretly prayed for a Tuesday introductory news conference. Mondays were for hours of extensive chemo treatment; Wednesdays were for confronting symptoms at their worst. This week, he got his wish.

His fortunes also worked out with Troy’s bowl game.

Amid late-season speculation that Troy could wind up playing its bowl game in Florida, Boutwell knew what that would mean: No way his doctor would allow him to go. Turned out, Troy will instead play Duke in Saturday’s Birmingham Bowl, just a little more than two hours from Troy.

After he files his game story, Boutwell will be counting the days until the first week of March. That’s when this round of treatment – the infusion of FOLFOX chemo, steroids, nausea medications and much more – is expected to conclude. Then comes a six-week break, a battery of tests to make sure the cancer has not spread and, ultimately, surgery to remove what remains.

Boutwell not battling this alone

In the meantime, Boutwell will continue to lean on the unrelenting encouragement from his wife. He says she is his driving force. And he’ll find strength, optimism and resolve in working with the football team. 

He knows he’s not waging this battle alone.

“None of these guys [coaches, players] owe me a single thing, but when they see me they ask me how I’m doing,” Boutwell said. “Coach Sumrall would hug me. Coaches will call and text, asking me if I need anything. It’s hard to explain how much that means to you. And anyone who has donated money, there’s no way you can describe how that feels. Especially with how expensive everything is with cancer.”