Temple-focused TUFF Fund announces first NIL signings

Less than three weeks before the first games of the 2022-23 college basketball season, the NIL collective TUFF Fund announced it signed 16 Temple athletes to NIL agreements, including 11 men’s or women’s basketball players. The group represents the first athletes that Tuff Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization, has signed.

Ten of the 13 players listed on Temple’s men’s basketball roster signed with TUFF Fund. They are guards Khalif Battle, Shane Dezonie, Damian Dunn, Hysier Miller, Deuce Roberts and Jahlil White, and forwards Zach Hicks, Nick Jourdain, Jamille Reynolds and Taj Thweatt.

“Just being a local kid, being from Philadelphia, just giving us the opportunity to give back to the community, it means a lot,” Miller said in a statement. “I’m really appreciative that the TUFF Fund and our alumni recognized how important it is to have the ability and resources to give back to the place we call home.”

Two of the three men’s basketball players who haven’t sign with TUFF Fund are international athletes, who have limited NIL opportunities in the U.S. The third player who hasn’t yet signed joined the team as a walk-on last season.

Women’s basketball guard Aniya Gourdine, EDGE Layton Jordan, gymnast Brooke Donabedian, men’s soccer defender Sawyer Koza, women’s lacrosse defender Taylor Moncman and golfer Ethan Whitney also signed with TUFF Fund.

TUFF Fund to announce more partnerships

A press release said TUFF Fund will soon announce partnerships within the greater Philadelphia community that will focus on addressing gun violence, poverty and mental health.

“Due to the overwhelming response from our passionate alumni base in the two months since our inception, we were able to sign agreements with 16 student-athletes to utilize their name, image, and likeness,” TUFF Fund Executive Director Andy Carl said in a statement. “These student-athletes represent our initial ascent into the charitably-focused NIL space. The agreements signify a starting point for what we set out to do from our inception: to provide platforms for our student-athletes’ passions through charitable endeavors in the Philadelphia community using the support of our alumni and fans as a vehicle.”

TUFF Fund has previously announced a partnership with Hoops 4 Hope, a Philadelphia-based, nonprofit organization that the press release said, “utilizes basketball to engage and empower individuals experiencing homelessness, allowing them to invest in their physical and mental well-being while having carefree fun in a safe environment.”

“I think it’s awesome to have a platform through the TUFF Fund to give back to the community because they have been so welcoming to us as Temple student-athletes,” lacrosse defender Taylor Moncman said in a statement.