Florida Victorious replaces Gator Collective as lead NIL entity for UF
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Gator Collective has changed ownership, with creator and owner Eddie Rojas passing the baton to Jose Costa and Nate Barbera. The new name of Florida’s leading NIL entity will be Florida Victorious.
“FAST is rebranding as the Florida Victorious Foundation,” Florida Victorious CEO Nate Barbera told Gators Online. “We’ll still have the non-profit arm. It’s expanding into the same realm that the Gator Collective is in with the new entity called Florida Victorious. Florida Victorious is offering the fan experiences.
Costas — the owner and founder — is a University of Florida graduate. Over the past 25 years, Costa has spent his professional career as an owner/operator building the world’s largest ornamental plant supplier, Costa Farms, and founded a successful equity and multi-strategy real-estate investor firm, Fourshore Capital, to create a comprehensive platform spanning the lending and private equity space. Originally from Miami, FL, Costa earned his Bachelor of Science from the College of Agriculture at the University of Florida and his MBA from the University of Miami. He currently serves on the Executive Board for the UF Foundation.
Costa also runs the Fast Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3) organization. Fast has been working with University of Florida Athletes and Gainesville charities. You have probably seen posts on social media like this.
Speaking with Gators Online on Monday, Nate Barbera made it clear that Fast will still be operating as a non-profit with the aim to connect Florida student-athletes to those in need in the Gainesville community.
Florida Victorious is an expansion and enhancement of the non-profit Florida Achievement Support Trust (F.A.S.T.), which was founded in June 2022. That organization worked behind-the-scenes to support 84 University of Florida (UF) student-athletes from both the UF football and softball teams. F.A.S.T created impactful NIL opportunities by partnering with a variety of non-profits including The Habitat for Humanity of Alachua County, the Ronald McDonald House of North Central Florida, The St. Francis House, and The Bread of the Mighty Food Bank.
“Florida Victorious provides valuable NIL opportunities for our student-athletes thanks to fans who support Gator athletics,” UF Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said. “There are a number of pillars that are key for success – facilities, academics, conference affiliation, geography, and coaches. NIL is also a critical pillar, and we must excel in all of these areas for the Gators to be successful today and in the future.”
Who is running Florida Victorious
Leadership
Our leadership team consists of passionate and dedicated professionals and UF alumni:
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Founder and Chairman: Jose Costa
CEO: Nate Barbera
Chief Finance Officer: Felipe Torres de Navarra
Chief of Staff: Ryan Dunn
Player Engagement Manager: Lisa Ben-Chaim
Director of Development: Erick Reasoner
Director of Fan Engagement: Jennifer Grosso
In addition, Florida Victorious has an Advisory Board of the former University of Florida athletes and successful alumni:
- Anthony Richardson
- Gary Condron
- Hugh Hathcock
- Laura Rutledge
- Patric Young
- Stephenie Bryan
- Trey Burton
- Danny Wuerffel
- Chris LaFace
How can you get involved?
Florida Victorious offer memberships ranging from $15 – $250 per month. They promise that 90%+ of revenues will go to student-athletes.
Benefits for members will include exclusive content offering an inside look at the lives of student-athletes and UF sports, unique memorabilia and merchandise, one-of-a-kind experiences and events, and member communities for the most passionate fans.
“Gator fans and alumni are truly part of our team,” Billy Napier said. “Their support of Florida Victorious allows us to be competitive in the NIL space and do it better than anyone in the country. We intend to continue teaching life lessons in college athletics, and this structure will create experiences for the players that will shape their character and values.”
Florida Victorious will welcome members of the Gator Collective at its launch to form a powerful, robust NIL organization. With this announcement, Florida Victorious will become the primary NIL entity for Gator fans, donors, and partners.
