BYU’s Official NIL Collective Joins Association With Other Power Schools

Aug 17, 2023, 9:05 AM | Updated: Aug 21, 2023, 11:55 am

KSL Sports

PROVO, Utah – BYU collective, The Royal Blue, joined an elite group of collectives in college athletics.

The Collective Association (TCA) added 10 new collectives, one of which is BYU’s Royal Blue.

#BYU’s Royal Blue Collective (@BYURoyalBlue) joins The Collective Association.

TCA strives to create guardrails in the NIL space.

BYU is one of 17 collectives that is part of TCA.https://t.co/1JDFwZ69TG pic.twitter.com/V3cVUPXyWp

— Mitch Harper (@Mitch_Harper) August 17, 2023

TCA is an association that strives to protect the athlete’s rights and create commonly accepted guardrails in the NIL space. One of the initial priorities for TCA is assisting in the development of a revenue-sharing model for college athletes that does not require athletes to become university employees.

“Today is a great day in college sports! The Collective Association is a group of like-minded NIL professionals, who continue to legitimize this space,” said Oncoor President Russell White (Oncoor operates BYU’s collective, The Royal Blue).

“The work we are doing by advocating for student-athletes and finding solutions to NCAA-caused problems, such as our continued development of a revenue-sharing model that will compensate college athletes while not requiring them to become employees, will change the entire NIL landscape for the better.

“I am looking forward to building this from the ground up and I’m ecstatic that two of the Collectives we work with, The Royal Blue at BYU and The Sun Angel Collective at Arizona State, have been invited to join TCA and continue to push the envelope as leaders in the NIL space.”

We are excited to get to be part of The Collective Association! We believe that all voices should be heard when making decisions regarding Name, Image, and Likeness. We will join other likeminded collectives in striving to protect the rights of athletes! pic.twitter.com/NmB7yGcFXl

— Royal Blue Collective (@RoyalBlueNIL) August 17, 2023

BYU is one of 17 schools that is part of TCA. All of the collectives involved with TCA are connected to power conference athletic departments. The TCA also added Wildcat NIL (Kansas State), Garnet Trust (South Carolina), Mass St. Collective (Kansas), The 1870 Society (Ohio State), The 5430 Foundation (Colorado), Desert Takeover Collective (Arizona), Every True Tiger (Missouri), Sun Angel Collective (Arizona State), and 502Circle (Louisville).

Founding members of TCA are Spyre Sports Group (Tennessee), Happy Valley United (Penn State), Classic City Collective (Georgia), House of Victory (USC), Champions Circle (Michigan), The Grove Collective (Ole Miss), The Battle’s End (Florida State).

What is the BYU NIL Collective?

The Royal Blue Collective launched in December of 2022.

BYU’s Royal Blue Collective has NIL deals with notable BYU athletes Kedon Slovis, Kody Epps, Aly Khalifa, Brecken Mozingo, Dallin Hall, and Lauren Gustin, among others.

The Royal Blue works extensively with BYU Athletics to ensure alignment with the mission and ideals of the athletic department. BYU Administration responded favorably that although the TRB’s initial focus is on NIL opportunities for the BYU football and men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes, ultimately, TRB hopes to engage with student-athletes from every sport at BYU.

The Collective’s efforts will be focused on leveraging the unique opportunities presented by NIL to create a program that will position teams to excel athletically while preparing each student-athlete for life beyond sports.

The Royal Blue has five components

TRB has five components they offer to BYU student-athletes. One of those components includes financial support through NIL endorsements.

Another is financial literacy. TRB is expected to offer a series of programs that will give student-athletes a chance to learn about taxes, investing, and other financial education. There will also be a branding and marketing piece for the Collective. Providing the individuals do’s and don’ts of social media and elevating their brands.

TRB is also expected to have a mentoring program that will give access to the network of donors and business people involved with the Collective.

Plus, a mental health and sports wellness to off full-time assistance to the players.

“The Collective is committed to supporting BYU in being a consistent national leader in collegiate athletic performance and seeing all its student-athletes promote light and goodness in life beyond sports. We believe a BYU education for student-athletes should provide a whole life experience that exceeds that of any other educational institution,” said Co-Chairman Lon Henderson in December.

Fans can donate to the BYU NIL collective

For fans of BYU sports, alums can also donate to TRB through royalbluecollective.org.

Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on Twitter/X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.