Nickel City Collective Launches as NIL Collective for UB Student-Athletes
4/25/2024 2:00:00 PM | Cross Country, Football, General, Men's Basketball, Men's Tennis, Softball, Track and Field, Women's Basketball, Women's Soccer, Women's Tennis, Women's Volleyball, Wrestling, Swimming and Diving
BUFFALO, NY – Blueprint Sports (BPS), the industry leader in full-service name, image, and likeness (NIL) collectives, proudly announced today the launch of Nickel City Collective, an NIL Collective supporting all University at Buffalo student-athletes.
The launch of the collective comes with a new website and membership program where Buffalo Bulls fans, supporters and alums can receive exclusive benefits while supporting NIL opportunities for Buffalo student-athletes. Starting at only $10 a month, community supporters can become members of the collective and receive exclusive merchandise, content, and access to events including meet-and-greets with student-athletes, watch parties, and more.
"The launch of the Nickel City Collective is another step forward to ensure our student-athletes are taking advantage of NIL opportunities. This will allow UB to be very competitive in this space," said Mark Alnutt, University at Buffalo Vice President and Director of Athletics. "Giving our great Western New York community and our passionate fanbase an opportunity to directly support their favorite Bulls and UB teams is going to have an enormous impact on our student-athletes while making a difference in our community moving forward. This collective is not possible without the commitment and dedication to UB Athletics by our Nickel City Collective Board members; Shaena Kershner, Paul Ciriello, Joe Kreuz, Karl Fischer, and Tim Hedges, and I want to personally thank them in advance for their service moving forward."
Launched just prior to the Buffalo Bulls Spring Game, Nickel City Collective will provide new NIL infrastructures for all UB student-athletes, embracing the new landscape of college athletics to bring enhanced support for the university's student-athletes. The collective will benefit from Blueprint Sports' national team of NIL experts to increase and improve NIL opportunities for Buffalo student-athletes and work throughout the region to proactively fundraise from supporters, work with local non-profits who want to engage with student-athletes, and engage with businesses who believe that working with student-athletes can help boost their business and brands.
Nickel City Collective supporters, alumni, and fans have three easy ways to contribute to the collective:
For more information about Nickel City Collective, visit nickelcitynil.com or its pages on X and Instagram.
What They Are Saying
"The Nickel City Collective gives our program the necessary platform to compete in the new landscape of college basketball. Thank you to our generous donors, the Nickel City Collective Board and Blueprint Sports for making this possible with Mark Alnutt, Aaron Stang and our UB Athletics Staff. We are fired up to build a robust NIL here at Buffalo and look forward to working with and playing for so many more future supporters. Go Bulls!" – George Halcovage III – Men's Basketball Head Coach
"I am beyond excited for the launch of our NIL Collective here at Buffalo. This will be a crucial piece in allowing us to continue to recruit and retain the best players in the MAC and ensure they choose Buffalo. This will truly make a difference in the success of our program and I couldn't be happier." – Becky Burke – Women's Basketball Head Coach
"I am grateful for the hard work of our athletic department staff and generosity of our donors to launch this NIL collective. This is an important step to help us retain our best and brightest student-athletes as well as to recruit high-level players who fit our culture. I look forward to building strong relationships with all our constituents and connecting them with our team in a meaningful way." – Pete Lembo – Football Head Coach
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ABOUT NICKEL CITY COLLECTIVE
Nickel City Collective is a fan-driven and alumni-led Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collective for University at Buffalo student-athletes, alumni, and fans. Community members who commit their support to Nickel City Collective are pledging to maximize opportunities for Buffalo Bulls student-athletes. In addition, community supporters gain access to exclusive events, autograph sessions, and more. Nickel City Collective is powered by parent company Blueprint Sports. For more information, visit nickelcitynil.com.
ABOUT BLUEPRINT SPORTS
Founded in 2020, Blueprint Sports (BPS) powers the industry's leading name, image, and likeness (NIL) collectives for alumni, supporters, and businesses, connecting them with student-athletes at their favorite university. BPS' national portfolio of collectives supports student-athletes across the country, including Penn State University, University of Arkansas, University of Kansas, University of Maryland, University of Washington, University of Colorado, Boston College, NC State University, Villanova University, Stanford University, Gonzaga University, University of Arizona, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Reno, and more. The Blueprint Sports management team possesses over 50 years of college and professional sports experience, spanning the Pac-12 Conference, IMG, Learfield, and more. For more information, visit blueprintsports.com or its pages on Facebook, Instagram and X.
The launch of the collective comes with a new website and membership program where Buffalo Bulls fans, supporters and alums can receive exclusive benefits while supporting NIL opportunities for Buffalo student-athletes. Starting at only $10 a month, community supporters can become members of the collective and receive exclusive merchandise, content, and access to events including meet-and-greets with student-athletes, watch parties, and more.
"The launch of the Nickel City Collective is another step forward to ensure our student-athletes are taking advantage of NIL opportunities. This will allow UB to be very competitive in this space," said Mark Alnutt, University at Buffalo Vice President and Director of Athletics. "Giving our great Western New York community and our passionate fanbase an opportunity to directly support their favorite Bulls and UB teams is going to have an enormous impact on our student-athletes while making a difference in our community moving forward. This collective is not possible without the commitment and dedication to UB Athletics by our Nickel City Collective Board members; Shaena Kershner, Paul Ciriello, Joe Kreuz, Karl Fischer, and Tim Hedges, and I want to personally thank them in advance for their service moving forward."
Launched just prior to the Buffalo Bulls Spring Game, Nickel City Collective will provide new NIL infrastructures for all UB student-athletes, embracing the new landscape of college athletics to bring enhanced support for the university's student-athletes. The collective will benefit from Blueprint Sports' national team of NIL experts to increase and improve NIL opportunities for Buffalo student-athletes and work throughout the region to proactively fundraise from supporters, work with local non-profits who want to engage with student-athletes, and engage with businesses who believe that working with student-athletes can help boost their business and brands.
Nickel City Collective supporters, alumni, and fans have three easy ways to contribute to the collective:
- Tax-Deductible Donations: Nickel City Collective has partnered with the BPS Foundation, a national 501c3 organization, to support Buffalo Bulls student-athletes. Student-athletes will partner with local nonprofits to work as advocates for charitable causes, including fulfilling that commitment personally with community service hours.
- Memberships: Become a member of Nickel City Collective and receive exclusive member benefits, like meet-and-greets with student-athletes, autographed merchandise, and more.
- Corporate Sponsorship: NIL allows local and national sponsors to partner with Buffalo Bulls student-athletes for endorsement deals, marketing campaigns, appearances, and other projects.
For more information about Nickel City Collective, visit nickelcitynil.com or its pages on X and Instagram.
What They Are Saying
"The Nickel City Collective gives our program the necessary platform to compete in the new landscape of college basketball. Thank you to our generous donors, the Nickel City Collective Board and Blueprint Sports for making this possible with Mark Alnutt, Aaron Stang and our UB Athletics Staff. We are fired up to build a robust NIL here at Buffalo and look forward to working with and playing for so many more future supporters. Go Bulls!" – George Halcovage III – Men's Basketball Head Coach
"I am beyond excited for the launch of our NIL Collective here at Buffalo. This will be a crucial piece in allowing us to continue to recruit and retain the best players in the MAC and ensure they choose Buffalo. This will truly make a difference in the success of our program and I couldn't be happier." – Becky Burke – Women's Basketball Head Coach
"I am grateful for the hard work of our athletic department staff and generosity of our donors to launch this NIL collective. This is an important step to help us retain our best and brightest student-athletes as well as to recruit high-level players who fit our culture. I look forward to building strong relationships with all our constituents and connecting them with our team in a meaningful way." – Pete Lembo – Football Head Coach
###
ABOUT NICKEL CITY COLLECTIVE
Nickel City Collective is a fan-driven and alumni-led Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collective for University at Buffalo student-athletes, alumni, and fans. Community members who commit their support to Nickel City Collective are pledging to maximize opportunities for Buffalo Bulls student-athletes. In addition, community supporters gain access to exclusive events, autograph sessions, and more. Nickel City Collective is powered by parent company Blueprint Sports. For more information, visit nickelcitynil.com.
ABOUT BLUEPRINT SPORTS
Founded in 2020, Blueprint Sports (BPS) powers the industry's leading name, image, and likeness (NIL) collectives for alumni, supporters, and businesses, connecting them with student-athletes at their favorite university. BPS' national portfolio of collectives supports student-athletes across the country, including Penn State University, University of Arkansas, University of Kansas, University of Maryland, University of Washington, University of Colorado, Boston College, NC State University, Villanova University, Stanford University, Gonzaga University, University of Arizona, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Reno, and more. The Blueprint Sports management team possesses over 50 years of college and professional sports experience, spanning the Pac-12 Conference, IMG, Learfield, and more. For more information, visit blueprintsports.com or its pages on Facebook, Instagram and X.
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