One Maryland Collective Becomes the Official Collective Supporting All Maryland Student-Athletes
College Park, MD (September 14, 2023) – Community leaders in Maryland have partnered with Blueprint Sports, the industry leader in full-service Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) collectives, to unveil the ‘One Maryland Collective’ – the official NIL collective supporting more than 550 student-athletes across all 20 sports at the University of Maryland. Until now, various collectives and other efforts have been underway to support NIL opportunities for Maryland student-athletes. The One Maryland Collective is the first collective to create a united and conscious effort to elevate the level of NIL opportunities in the market.
“Maryland has been and continues to be a leader in NIL. With the launch of the One Maryland Collective, we are combining our NIL efforts into one united brand that will help student-athletes get connected with better opportunities to succeed,” said Damon Evans, the Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics at Maryland. “Our student-athletes are deserving of the most robust NIL program available to help them grow their brands and become more active members of our community.”
The new One Maryland Collective will unite existing groups into a single collective, including football’s TBIA Foundation, men’s basketball’s Turtle NIL, and men’s lacrosse’s Hard Shell Collective, plus provide opportunities for the more than 550 student-athletes who proudly wear the red, white, black and gold.
Maryland Athletics has been a leader in the NIL space since its inception. Since NIL was instituted in 2021, our student-athletes have signed 1,522 NIL agreements covering all of our 20 programs, conducted hundreds of hours of community service, and engaged in meaningful opportunities to leverage their individual brands.
“I am incredibly excited to have the One Maryland Collective as the main resource for our student-athletes,” said Michael Locksley, Maryland head football coach. “Our goal is to keep our football program competitive, which now includes supporting NIL opportunities to help our student-athletes have a well-rounded college experience.”
“The One Maryland Collective will continue to move forward and enhance the options our student-athletes have for NIL opportunities. We have seen how impactful NIL opportunities are for our student-athletes,” said Kevin Willard, Maryland head men’s basketball coach. “The One Maryland Collective will be a resource that ensures they have the very best support possible.”
One Maryland Collective supporters, alumni, and fans have three easy ways to contribute to the collective:
Donations: Make a tax-deductible donation to One Maryland Collective through a partnership with the BPS Foundation, a 501c3 nonprofit. Student-athletes will partner with a local nonprofit to work on charitable causes and commit to community service hours.
Membership: Become a member of One Maryland 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 Maryland student-athletes for endorsement deals, marketing campaigns, appearances, and other projects.
The One Maryland Collective will be operated by Blueprint Sports, staffed by a dedicated full-time team to manage the daily operations of the collective, fundraising campaigns, corporate partnerships and more.
“We are ecstatic to add One Maryland Collective to the Blueprint Sports family,” said Rob Sine, Co-founder of Blueprint Sports. “The Terps have an incredible network of alumni, fans, and supporters who have already made great strides in the NIL space. Our new partnership will allow us to build on that foundation and make One Maryland NIL one of the leaders in the East.”
For more information visit onemarylandnil.com and follow @OneMarylandNIL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
About Blueprint Sports
Founded in Las Vegas in 2020 and backed by Andre Agassi, eight-time Grand Slam tennis champion, 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 around Penn State University, Boston College, NC State University, Kansas State University, Villanova University, Florida State University, Gonzaga University, University of Arizona, University of Tennessee, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of Nevada, Ohio University, University of Toledo, Montana State University 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 Nevada Athletics Commission, among others. For more information, visit blueprintsports.com or its pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
