NORFOLK, Va. — A group of Old Dominion University alumni and friends have formed a collective called "The Pride of ODU" in order to help ODU navigate the changing landscape of college athletics.
The collective will raise money and help to facilitate deals that will compensate ODU student-athletes for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL), such as personal appearances, social media promotions or launching an entrepreneurial effort.
The collective already has negotiated NIL deals with more than 30 ODU student-athletes.
The NCAA began allowing student-athletes to earn money from NIL agreements more than two years ago, but because of rapidly changing NCAA rules and state and NIL guidelines, ODU alumni and friends were hesitant to form a collective.
With collectives now being formed at most Division I schools, and NIL compensation becoming a more significant part of college athletics, the group of alumni and friends decided it was time to move forward.
The Pride of ODU is not directly affiliated with ODU athletics or the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation (ODAF), the University's fundraising organization for athletics, but will work to help promote the goals of Monarch athletics.
Student-athletes can still directly negotiate deals with the private sector, subject to NCAA rules and University approval. The Pride of ODU Collective will raise money and help facilitate deals to provide ODU student-athletes with NIL compensation opportunities.
There will be three primary sources to fund the Pride of ODU Collective: membership fees, corporate sponsorships and private donations.
Pride of ODU Executive Director Jay Haeseker, director of investor relations and operations for Continental Capital Partners, a commercial real estate firm in Virginia Beach, said the group has set a goal of signing on 3,000 fans as members of the collective.
Membership fees begin at a nominal $10 per month. In addition in helping ODU to compete with other Division I schools, members will receive exclusive access to content, such as stories and podcasts, as well as access to special events with athletes and coaches.
"We have to have the support of the entire ODU fan base for this to work," Haeseker said.
Area companies, such as restaurants and car dealerships, will be asked to become sponsors. In return, athletes will help promote their businesses. Private donations will also be solicited.
Efforts to form the collective began in early 2023, but with the number of new legislative changes and IRS memorandums, The Pride of ODU has had to pivot several times to arrive at a public launch point, officials said.
Alex Mitchum, senior vice president with C&M Industries in Chesapeake and an ODU donor, began contacting other donors and alumni earlier this year about forming a collective.
Once a working group was formed, it worked closely with Dr. Wood Selig, ODU's director of athletics; Jena Virga, ODAF's executive director; and Danielle Cohea, ODU's senior associate athletics director for compliance, as well as other ODU administrators.
The Pride of ODU is bound by all applicable NCAA, Sun Belt Conference, and Virginia rules and regulations.
While Mitchum believes the current NIL model isn't ideal, "ODU must be competitive in the current and future NIL space, and in an effort to compete, we worked tirelessly to build The Pride of ODU collective into a stable and efficient organization," he said.
"Our goal when we started the Pride of ODU collective was building a membership with a focus on sustainability and the long-term success of ODU student-athletes. We did a lot of legwork to ensure that we can efficiently handle the ebb and flow of rules and state and federal laws as they come down the pike. I think that's a benefit of not jumping into this immediately."
Head football coach Ricky Rahne said he is pleased that the collective has formed.
"Collectives are a part of college football now," he said. "Most of our league members have collectives. We need to be able to compete with them.
"It's going to help our student-athletes. We're not talking about gigantic sums of money. We're talking about money that will allow our players to eat better, to make our players feel more comfortable.
"I'm obviously very appreciative of our alumni and donors for stepping up to help create this."
Haeseker, a former assistant athletic director for development with ODAF, in part guided Mitchum's efforts.
Mitchum will serve on The Pride of ODU Board of Directors along with Ed Amorosso, Hampton Roads market leader for BDO Norfolk, an accounting and services firm; James S. Somers, managing partner for The Somers Group, a Virginia Beach wealth management firm; Russ Turner, owner and chairman of TST Companies of Norfolk; and Scott Taylor, who is the executive director of Taylor Construction of Virginia Beach.
Board members serve voluntarily and without compensation.
The Pride of ODU will partner with Student Athlete NIL (SANIL), a group that helps 31 other colleges and universities raise money and facilitate NIL deals. SANIL also works with collectives at Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Syracuse, UAB, Wake Forest, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt.
ODU is the first and only Sun Belt Conference member to to partner with SANIL.
Dr. Selig said the Pride of ODU will help student-athletes while also helping Monarch teams succeed.
"ODU athletics takes considerable pride in providing our student-athletes the resources they need to be successful in the classroom, on the fields of competition and in life," Dr. Selig said. "The Pride of ODU Collective will allow ODU student-athletes to reach their full NIL potential and gain valuable NIL business experience and benefits.
"The Pride of ODU will allow friends and fans of ODU athletics an excellent medium to assist ODU student-athletes in building their respective brands while allowing the Old Dominion Athletic Foundation to continue its focus on raising money to support athletic scholarships, capital projects, and program enhancement funds.
"We are grateful for the launch of the Pride of ODU and all those who back this new initiative. We are hopeful the Pride of ODU membership grows quickly and robustly."
ODAF is among the most successful fundraising organizations in the Group of Five and raised a school record $18 million in 2022.
Virga said she fully supports the formation of the Pride of ODU Collective. "This is an initiative we must have to remain competitive in today's world of college athletics," she said.
Haeseker said that "a few generous donors have helped us launch this effort. But our sustainability and success will result from consistent support from the entirety of Monarch Nation as members of the Pride of ODU.
"We will need their support as well as feedback to grow and provide these opportunities to not only our great student-athletes but also the Old Dominion University Community."