The Grove Collective is a Founding Member of The Collective Association
As the world of NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) and collectives continues to evolve, seven NIL entities — including The Grove Collective at Ole Miss — have joined together to formed The Collective Association, nicknamed “TCA,” as it was announced Wednesday.
The Collective Association will be founded on three pillars: To serve as a voice for athletes and their best interests, provide a forum for collectives to discuss current NIL issues and share best practices, and provide a unified voice for collectives to leverage their position.
Here are the seven founding members of TCA:
• Classic City Collective (University of Georgia)
• Spyre Sports Group (University of Tennessee)
• The Grove Collective (University of Mississippi)
• The Battle’s End (Florida State University)
• House of Victory (University of Southern California)
• Champions Circle (University of Michigan)
• Happy Valley United (Penn State University)
As we have passed the two-year mark of the inception of NIL, more than 200 collectives are now in place. Their existence is necessary in order for schools to compete in football, baseball and basketball, as donors join together to pool funds.
As we are all aware, there are many resulting issues that have arisen from NIL and the seven founding members look to make sure these topics are front and center on a national level.
“The new trade association will advocate for student-athletes, share best practices, and act as a unified voice to shape the development of the NIL market and beyond.“
TCA statement
The TCA plans to spend much time assisting its peers, whether it be talking through the NCAA’s most recent guidance or the memo released in June by the IRS aimed at non-profit collectives.
“TCA will openly share the many good works of how its collectives and athletes are helping to create positive impact in the communities they serve across the country. TCA will also work towards a sustainable model and look for points of commonality between all of the major stakeholders due to the roles collectives play.”
TCA
In the coming weeks, the seven members will vote on a set of bylaws and hope to begin holding conversations with NCAA president Charlie Baker, conference commissioners and athletic directors.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn’s love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
