After Initial Momentum, Arkansas Edge's Fan Membership Stuck in Neutral

Still long way to go in Razorbacks' NIL collective efforts

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Sam Pittman reacts during the second half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. / Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A journey of a million miles starts with a single step.

Fans might have gray hair by the time Arkansas' Drive for Five is completed. Originally launched on March 27, the plan was to reach 5,000 fan memberships, i.e. 5,000 fans willing to pledge at least $25 a month by the start of football season to boost the Razorbacks NIL efforts.

An aggressive bet on the common fan to support the only Power Four school in the state, leaving Arkansas Edge, the School's new NIL collective, just over 150 days to achieve the target. With just 69 days left before the Hogs kickoff in North Little Rock against UAPB, let's check in on how much progress has been made.

Arkansas is at 782 fan memberships or 15.6% of the initial target. Arkansas roughly doubled the number of memberships after the hiring of John Calipari, but month-over-month growth since has come to a near standstill.

When I spoke to Chris Bauer, director of Arkansas Edge on May 7 about the path to 5,000, Bauer mentioned an "advertising campaign that's external to the university" once the sports season for the Razorbacks concluded. The final baseball game was played on campus June 2.

"A digital [and] social media pay placement type campaign," Bauer said. "We can reach all fans, not just fans that are attending games."

Even Bauer conceded that the initial goal to hit 5,000 was aggressive and would probably require more time. Ole Miss hit 5,500 members in March and the Rebels established their collective in January 2022, almost 2 full years before Arkansas Edge broke away from OneArkansas. It was unrealistic to expect Arkansas to make up two years of lost time in six months.

The irony of the situation is that when the interview was conducted, the tracker on the website showed 793 members. As of this publication, that number is down to 782.

Although aggressive figures have been reported on how much NIL money was necessary to draw Calipari away from Kentucky, some north of $5 million from top donors, it's clear that fan memberships are a integral part of the success that the Hogs are still missing. Fans who become part of Arkansas Edge can designate which sport they want their money to go toward.

Arkansas simply isn't in a position to follow the Oregon model, for example, in which there is no fan club, and is heavily reliant on top donors. The collective is headed by none other than Nike founder Phil Knight. The only thing for sale on Division Street's website, Oregon's NIL collective, is a selection of shirts and hoodies ranging from $35-$235.

Been told by one source that Calipari will have access to an NIL package that will rank among the best in college basketball.

Excess of $5 million per year. https://t.co/9T0F2gploV

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 8, 2024

Perhaps an even more aggressive ad campaign is in the works, or other marketing strategies are up Arkansas Edge's sleeve, but a pivotal summer has gotten off to a rocky start. In an effort to drum up excitement, members can now join to enter a drawing for a Calipari-signed basketball. A period of supposed exponential growth has started with stagnation and even regression in the quest to catch up to speed with the rest of the SEC.

You heard the man! Help us continue to attract top talent like Boogie 🏀🐗

Join the Drive for Five today & enter to win a signed Coach Cal basketball! ➡️ https://t.co/9x7Z3UwLwd pic.twitter.com/zIG9Mf1E7U

— Arkansas Edge (@ArkansasEdgeNIL) June 21, 2024

In the meantime, recruits are leaving. Who's to say that NIL was the deciding factor in Carius Curne's decision to go to LSU instead of Arkansas? We'll never know, but Arkansas currently sits 15th in the SEC for the class of 2024 rankings and 12th for the class of 2025, according to 247Sports. A clear sign something is amiss.

Barring a Christmas miracle in September, the path to 5,000 before opening weekend is all but dead. The only thing left to decide is what in-roads Arkansas Edge can make to keep more recruits from walking out the door.

The Hogs kick off their football season against UAPB 6:30 p.m. Aug. 29 from War Memorial Stadium in North Little Rock. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

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