Cal NIL Collective Reaches $1 Million Donations Goal

Former Cal star Ron Rivera helped spearhead the 72-hour drive that started as soon as Cal was invited to the ACC

Cal's NIL collective reportedly has reached its goal of getting more than $1 million in NIL donations over a 72-hour period, according to a tweet by Washington Commanders head coach and former Cal All-America linebacker Ron Rivera, who helped spearhead the campaign with a generous donation.

Thank you @CAL alums and community for a successful #milliondollarchallenge We recorded 1100 donations in 72 hours and surpassed our goal by raising 1.2 million for 21 sports. The ACC is now Bear Territory! #GoBears 🐻 #theBearwillnotquit

— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) September 6, 2023

Thanks to a $500K match campaign led by Ron Rivera & Lance Cooper, the Cal-driven NIL collective California Legends raised over $1.2 million in under two days following news of the ACC move.

Over 1.1K donations were made.

Details via @Pete_Nakos96: https://t.co/EflNV9iRiP pic.twitter.com/kn3wE9T8c7

— On3 NIL (@On3NIL) September 6, 2023

Cal's addition to the Atlantic Coast Conference next year set off the  ambitious goal for NIL (name, image and likeness) donations. And it started on Friday, the day Cal was invited to the ACC, with this message from Rivera, saying he and his wife Stephanie, a former Cal basketball player, and some other Cal alumni would match the first $500,000 in donations.

Excited for this new chapter in @CalAthletics history. Join me and @CoachRiv2 and support all student/athletes @CAL! #GoBears 🐻 https://t.co/bSwlWuhb0m pic.twitter.com/C792M1aeTg

— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) September 1, 2023

Rivera even coaxed former Gal golfer Max Homa to get on board:

Hey @Maxhoma are you up for the challenge? #GoBears 🐻 https://t.co/8lBxB7jQSx https://t.co/7QCad8VjY2

— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) September 1, 2023

Rivera then posted a tweet on Monday, saying Cal was close to its goal.

Thank you to all those who have met the challenge to donate to https://t.co/bSwlWuhb0m There are a few hours left to meet our $1M challenge & we are close. FYI, you can pick your sport and help some of the great Olympic programs & women's teams @CAL too!

— Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) September 4, 2023

The On3 site reported on the campaign on Friday, and here is an excerpt from that story.

“I think we want to make sure that we’re still competitive,” Stephanie Rivera [co-executive director of the California Legends organization]. “With NIL, I think that’s going to ensure that we still get the top athletes because they want the academic experience. But they also know that there’s other opportunities within the NIL space at other colleges. I mean, we have to make sure that we’re at least on par with everybody else. So at a minimum, we know that we need to make sure that we fund our NIL well, so that we can secure some of the talented student-athletes out there.”

Cover photo of Ron Rivera by Geoff Burke, USA TODAY Sports

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