Tulane Green Wave On SI

Tulane Football Hosts Creative New Golf Classic To Raise NIL Funds

Tulane Green Wave hosts its first golf tournament with NIL Collective to provide the football team with the resources it needs to compete.

Maddy Hudak

Peter Brouillet-Imagn Images
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The Tulane Green Wave were one of the college football programs to lose their starting quarterback to the transfer portal this offseason.

Former quarterback Darian Mensah reportedly received one of the highest offers in college football in a multi-million dollar deal with the Duke Blue Devils.

Lucrative NIL deals likely lured running back Makhi Hughes to the Oregon Ducks and tight end Alex Bauman to the Miami Hurricanes, something head coach Jon Sumrall spoke about in a recent interview with Josh Pate's College Football Show.

As NIL resources become more critical than ever to compete, particularly for Group of Five schools, Tulane football is poised to reload through creative efforts aimed at funds for name, image, and likeness.

Green Wave football teamed up with local merchandise shop Campus Connection to host their inaugural Fairways Fore! Football Golf Classic on Feb. 13 at English Turn. The proceeds went to the school’s NIL collective, Fear the Wave, with proceeds aimed towards football players.

Tickets for the event were sold with prices starting at $300 for individuals, and they were able to bid online to play a round with a Tulane celebrity golfer. Head coach Jon Sumrall, defensive coordinator Greg Gasparato, and linebacker Tyler Grubbs represented the current era as available golfers.

The event brought back two program legends, former Voice of the Wave and current play-by-play caller for the New Orleans Pelicans, Todd Graffagnini, and former quarterback Shaun King.

Co-founder of the collective, Michael Arata, thanked local sponsors on X including Rizzuto’s Restaurant and Acme Oyster House, and the golf classic was backed by two important booster clubs for the program, the Greenie Gals and the Greenbackers.

Several notable football alumni attended the event, showing a connection with the pre-Sumrall era. Running back Tyjae Spears and linebacker Dorian Williams, selected in the third round, respectively, by the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills in the 2023 NFL draft, both made trips back to support the football program.

The classic also saw a surprise appearance by New York Jets punter Thomas Morstead as a special guest.

New Tulane football director of roster management, Kelly Comarda, called it an incredible tournament in a post on X, thanking the boosters, Campus Connection, and all the alumni and former program cornerstones.

It’s the second inaugural event put on by Sumrall as head coach that’s seen massive success out of the gate. The Tulane Football Women’s Clinic was held on a weekday in July and had hundreds of women in attendance, showing the momentum the recent success has brought to fan support and buy-in.

Many schools are implementing simple NIL fundraising sources, such as mandatory fees for NIL collectives as part of season ticket purchases.

Many would do well to look at the creative avenues the Green Wave have explored in generating NIL funds.

Rather than stagnate and approach the current state of college football with a bitter approach after losing star talent in the transfer portal, Tulane is choosing to fight and adapt.

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Maddy Hudak
MADDY HUDAK

Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com

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