Tulane Green Wave NIL Collective Co-Founder Returns in Important In-House Role
The Tulane Green Wave continues to make it known that they are a Group of 5 program fully prepared to compete in the current college football landscape dominated by NIL.
Tulane football announced an important hire that signifies their commitment under head coach Jon Sumrall. Former baseball player and co-founder of the team's Fear the Wave NIL Collective, Kelly Comarda, is returning as the Director of Roster Management.
Previously, he founded the NIL collective alongside current leaders Michael Arata and Jimmy Ordeneaux when NIL became legal for student-athletes following the 2022 season. Their first critical stand was retaining quarterback Michael Pratt amidst poaching attempts by Power 4 programs.
Comarda was hired away by former head coach Willie Fritz when he left for the Houston Cougars but is returning to the Green Wave for the 2025 season.
He will be serving in an in-house role for Sumrall, and the hire appears critical given the NIL landscape and its constant adaptation that often leaves schools like Tulane behind.
While Comarda's job description is not yet clear, a cursory look at those who hold the role at Power 4 schools illustrates the vision for the hire.
Welcome back to Uptown, @K_Comarda! #UptownFootball pic.twitter.com/UiA9bJyHwR
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) January 13, 2025
The Kansas State Wildcats hired offensive quality control coach Clint Brown as the program's director of roster management prior to the 2024 season. His duties include overseeing the football recruiting staff while managing the composition of the roster and consulting their head coach and his staff on a myriad of things.
Importantly, those involve assessing needs for future teams and strategizing to retain current talent while attracting future prospects.
A lot of those job duties now fall under the responsibilities of the head coach, fairly, justifiably, or not.
The hiring of Comarda shows a new level of investment in the football program by the university.
There were previous efforts at an in-house role that didn't come to fruition. With revenue-sharing on the horizon, the ability to coax back Comarda is paramount.
In-house NIL allows universities to facilitate deals for name, image, and likeness directly — a move previously not allowed.
Those two avenues bolster the external NIL Collective, Fear the Wave, as the third prong of compensation opportunities for student-athletes. Not only is it necessary to continuously adapt in today's Wild West, but there is also an underlying constant anxiety about not falling behind.
It's challenging for Power 4 programs.
A Group of 5 school is at an even bigger disadvantage due to a scarcity of resources.
The Green Wave are firmly not in that category even prior to Comarda's hire.
They are now positioned to fully compete in the 2025 season with in-house NIL and roster management by one of the founders who played a large role building the foundation for the landscape.
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