Tulane Green Wave’s NIL Collective Shows Unique Blueprint for Group of 5 Schools

The Tulane Green Wave have found a unique approach to NIL that retains top talent at a Group of 5 school.

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Tulane Green Wave found a uniquely successful approach to NIL in an era of unrestricted freedom for players in the transfer portal. One that retains top talent and engages the community. Their NIL Collective, Fear the Wave, was created by former Tulane baseball player Kelly Comrada, and football alumni Michael Arata and Jimmy Ordeneaux – the latter on the undefeated 1998 team.

Arata and Ordeneaux remain with one of the most impressive NIL resumes in college football. Michael Arata sat down with Tulane for Sports Illustrated to discuss the accomplishments of Fear the Wave Collective headlined by their latest sold-out event, Wine and Dine with Coach Sumrall and Nola’s College Football Team, I attended on July 15.

Want to travel WITH the Tulane football team to their road games against Oklahoma or Navy? Then you need to get your tickets to Monday’s dinner!https://t.co/fLmRSVfPgW

We’ll have the below auction items available, and more! pic.twitter.com/i0RG1zASrn

— FTW Collective Group (@FTWCollective) July 10, 2024

The immediate thought with Group of 5 programs is tampering by Power 4 schools. Fear the Wave’s first splash was retaining quarterback Michael Pratt amidst said poaching before the team left for Arlington to win the Cotton Bowl. The climax of this era reached a crescendo when former head coach Willie Fritz departed to Houston. Fear the Wave’s leaders stepped in to stop the attrition.

“We met with the players as soon as Coach Fritz finished his speech,” Arata told me of the morning following the AAC Championship loss. “We were standing there when they walked out of the locker room. Our message was, we're staying, we're not going anywhere. We're here. We're consistent and we're going to be here for you. That resonated. I'm a football player. We had a coach who left, and Jimmy did too.”

“We understand what that feels like,” he continued. “We used our own experience to say, you know what? It would be nice for us to be there, to be somebody who says, Hey man, I know who you are. I know what you're going through, I'm here with you right now, and I can promise you I'm not leaving.”

We spoke about the Mardi Gras event they held on St. Charles Avenue as a welcome party for new players and coaches. That showed the new players who arrived this season that Arata and Ordeneaux meant what they said just as much as those who stayed.

“Our relationships, one of the things we tell new players is you're going to see a lot of us,” Arata said. “We go to practices, we'll travel with the team, we're at home games. With the Mardi Gras party, Jimmy and I instinctually have this sense of community and togetherness. What better way to introduce new players than show them what New Orleanians do for Mardi Gras? They were thrilled by it, enthusiastic and taken, shocked at what Mardi Gras really was and how much fun it was. But also, how family oriented it was. They all stepped away from that thinking this is a unique place.”

Last night’s sold-out event exemplifies the buy-in to the collective. Arata and Ordeneaux identified the intimacy of player interactions for donors and collective supporters as a great source of success. There was concern coming off a Military Bowl loss compared to the Cotton Bowl momentum. Enter Jon Sumrall’s infusion of energy and exciting new players.

“New Orleans, in our culture and our experience, the celebration of life that we have here – we’ll never outbid Ole Miss or Oklahoma or LSU,” Arata admitted. “We have to out-family them. Out-culture them. Those intangibles are the things we win on. Coach Sumrall's personal touch cannot be understated. Coach Fritz meant so much to us. He helped us really get this started. He’s somebody who we're close to, we love, and he's a ferocious recruiter.”

“Coach Sumrall has this way about him,” he continued. “It’s so personal, it’s attractive to these players, that and all New Orleans offers. We’re going to focus on the stuff we’re way ahead on – personal relationships, commitment and community, culture, and experiences like this. Mardi Gras parades, or alumni events with CEOs, industry leaders, and sports owners. The collective has benefits from a financial aspect, but we’re going to set you up for something much greater when your career is over. We’re proud of that. We’re proud of people like Jack Rizzuto who’s part of the culture.”

The dinner allowed donors to see the personalities people like Arata and me see daily at practices. It’s a chance to have fun. My favorite memory of last year’s event was the players' involvement and enjoyment of the auction. They got to see their own dividends from their side of the buy-in. That momentum was exponential in the success of last night’s event.

“Don’t you feel like everybody talks about this era, and that era, and the golden era,” Arata said to me of previous Tulane years. “We’re in it now. The golden era is now.”