Final Four Stars Partner on NIL Deals with HEYDUDE

National Champions Te-Hina Paopao of South Carolina and Andre Johnson of UConn, among others collaborate with footwear brand

Michael Ehrlich | Apr 11, 2024

Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks guard Te-Hina Paopao (0) cuts down the net after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes in the finals of the Final Four of the womens 2024 NCAA Tournament at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Timing is everything - in basketball and NIL - and footwear brand HEYDUDE couldn't have planned their NCAA Tournament activation better, collaborating with a roster of Final Four stars from National Champions South Carolina and UConn, plus runner-ups Iowa and Purdue.

To support the launch of the new Wendy and Wally Slip collection showcasing pre and post-game wearing occasions, HEYDUDE partnered with six college basketball players including champion Te-Hina Paopao of South Carolina and Andre Johnson of UConn, in addition to Iowa duo Gabbie Marshall and Kate Martin, UConn duo Amari DeBerry and Ayanna Patterson of UConn and Braden Smith of Purdue.

According to the brand, these Final Four partners were from schools that match geographical areas where HEYDUDE is gaining in popularity and resonates with consumers that celebrate in fandom.

These individual athlete deals - coordinated during March Madness through NIL agency Postgame - are an expansion of HEYDUDE's college basketball footprint that includes partnership with five powerhouse universities - Duke, Kentucky, Miami, North Carolina and Texas A&M - announced prior to the NCAA Tournament. Through that campaign, HEYDUDE launched a new officially licensed Collegiate Collection through licensing agents CLC and Fanatics Licensing Management.

During football season, HEYDUDE partnered with the likes of Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels of LSU, Quinn Ewers of Texas and Jordan Travis of Florida State. The trio of quarterbacks leveraged their partnership to give back to the campus communities and staff members who supported them during the season.

Published Apr 11, 2024

MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com