Villanova Announces Exciting Official NIL Collective

Villanova University is the latest school to announce an official partnership with an NIL collective.

Villanova Athletics has named the 'Friends of Nova' collective as its official partner to support name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals for student-athletes.

Friends of Nova (FON) is an NIL collective that launched in October of 2022. It's led by Randy Foye, a Villanova Men's Basketball alum who was selected seventh overall in the 2006 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. 

The collective, "connects fans, alumni, businesses, and charities with student-athletes while harnessing the power of Villanova University. Supporters can connect with teams through memberships, donations, and corporate sponsorships," per FON's website.

"We're incredibly excited to announce this collaboration with Friends of Nova," said Villanova Vice President and Director of Athletics Mark Jackson, who has been AD since 2015. "At Villanova, our priority is always to take on new opportunities in a manner that fits within the larger mission of our University and Athletics department. Friends of Nova is perfectly aligned with that approach, and everyone at Friends of Nova is committed to helping our student-athletes to fully harness NIL opportunities."

Likely the most sought after student-athletes from campus will be members of the men's basketball team. Villanova Men's Basketball has made it to the Final Four in three of the last eight years, winning the NCAA championship in 2016 and 2018 under former Head Coach Jay Wright. 

Many Villanova alumni play in the NBA today, including Jalen Brunson (Knicks), Kyle Lowry (Heat), and Mikal Bridges (Nets). Cam Whitmore, who played for the Wildcats as a true freshman this past season, was selected 20th overall in the 2023 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets.

"NIL is a hot topic in college basketball," Kyle Neptune, the Head Coach of Villanova Men's Basketball, said in a press release. "Friends of Nova creates NIL opportunities for our student-athletes and does it at the highest level. As an alumnus who went on to play 12 years in the NBA, Randy understands the values and culture of Villanova and what opportunities that it can present to student-athletes. We're grateful and excited to partner with Randy and his team at Friends of Nova."

NIL collectives have been popping up across schools, particularly in the Power 5, since new NCAA NIL guidelines went into effect on July 1st, 2021. Collectives serve as an opportunity for boosters and fans to connect with student-athletes via NIL deals by pooling assets and/or creating easy to access marketplaces. They're typically founded by prominent alumni and boosters. 

Current data says that 80-percent of all NIL deals in collegiate athletics come through NIL collectives. As collectives have continued to refine and evolve, they've received pushback from stakeholders about following both NCAA and federal guidelines (namely Title IX). 

During the most recent Congressional hearing on NIL back in October, Walker Jones, the Executive Director of The Grove Collective (Ole Miss), spoke about The Collective Association (TCA). TCA is a group of 27 NIL collectives from across the country. 

Per Jone's opening testimony in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the group's goal is to, "serve as a unified voice to shape the development of the NIL market in college sports while creating a sustainable model that gives student athletes the ability to maximize their NIL platforms." TCA features collectives with ties to major athletic programs from across the country, including Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Duke, and Colorado.