Marquette Basketball’s New Non-NIL Beer Partnership is Important

Marquette Athletics has announced a new co-branded beer with local brewery Third Space Brewing, unlike many similar beers, revenues from the beer do not flow to the NIL collective.

Ben Gold drives to the basket during a Marquette men’s basketball scrimmage Thursday, August 1, 2024, at the Al McGuire Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. / Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Marquette fans will be delighted to learn that their athletics department has inked an exclusive sponsorship with local Third Space Brewing to be the official Craft Beer Partner of the Golden Eagles and Marquette athletics. Collegiate licensing titan Learfield facilitated the deal and, through this partnership, has developed a new brew aptly named the Marquette Golden Ale. According to a Learfield press release, the new offering “pairs best with game days and good company.”

The 4.9% ABV Golden Ale will be available to fans at all Marquette home games at Fiserv Forum, the Al McGuire Center, and Valley Fields beginning Nov. 4. In addition, the beer will be sold at Third Space Brewing brick-and-mortar locations as well as select regional distributors. Messaging from the Marquette Athletic Director Bill Scholl has lauded the new partnership, indicating that this co-branded product is “a great opportunity for us to work closely with a great neighbor and partner to create a unique product for the Marquette community… We are excited to see Marquette Golden Ale’s release and to continue adding to the gameday experience for our Golden Eagle fans.”

MU Athletics & @thirdspacebrews announced the creation of Marquette Golden Ale, the first-ever officially licensed & co-branded craft beer of the Golden Eagles. The beer will be at Fiserv Forum, the Al McGuire Center & Valley Fields starting Nov. 4.

🔗 https://t.co/3aBZhkS1GT pic.twitter.com/XBUFmySXcf

— Marquette Athletics (@muathletics) October 24, 2024

While this message from university leadership is correct, what isn’t being said about this partnership is more important. Co-branded brews are nothing new; however, Marquette bucks the current trend of partnerships between NIL collectives and breweries, instead opting to bring the collaboration exclusively between Third Space and the athletic department. 

Many schools have launched co-branded NIL beers that donate a set portion of sales to the NIL collective, allowing each program’s NIL resources to grow, incentivizing fans to purchase more beer, and reap the NIL benefits of enhanced athlete retention and recruitment. You don’t have to travel far from Marquette’s campus to see this in action.

Just over an hour away by car, the University of Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium has a unique offering at their home game – Varsity Golden Ale, a beer that leverages Wisconsin imagery and sends 20% of the profits towards The Varsity Collective, the NIL arm of the Badgers that compensates student-athletes for their on-field prowess. 

So why did Marquette not follow the trend of Wisconsin, Iowa, Boise State, Alabama, West Virginia, San Diego State, and so many others when deciding to launch a partnered craft brew? The answer lies in where college athletics is heading. With the recent House v. NCAA settlement looking to be officially ratified this April, colleges are preparing to pay up to $22,000,000 in direct payments to student-athletes for their on-field talents starting in July of 2025. 

Over the last three seasons, NIL collectives have served as the primary vessel for athlete compensation. In the wake of direct revenue sharing, universities are looking for new revenue streams to support this new expenditure. Recently, the University of Tennessee announced a 10% talent fee to be added to all ticket sales starting next season to generate revenue for athlete payment. Schools nationwide have also jumped at relaxed restrictions on on-field sponsorships to create new income. Long story short, schools, more than ever, need to source money for athlete payments to remain competitive in a new college athletics model. 

Marquette and other Big East schools do not have the luxury that the University of Tennessee and other High-major basketball programs have. Marquette does not field a football team and, therefore, does not bring in the massive revenue that media rights contracts for football produce. While they have incredibly advantageous positioning through the benefit of not bankrolling a football team (a very costly pursuit), they also have less money coming in to be used in revenue share payments. 

Bringing the beer partnership into the athletic department rather than the NIL collective is strategic. Marquette has indicated that its focus is not on compensating athletes in the current model through their collective but rather on preparing for the new iteration of college athletics where athletes will be directly compensated by their universities. Marquette Athletics has opted to generate revenue through an exclusive sponsorship with Third Space Brewing, most likely including a licensing fee predicated on allowing university trademarks to be placed on the Marquette Golden Ale, rather than have their NIL collective reach an agreement that shifts a percentage of sales to their NIL war chest. 

In the new college sports system, many schools will leverage any revenue stream they can to remain competitive in revenue-sharing. This may mean redirecting certain wealth generation avenues away from NIL collectives andmoving them in-house to the athletic department. The good news for supporters of any athletic department is that regardless of the system implemented for college athlete payment, unique university-centric beer will continue to flow, and the brews will continue to move cash from fans to athletes.