Meet the collective putting paid opportunities into the hands of Temple student-athletes

Three Temple alumni are looking to give Owls athletes a better seat at the table.

Andy Carl, Seth Goldblum, and Chris Squeri announced the formation of The TUFF Fund, a nonprofit charitable fund utilizing community-focused initiatives and partnerships intent on creating name, image and likeness opportunities for Temple student-athletes, according to a release. The fund is not affiliated with Temple University.

“The athletics landscape in college sports has changed completely,” Goldblum told The Inquirer. “First with NIL becoming legal and second with the free transfer rule. … We have to have the ability to retain talent and be competitive with what peer schools are doing and this will allow us to do that while benefiting the community, the individual student-athlete, and Temple athletics.”

One of the TUFF Fund’s immediate goals is to sign an NIL agreement with student-athletes from each of Temple’s 19 varsity sports. A source told The Inquirer there will also be significant investment in the men’s basketball program.

Deals could come to fruition from players contacting the collective, the collective finding athletes already involved in community service, or athletes with a developed brand that could be mutually beneficial to starting a connection to the collective.

When the NCAA passed NIL legislation, it cracked open the door for college athletes to make money. What followed — alumni- and booster-funded collectives — swung the door wide open.

Collectives are independent entities created to help facilitate NIL deals and opportunities for student athletes. Representatives from the TUFF Fund — the first organized collective among Big 5 schools — described it as a way to maximize the student-athlete experience.

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“Their schedule doesn’t necessarily allow them to perform other part-time jobs or chase their passions,” Carl said. “What this will allow them to do is potentially have the financial freedom to be able to make some of those impacts that we collectively see is important to our student-athletes.”

According to the college sports and recruiting website On3.com, there are more than 120 collectives set up or in the process of being formed as of July 1. Of the 65 Power Five schools, 92% have at least one collective or are in the process of forming one.

Temple becomes the sixth university with a third-party collective having met 501(c)(3) status for charitable organizations, according to businessofcollegesports.com. The others are Michigan State, Texas Tech, Iowa, Notre Dame, and Texas.

Carl has been the main driver for the TUFF Fund. He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport, tourism and hospitality management, then a master’s in education and sport administration in 2010. Goldblum is a longtime season-ticket holder and board member for Temple’s Owl Club who graduated in 1993. Squeri has been involved with Temple athletics since he was a student manager under Hall of Fame coach John Chaney from 1990-96.

All three are involved with the collective on a volunteer basis.

The TUFF Fund was molded under the guidance of attorney Cody Wilcoxson from BlankRome LLP, a law firm headquartered in Philadelphia with expertise in NIL legislature.

“We were able to put together experts from our firm on the corporate formation and the tax work,” Wilcoxson said. “Then obviously what our group does in sports law is related to NIL legislation and policy and the guidance we give to our clients. We were able to kind of blend that all together and give them full service guidance as they were putting these ideas together.”

The NCAA issued new guidelines in May in an effort to dissuade clear-cut pay-to-play. According to the NCAA, collectives are prohibited from communicating with recruits before they are enrolled at the institution, they cannot guarantee deals for participating at an institution, and the institution or its staff are prohibited from arranging meetings with collectives.

“I think where we may differ is one, we’re a nonprofit with our 501(c)(3) filed with the IRS,” Carl said. “And our focus is, as opposed to maybe some of the other collectives out there that are really just paying a salary to student-athletes … One of our pillar missions is to better our surrounding community in which the university resides through NIL as a vehicle for empowering the student-athletes.”

Carl said the process for involvement comes via people donating their “time, talent or treasure.”

He declined to share specific names, but the collective has already received backing from various alumni, friends, and former Owls athletes. Those who donate have the option to give to specific teams or athletes if they so choose.

“While I’m optimistic that this will work,” Goldblum said, “it’s going to really come down to: Do folks that support the Temple athletic programs and the university at large feel like they want to participate?”

Added Squeri: “This isn’t your grandfather’s Temple anymore. Where does Temple land on the national landscape in terms of what’s going on with conference realignment? Without the TUFF Fund, we might not have a seat at that table.”