LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Nobody knew exactly what was happening. They just knew their phones were going crazy. Dan Furman, president of 502Circle, the official collective of University of Louisville athletics, and U of L sports information director Zach Greenwell had gotten together to discuss some things.
It's been a busy week for both men, and for everyone else connected with men's basketball in any way, since the introduction of Pat Kelsey as basketball coach.
In his first week, Kelsey largely settled on a coaching staff, added three new commitments and helped promote a Name, Image and Likeness drive for 502Circle spearheaded by Glow Brands co-founder and CEO Rick Kueber, who promised to match up to $1 million donated to the collective for men's basketball. The effort yielded more than $500,000 in donations in its first four days.
As they discussed a few plans, Furman and Greenwell were surprised to see that Kelsey, with no prompting from them, had posted a quick video to say "Thank you" to Kueber and those who donated just before he boarded a plane for a recruiting visit.
"We are just going over some blocking and tackling type stuff, and my Twitter starts, like, going off. My phone's buzzing, and Zach's phone starts buzzing," Furman said. "And it's PK putting that video out of him getting on the plane. Totally on him. That's just how he rolls. I mean, the guy is going to take initiative. He's going to do whatever he can to make this place successful. So we appreciate the heck out of him for that. We appreciate his staff taking on that challenge and we're excited to tackle it head on with these guys."
Furman and collective founder Marc Spiegel expected things to pick up with the hiring of a new coach, whoever it was. But Kelsey's drive, energy and willingness to engage fans directly in what amounts to an on-the-spot fashion has helped kick their efforts — and donations — into high gear.
Furman said more than 850 people have donated through the initiative initiated by Kueber, and the collective has added more than 450 new members through its 502Circle.com website, which offers varying levels of memberships.
"That's a crazy number in just a few days," Furman said. "It's an exciting opportunity for us and a chance for us to talk with new donors and people who may have never given to this athletic department before. And now they're giving to 502Circle in a way that they could have never seen possible and they're directly supporting our athletes. So it's a really exciting time."
Kueber's matching pledge means that the collective has injected over $1 million in to Kelsey's recruiting efforts during his first week on the job, and that isn't counting funds that already had been donated for NIL to the program's new coach.
The intent was to empower him to quickly rebuild a roster that has seen every player enter the transfer portal since the dismissal of head coach Kenny Payne. The goal is a portal class that will allow Louisville to regain a competitive footing immediately.
Kelsey has promoted the effort through his own social media posts and he twice has jumped into Twitter Spaces chats held by ESPN Louisville radio host Drew Deener, a rarity for a high-level Division I basketball coach but a sign of a more modern approach.
"One thing that I love about Coach PK so far is the energy, and, in my mind, that's infectious," Furman said. "Everybody is stepping the game up, right? That's our donors, our fans, us, our administrators, everybody. It keeps you on. It gives you that little sense of urgency and that additional boost of enthusiasm to go continue to provide opportunities for this place. It's nice. It's a really cool feeling that we have so many people here, and (Louisville athletic director) Josh (Heird) and team included, and our donors, who care so much about Louisville athletics and our athletes and our coaches. To see those guys pour the type of energy and effort they have in this first week, that's a lot of fun. And I think that you're only going to see it grow."
Louisville as a market and a fan base is a bit different. Most collectives nationally sprang into existence to support football, and the 502Circle group has done plenty of that. It helped football coach Jeff Brohm welcome a top-ranked portal class onto campus this spring.
But because of Louisville's historic place in college basketball, there are major donors willing to target money to men's basketball that may not always exist other places. Raising $1 million in the span of a few days is testament to that.
After three difficult seasons, Furman said the arrival of Kelsey has activated a hungry fan base.
"Look, I was in CAF (Cardinal Athletic Fund, the fundraising arm for Louisville athletics) for a while, too," Furman said. "And it's been tough. But our fans are resilient. I never, for one second, counted them out of this. And I think you're seeing that now. You're seeing that they're getting off the mat. And it's cool to see that. I think that people are on notice. And people are recognizing that. When I talk to my colleagues at other collectives, or I hear from other programs, they are asking, 'Hey, how are you doing this? How are you guys developing your collective?' The first thing I hear is that we're a sleeping giant. And, to be honest, let's go utilize it. Let's go make it happen. Because there's a lot of people excited about it right now."
One benefit of the recent push has been to help fans link their own giving with results on the recruiting trail, a connection that is sometimes hard to establish with fans in this changing college sports landscape.
Over time, Furman said he expects the collective to evolve and grow, branching into new service areas for the athletes who are part of it. The 502Circle is used to coaches pitching ideas, whether its Jeff Walz in women's basketball or Dani Busboom Kelly for volleyball or Dan McDonnell in baseball, and others.
"It's been a lot of fun to see the energy and effort put into this first week," Furman said. "There's going to be a lot of attention on that program. And I think (Kelsey) is ready for that. I think he's prepared to show this city, this place is important to a lot of people, and I'm going to put the work in to make sure you see the results. So I'm excited to see what the future holds. And I'm proud of those guys to start. ... (Kelsey) is out trying to build a portal class, one of the best we've seen. And that's exciting. It's exciting news for us at the collective. It gives us an opportunity to continue to grow and learn about this space and try new things with athletes that we're bringing to campus. But ultimately, it gives our donors something to get behind and rally behind. Creating that community is what's most important to 502Circle. From the beginning, we said this is going to take a village. And I think we're finally in that situation where you're seeing it come to fruition."
Louisville Basketball Coverage:
- CRAWFORD | Fast break: Inside Pat Kelsey's first 7 days as Louisville coach
- ROSTER REBUILD | JMU's Edwards, Sun Belt Player of the Year, reportedly commits to Louisville
- Louisville men's basketball lands another Charleston transfer under Kelsey
- Aussie sharpshooter Smith ready to help launch Kelsey culture at Louisville
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