LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- As the first independent collective supporting University of Louisville athletes in pursuit of Name, Image and Likeness deals moves toward an official launch in late August, the group on Wednesday morning named the first members of its Athlete Advisory Board.
The 502Circle has named former Louisville basketball players David Padgett and Larry O’Bannon and former Cardinal football players Chris Redman and Jacob N. Eldemire Smith to the board. The body will work directly with the collective’s senior management to support the new organization in various ways, including education, events, and fundraising.
Collectives, as they have come to be known, began to spring up shortly after the establishment of NIL rights for college player in part because many state laws and, in fact, NCAA rules themselves, forbid direct institutional involvement with NIL deals. Collectives are collections of boosters and donors, brands and individuals, who donate money to a central collection for use in compensating a specific school's athletes.
In the first half of 2022, Collectives had committed to sending more than $35 million to athletes through Opendorse, according to a recent report from the organization.
The Louisville collective has sparked much interest as it ramps up its activities. A landing page on the web went live on Wednesday and will add more options closer to launch. The collective hopes to debut an app that will allow individuals and businesses to book U of L athletes or donate to the organization straight from their mobile device.
Marc Spiegel, founder of the group, is an Eastern High School grad and earned a pair of degrees from U of L before becoming a successful entrepreneur now based in Atlanta. He is the co-founder of Rubicon, a software company that provides smart waste and recycling solutions for businesses and governments worldwide. The company got some initial backing from actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Spiegel said he started the collective as a way to give back to his alma mater and to do something positive for his hometown.
Spiegel first contacted then acting U of L athletics director Josh Heird with questions about forming a collective in early January and met with Heird when Louisville was in Atlanta for a basketball game against Georgia Tech.
"He just started asking some questions. And we got (associate AD) Matt Banker involved," Heird said in an interview with WDRB last month. "And (Spiegel) said, ‘You know, would you guys be comfortable if I went down this road?’ And we said, ‘Well, we can't tell you that you can or can't, but if you do, let's just make sure that you you're educated. I can say he has been very forthright and open in the questions he's asked. He’s a highly successful businessperson. And as he said, he just wants to help the university, and he felt like this was an opportunity for him to do that. I got the sense that he wants to do this the right way, isn’t in a hurry, and wants to build a strong foundation, avoid some of the pitfalls that others have had and, hopefully, build another successful revenue stream for our student-athletes."
The more Spiegel looked at the idea, the more intrigued he became. He credits his wife with encouraging him to look at putting together the collective, which for him is a labor of love -- and money. He'll invest around $150,000 to get it up and running.
"We need to be able to compete if other schools have these," Spiegel said. "Most other schools do. How can we do it in our own way? How can we do it better, more efficiently? . . . I grew up around U of L basketball. My family has had tickets since 1955. I went to every game. Some of my earliest memories are of the regionals in Houston in 1986. I grew up, Darrell Griffith’s my neighbor. Going to Derek Smith camp and the McCray brothers. That’s what we were."
But when Spiegel went to games last year, he said that spark was gone. It was a different feel. And he wanted to try to rekindle some of the old excitement. And some new excitement. And while he said older donors will always be welcome and important to the university, he wants to tap into some of the younger fan base.
"How do we get my generation?" he said. "How do we do something new age? And so I started thinking, how do we bring technology into a collective that engages fans at all different levels? So you have a subscription model where a fan will pay 10 bucks a month? What else? You don't have to be like a mega donor. . . . We’re in a unique position here in that if you don’t have pro sports to compete for brands, how do we engage brands?"
Some of those questions will be answered when the collective formally launches on August 29.
All four board members announced on Wednesday have had successful careers in their post-athletic lives in various roles. The group is expected to name more members to this board as its launch date nears.
In Padgett, the collective lands a former head Louisville basketball coach, a popular former player, and a successful member of the Louisville financial community. He was a 3-time team captain at Louisville, played two seasons in the NBA for the Miami Heat and eventually wound up on the coaching staff of Rick Pitino at Louisville, whom he eventually replaced when the Hall of Famer was let go in 2017. Put in a difficult position, Padgett earned the admiration and respect of his players and the Louisville fan base. But he didn’t have much luck finding another job in basketball once his time at Louisville ended. He has done some basketball analyst work for ESPN, and currently works for Morgan Stanley as a Financial Advisor.
"I am extremely excited to be a part of the 502Circle Advisory Board and help the University of Louisville athletics continue their upward trajectory," Padgett said. "U of L has produced countless successful athletes that have gone on to achieve great heights during and after their tenure, and I am excited to work with other former Cardinals to help guide U of L into the NIL landscape."
In Smith, the collective has acquired an attorney who already has a background in NIL issues and the college sports landscape. A transactional attorney on the firm of Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs’ Real Estate Development, Financing, and Transactions Service Team, Smith also represents businesses, advertisers, individuals, and college and professional athletes in right of publicity transactions – particularly important considering the changing landscape related to Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in college athletics. A 4-year starter who was on Charlie Strong’s 2013 Sugar Bowl-winning team, Smith was a team captain and was All-American Athletic Conference in multiple seasons. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals out of college before returning to Louisville to attend law school.
"Today, it is impossible for a Power 5 university to compete in the (rightfully) commercialized landscape of college sports without collaboration and meaningful partnerships between athletes and the local business community," Smith said. "502Circle presents an opportunity for athletes, fans, and businesses in the city to give a competitive edge to the University of Louisville – where I played football and graduated twice – and to help athletes profit from the immense value they create."
O’Bannon was the first recruit signed by Rick Pitino after he arrived at Louisville, and helped the Cardinals reach a Final Four in 2005. He went on to play professionally in Europe and South America during a decade-long career. He now works as an accountant in Louisville.
"I am excited to be a part of 502circle," O’Bannon said. "I believe in the vision and goals of this group to help the University of Louisville, and anything I can do to help with progressing it forward, I’m happy to be a part of."
Redman is Louisville’s all-time passing leader with 12,541 yards, one of only three FBS quarterbacks to throw for at least 12,000 yards in a career. After playing at Louisville, Redman spent 11 years in the NFL. Now, he lives in Louisville and is a spokesman for Game On Mouthguards.
"I’ve always been a lifelong Louisville fan, so being part of a group that’s going to help athletes who put on the Red and Black jersey, was an easy decision," Redman said. "This is truly an opportunity that all supporters, individuals, and businesses should get behind."
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
