I had a long conversation this week with good ol’ No. 39, Jacob Schmidt, about TrueNU, Northwestern’s NIL collective. He left NU in September to lead TrueNU as the executive director. I’m going to write a story about it soon enough, but here are some notes for my Hard Rockers. Think of it as your present from your Uncle Lou on Christmas Eve:
- Here’s their mission, straight from Jacob: “TrueNU is a Northwestern-focused alumni collective with a mission to support local charities and help them partner with Northwestern athletes.”
- Basically, TrueNU has several non-profit partners (local charities and community organizations). Northwestern athletes will perform services for the charity – whether it’s mentoring, tutoring, coaching, etc. – and the collective will pay the athletes. They are 100% privately funded.
- This isn’t what I expected it to be – I didn’t know it was charity-focused. He said that TrueNU is less about maximizing athlete compensation right now and more about providing opportunities for athletes to benefit the community -- while also making some extra money. “It’s more important to use our incredible athletes to support our neighbors and benefit our community,” he said. “Our non-profit partners win, our athletes win and our community wins.”
- TrueNU has plans to launch a commercial division down the road so that athletes can perform services for commercial companies. Right now, for example, if McGrath wants to get Peter Skoronski to make an appearance or sign autographs at one their dealerships, TrueNU would not be involved. To do that, McGrath would contact the player directly, contact the players’ agent (they are allowed to have one for NIL deals), or go through Altius Partners, NU’s NIL partner that is basically managing the process for athletes. TrueNU plans to be part of that process eventually but is focused on the charity aspect right now.
- The organization was founded in September and got their 501c3 status in early November. They have been focused on fundraising and developing relationships with non-profit partners. They also have a board of directors, an advisory board and a staff of volunteers in place. TrueNU plans to launch a website in January so fans, alumni and donors can get involved by donating money, or helping link charities to TrueNU.
- They have supported athletes in three sports so far – men’s and women’s basketball, and softball. (Jacob declined to provide any information about compensation.) They haven’t gotten involved with football yet because they don’t want to be a distraction; they will focus their activities during a sports’ offseason, when athletes have more time. They also eventually hope to support athletes in all 19 sports at NU.
- Schmidt estimates that about 20% of collectives around the country right now are charity-focused, like theirs. NU is just getting started, and he admits that they are behind the curve. They were the last big Ten school to form a collective. But, as Jacob pointed out, “We’re in the game.” He's confident that they will get up to speed quickly.
- Here’s their mission, straight from Jacob: “TrueNU is a Northwestern-focused alumni collective with a mission to support local charities and help them partner with Northwestern athletes.”
- Basically, TrueNU has several non-profit partners (local charities and community organizations). Northwestern athletes will perform services for the charity – whether it’s mentoring, tutoring, coaching, etc. – and the collective will pay the athletes. They are 100% privately funded.
- This isn’t what I expected it to be – I didn’t know it was charity-focused. He said that TrueNU is less about maximizing athlete compensation right now and more about providing opportunities for athletes to benefit the community -- while also making some extra money. “It’s more important to use our incredible athletes to support our neighbors and benefit our community,” he said. “Our non-profit partners win, our athletes win and our community wins.”
- TrueNU has plans to launch a commercial division down the road so that athletes can perform services for commercial companies. Right now, for example, if McGrath wants to get Peter Skoronski to make an appearance or sign autographs at one their dealerships, TrueNU would not be involved. To do that, McGrath would contact the player directly, contact the players’ agent (they are allowed to have one for NIL deals), or go through Altius Partners, NU’s NIL partner that is basically managing the process for athletes. TrueNU plans to be part of that process eventually but is focused on the charity aspect right now.
- The organization was founded in September and got their 501c3 status in early November. They have been focused on fundraising and developing relationships with non-profit partners. They also have a board of directors, an advisory board and a staff of volunteers in place. TrueNU plans to launch a website in January so fans, alumni and donors can get involved by donating money, or helping link charities to TrueNU.
- They have supported athletes in three sports so far – men’s and women’s basketball, and softball. (Jacob declined to provide any information about compensation.) They haven’t gotten involved with football yet because they don’t want to be a distraction; they will focus their activities during a sports’ offseason, when athletes have more time. They also eventually hope to support athletes in all 19 sports at NU.
- Schmidt estimates that about 20% of collectives around the country right now are charity-focused, like theirs. NU is just getting started, and he admits that they are behind the curve. They were the last big Ten school to form a collective. But, as Jacob pointed out, “We’re in the game.” He's confident that they will get up to speed quickly.
