The University of Kansas continues to be an innovator in the new era of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) in college athletics.
Kansas Athletics’ official NIL partner, Mass St. Collective, announced today a collaboration with BeONE Sports to bring the “first-of-its-kind” NIL-sponsored race car to NASCAR. The car will feature 11 KU student-athletes and will make its debut nearby Lawrence at the Kansas Speedway on Sept. 9.
Mass St. Collective was founded in 2021 to assist KU student-athletes in building their brand and creating opportunities for them to monetize from their name, image, and likeness.
“To partner with BeONE Sports and have 11 Jayhawks on a NASCAR is something that has never been done before, and it’s an exciting way to bring NIL and college athletes to the racing industry,” said Dan Beckler, President of Mass St. Collective, in an email newsletter sent to KU fans on Thursday. “What makes this even more special is to debut the car in our home state at Kansas Speedway.
There’s been no official word yet on who the featured athletes on the car will be, but the example image included with the newsletter showed Kansas Jayhawks basketball players such as Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr., and Kevin McCullar Jr., along with Kansas football players Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal.
There’s also been no word yet on who the NASCAR driver of the vehicle will be.
According to the email, BeONE Sports will be working with KU athletes on campus Sept. 8, and they will be in attendance at the NASCAR race on Sept. 9.
For more information, fans are encouraged to visit beonesports.com.
🏁 NIL at 200mph. 🏁
— BeONE Sports (@BeONE_Sports) July 27, 2023
BeONE Sports is proud to announce the fastest collaboration on the planet!
Working with Mass St. Collective, University of Kansas and JD Motorsports, we’re driving NIL innovation (literally).#performancetraining #morewithNIL https://t.co/dX7fAAcZ1x pic.twitter.com/n60iSVmE8q