STATE COLLEGE — Name. Image. Likeness.
Chances are that by now you have heard all about NIL and how it is changing collegiate sports. Success With Honor, the Penn State all-sports NIL collective, is making sure PSU doesn’t get left behind.
Kerry Small, one of the founders of Success With Honor, talked about the collective and how it came to be.
“The goal was to support all 31 sports, all 850 athletes in it and to do it the right way,” Small said.
Mission accomplished.
Success With Honor reached a milestone in January, securing contracts with athletes from all 31 varsity sports teams. Small said Success With Honor is doing things “the right way.”
“Going forward, we wanted to take it in house, meaning we wanted it to be Penn State only — only run by Penn Staters working for Penn State because a lot of collectives have back ends that work with multiple schools,” Small explained.
At Penn State, of course, Success With Honor’s ultimate goal is to sign every athlete on every team to an NIL contract while also supporting the monster that is the Penn State football program. After all, football helps fund every other sport at the university.
“We wanted to make sure that the focus was solely on our school. Our interest aligns with that of the athletes,” Small said.
Success With Honor, Small explained, was formed in 2022. It came to be in an effort to support Penn State athletes in pursuing Name, Image and Likeness opportunities. According to Small, Success With Honor aims to be Penn State’s “preferred” collective. Its fundraising supports athletes in all 31 sports at University Park. In fact, those donating can contribute to specific teams.
“We’re working with all 31 sports, trying to work with scholarship and non-scholarship athletes. We realized that the story wasn’t really being told,” Small said.
One of the stories that isn’t being told, Small said, is the fact that many student-athletes in the university’s smaller sports programs can benefit from NIL.
“The reality is that most athletes don’t get significant, if any, financial aid. Things like books, food, money for expenses, family travel for games — that wasn’t being covered. We felt that’s where Success With Honor could come in as the athletes could make money from NIL,” Small said.
According to gopsusports.com, Penn State sports teams have about 850 athletes on various rosters, 603 of whom received scholarships. Penn State awarded 368 “equivalencies,” or full scholarships, meaning many athletes received only partial aid.
For those athletes with a partial scholarship — or no scholarship at all — Success With Honor can help.
“Our mission (is) to match up athletes with both individuals and businesses. The athletes can have deals that would help them get paid for their expenses and be able to benefit on their name, image and likeness,” Small said.
Late in 2022, Success With Honor became a 501(c)3. That was a huge step, Small said.
“We can raise awareness and raise funds. The athletes can be involved in a new way with charities. It benefits everyone involved. It’s a win-win. It’s good for organizations around the commonwealth and beyond. That’s the big change,” Small said.
Instead of student-athletes merely signing autographs at a pizza shop, NIL will enable them to make a difference in the community, while picking up a few bucks.
“It will show Penn State athletes who are engaging with people — including young kids — in a way that’s going to build the next generation of fans,” Small said.
Success With Honor held one of its first signature events at the Rose Bowl. Several Penn State football players took part in an activity that benefited Mattel’s Save the Children organization. At the event, players used children’s blocks to design and build towers.
Small explained that the event pitted the offense against the defense as they attempted to build something with Mattel’s Mega Bloks.
“They had a minute to plan and a minute to build these towers,” Small explained. “We had 10 offensive players, 10 defensive players and a little kid named Alfred picked the winner. It really raised awareness out on the West Coast as to what we’re trying to do.”
According to Small, the event served as a “prototype” of what Success With Honor is trying to do.
“I think events like that really have a draw,” Small said. “People have different motivators when it comes to interacting with athletes. Whether it’s promoting a business or giving back to the community, I believe we have all the bases covered. But, ultimately, we are operating to benefit the student-athletes.”
For more information about Success With Honor, visit successwithhonor.com.
