901 Fund - Memphis Tigers Collective

901 Fund is a non-profit Memphis Tiger-focused collective. Its goal is to “drive awareness of local charities and establish a deeper connection between our city and the student-athletes who represent us by leveraging the new NCAA NIL rules.” The fund is led by a group of Memphis supporters known as Tigers On a Mission. The money will go directly to athletes through Opendorse, a NIL readiness company that many universities, including Memphis, have partnered with to help athletes monetize their brands. The fund establishes a baseline NIL for the football team and both men’s and women’s basketball teams. Bob Byrd, founder and chairman of the Bank of Bartlett and Bartlett Mortgage, said that basketball and football were targeted first due to the great passion surrounding both sports. “The reason to concentrate on these three teams are these are the emotion generators and the sports which give the greatest interests and therefore will most likely motivate the greatest levels of support,” Byrd told the Memphis Commercial Appeal.