Arizona collective gifts Bose headphones to football roster through NIL partnership
Top collectives across the country continue to show that if you pick their school and sign with their group, NIL opportunities – and in many cases, some sweet swag – soon will follow.
Friends of Wilbur & Wilma, an Arizona-focused NIL collective that has been extremely active in signing members of the Wildcats’ football program, surprised the entire team earlier this week with Bose noise-canceling earbuds through an NIL partnership.
Friends of Wilbur & Wilma shared news of the NIL deal on social media in a video that you can see below. The gift-giving moment must have felt like Christmas morning for Arizona coach Jedd Fisch because he kept pulling boxes of Bose earbuds out of a large bag that would have made Santa Claus jealous.
In a team meeting room full of players, Fisch hands out a couple of pairs of headphones before then saying, “Anybody else want any of these?” Hands across the room quickly raise. Fisch then says, “All right, get everyone a pair of these.” The room then erupts in cheers.
Not 1st high-tech gift for Arizona players
This is not the first time that Friends of Wilbur and Wilma has hooked up players with some high-tech gear.
“As part of their onboarding into the collective and their welcome to Tucson, they get a cash stipend for move-in,” Friends of Wilbur & Wilma General Manager Joey Medina told On3 earlier. “They also get a brand-new laptop for business communication purposes.”
Medina said Bose gifted the headphones to the team and that the Friends of Wilbur and Wilma are proud of their corporate partnership with the company.
“When you look at corporate partnerships and corporate sponsors, not all schools are privy to that,” Medina said. “So, for the University of Arizona to be one of the corporate partnerships and to be able to roll that out was pretty awesome.”
NIL deal for headphones creates a ‘priceless’ memory
Friends of Wilbur and Wilma executive director Ray Wells said the look on the players’ faces when they got the new Bose headphones was “priceless.” Wells also was impressed with Fisch’s setup and delivery of the surprise gift. A number of players were shown in the video thanking the coaches, collective and Bose for the gift.
“To be able to now have that opportunity for college players to get corporate partnerships and for Friends of Wilbur and Wilma to be that bridge and provide that partnership – it’s huge,” Wells said. “I think it’s just a sign for our program in general to have Bose – a high-quality organization – is just huge. It’s only going to allow us to do more.”
Friends of Wilbur and Wilma has big backers
Founded by loyal Wildcats supporters Cole Davis and Humberto Lopez, Friends of Wilbur and Wilma utilizes Blueprint Sports technology to learn more about supporting Arizona student-athletes’ NIL opportunities and to connect with them.
Furthermore, the collective also has the support of the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education.
“I’m a big believer in empowering our next wave of athletes,” Agassi, an eight-time tennis grand slam champion, previously said in a release. “It’s incredible to see and support this technology. And I know that the University of Arizona student-athletes will benefit greatly from this support.”