National champion Florida State soccer program makes push to support NIL efforts
While a lot of the focus with NIL collectives has been on player retention, transfer portal success and help on the recruiting trail with football players, make no mistake they help with other sports, too.
Need proof?
Check out Monday’s post from the national championship Florida State women’s soccer program.
In a 70-second video narrated by coach Brian Pensky, a pitch is made to support the Rising Spear collective’s efforts to support players on the pitch.
On its run to the national championship this season, Florida State went undefeated with a 22-0-1 record. The Seminoles blasted Stanford, 5-1, in the national title game. In the program’s existence, it’s won four national championships, 10 of the last 13 ACC championships and reached the College Cup 13 of the last 19 seasons.
But to stay at the level and capture a fifth star, Pensky said Rising Spear needs support from Seminoles fans.
“Florida State, this is your team,” Pensky said. “A team made possible by our NIL partnership with Rising Spear and your support. Our community, our university and our student-athletes can all feel the impact of what’s being built in Tallahassee.
“But we must keep going. We must continue the work. We must have your support through Rising Spear and NIL funding. The pursuit for our fifth star starts now, and it starts with you.”
Rising Spear key in Florida State soccer’s success
The effort by Pensky is one of the boldest pushes in the women’s soccer space to support NIL efforts. There have been countless drives by coaches in other sports – namely football and men’s and women’s basketball – but this is one of the first outward focuses in women’s soccer.
Will Cowen, the Chief Operating Officer at Rising Spear, said it’s an honor to work with Pensky and get the buy-in from the head coach.
“Coach Pensky and I formed an immediate bond when he inherited a national championship program with a large number of players in the transfer portal,” Cowen told On3. “Retention has always been the focus, and I met with every player. After forming authentic relationships the vast majority of the players decided to remain Seminoles and make a run to the 2022 College Cup.
“From there, we made significant investment across all women’s athletics programs to make sure that both volleyball teams, softball, women’s basketball and soccer had NIL resources in place to retain the highest quality student-athletes in the country with incredible character.”
Rising Spear helps key international players
Key parts of that retention process came through work to keep Jody Brown and Onyi Echengini in Tallahassee for the national championship season. Both star players are international student-athletes, so Rising Spear had to work diligently to facilitate their NIL support.
“We have also cultivated tremendous relationships abroad through the charitable mission of Rising Spear Garnet and specifically were able to help Jody and Onyi return to the pitch in Tallahassee,” Cowen said. “Both players had successful World Cup runs this summer and many soccer options to consider.”
Echengini, who was the ACC’s offensive player of the year, was a finalist for both the Honda Award and MAC Hermann Trophy. The Honda Award goes to the top female athlete in college sports. The MAC Hermann Trophy is a soccer-specific honor given to the best player in the sport. Brown scored a brace for the Seminoles in the national championship game, was an All-American and also appeared in the FIFA Women’s World Cup with Jamaica.
Rising Spear has also partnered with Tallahassee area restaurants Madison Social and Glory Days for game-day promotions supporting the FSU women’s soccer team. Sales of national championship merchandise through an affiliation with the NIL Store have also raised additional funds for players.