Barstool Sports Signs Large Number of College Athletes
Shortly after the NCAA approved an interim name, image, and likeness policy, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took to social media to announce his company would be entering the fold as a sponsor for collegiate student-athletes from Division I, II, and III.
Emergency Press Conference – I just started a NCAA marketing firm and landed our first athlete. Introducing Adelaide Halverson. Welcome to the fam!
Throw Adelaide a follow…https://t.co/OL0gvSgmwG pic.twitter.com/qx26dA0dwM— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 1, 2021
His “press conference” has been viewed more than 1.5 million times as of Tuesday, July 6, and garnered more than 750 replies and 700 quote tweets since he shared the video on July 1.
The response was nothing short of viral. Athletes ranging from University of Miami quarterback D’Eriq King and Auburn QB Bo Nix to NCAA Division III track standouts and cross country athletes. Portnoy’s Twitter page has since been flooded with announcements of various athletes to Barstool Athletes Inc., the name for the new financial arm of Barstool Sports, which Portnoy agreed has been overwhelming.
Update: Barstool Athletes Inc is short staffed and being overrun with applications.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 1, 2021
Barstool Athletes Inc is the most barstool thing ever. No thought put into it. No clue what we were doing. And 2 hours later the most powerful student athlete organization in the country. Still no clue what’s happening. #fortheplayers #barstoolathlete
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 1, 2021
It’s an interesting tactic by the sports media giant. Instead of vying for the attention of college student-athletes amidst a group of seasoned sports agents, Barstool just passed around flyers of a weekend open house party, so to speak.
>> RELATED: All NCAA Division Adopt Interim NIL Policy
And it doesn’t hurt that the largest target audience of the media site tends to be college-aged individuals. While the financial compensation has yet to be figured out, the brand awareness that comes with Barstool is hard to deny.
Yesterday, Adelaide Halverson became the first Barstool Athlete and got a quick shoutout from @stoolpresidente.
Her IG following less than 24 hours later 🚀 pic.twitter.com/1yxGrDfDPQ
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) July 2, 2021
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, where small businesses were suffering around the country due to strict regional re-opening guidelines, Portnoy created the Barstool Fund with a similar sense of spontaneity. The end result, as of July, is more than $41 million raised and distributed to 427 small businesses and restaurants in need.
For more information on becoming a Barstool Athlete, see the application link in the tweet below.
Trying to get organized today. For any college athletes wanting to join Barstool Athletics Inc you must fill out this link. We’ll get back to you. https://t.co/RLfkr3hGJz
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 2, 2021
