Companies Partner to Enhance NFT Collegiate Fan Experience

LEARFIELD has announced a multi-faceted agreement with RECUR to drive the creation and adoption of collegiate digital products and collectibles via RECUR’s leading collegiate NFT experience, NFTU.com.

The long-term enterprise relationship brings together two leaders in their respective spaces. LEARFIELD is known for its expertise in college media, sponsorships, fan data, event ticketing, technology, and licensing. RECUR is the leading NFT technology platform serving the largest global brands whose official collegiate experience, NFTU.com, will go live on Friday, March 14.

During the multi-year relationship, RECUR will work with LEARFIELD’s integrated companies and its partner universities to deliver:

• Commemorative NFT tickets and packages through Paciolan
• Integration of NFTU.com, the collegiate NFT marketplace, into official athletic websites and apps built by SIDEARM Sports
• Licensing administration and management through CLC
• NFT category-specific college sports marketing sponsorship with LEARFIELD partner institutions
• Product development, asset creation, and brand-sponsorable NFT offerings from LEARFIELD

RECUR also will leverage CLC’s COMPASS NIL deal management and disclosure platform to manage individual student-athlete opt-in for its NFT opportunities that include NIL (name, image and likeness).

“Blockchain technology, and specifically NFTs, provide a new and unique way for college fans to demonstrate their school spirit while delivering exciting opportunities for universities and student-athletes alike,” said Cole Gahagan, CEO of LEARFIELD. “Beyond RECUR’s proven track record of innovation and leadership, what’s been most impressive to witness is their commitment to college sports and the significant investments they’ve made already with many universities. The future of college fandom is here.”

Deloitte Global predicts that NFTs for sports media will generate more than $2 billion in transactions in 2022, about double the figure for 2021. By the end of 2022, it is expected that four to five million sports fans globally will have owned an NFT sports collectible.

“NFTs immortalize and celebrate our favorite experiences,” said Trevor George, Co-CEO of RECUR. “Our collaboration brings the entire collegiate space together as only LEARFIELD can, across on-campus advertising, ticketing, student-athlete NIL, collegiate indicia, and more. Together, we will provide university partners, and their student-athletes, with brand-building opportunities via a unified experience.”

Colleges and universities looking for more information should visit LEARFIELD.com/NFT. Fans looking to participate in the official licensed collegiate NFT experience should visit NFTU.com, launching on March 14.