‘An important step’: Penn State NIL collectives merge to create Happy Valley United

Penn State’s name, image and likeness (NIL) collectives have announced a change in how they will operate. Success With Honor and Lions Legacy Club will join to form one collective called Happy Valley United, they announced Thursday afternoon.

The collective comes after Lions Legacy Club helped with NIL for the football team, while Success With Honor supported all 31 sports.

“Both groups have been great supporters of our NIL efforts to date, but this merger was an important step in our ever-changing collegiate athletics landscape,” athletic director Pat Kraft said in a written statement. “It was imperative for these two powerful collectives to join forces to provide a large breadth of NIL opportunities for student-athletes in all 31 of our sports programs to continue to push us forward.”

Collectives have become a key component with regard to NIL in college athletics. They receive funding from outside sources, like alumni and fans, and can use that money to sign athletes to NIL deals.

This change will put all of Penn State’s collectives under one name, allowing for more cohesion in that regard.

Happy Valley United will be led by a full-time team including a yet-to-be-named CEO. The board will include industry leaders and Penn State supporters Ira Lubert, Anthony Misitano, Bob Poole, Larry Cusack, Mark Toniatti, B.J. Werzyn and Matt DeSoto, the athletic department said. The group plans to quickly set up advisory boards for football, basketball and Olympic sports to provide financial and fundraising support, event planning and strategic guidance.

Penn State fans can show their support by making a one-time tax-deductible contribution or signing up for a monthly or annual membership to a specific sport. They can also participate in a business engagement with a student-athlete or team.

Supporters can buy merchandise for the collective and special collectible drops celebrating major moments in Penn State sports. The collective has adopted a new logo and a new website at happyvalleyunited.com.

Happy Valley United will be guided by Blueprint Sports, a nationwide leader in powering full-service NIL collectives, which itself is led by Penn State graduate Rob Sine.

He said a statement Thursday that this move shows “that the competition is not within Penn State, but our competition is around the country. A unified collective combined with dedicated resources, infrastructure, and an impressive team of professionals will deliver on bold, aggressive, and ambitious fundraising needs that will keep Penn State athletics at the pinnacle of college athletics on the gridiron, on the court, and anywhere else you cheer on the Nittany Lions.”