In the fast-changing landscape of college sports, connections matter.

Players want the best NIL deals and businesses want the most lucrative marketing opportunities. It’s all part of the expensive new game for universities to land top recruits and stack their rosters.

Some describe this new landscape as the “wild, wild west,” as players and schools are still figuring out the toddler-aged policy that allows pay for student-athletes.

After the NCAA adopted its name, image and likeness policy in July 2021, allowing student-athletes to financially benefit from their personal brands, booster groups scrambled together to form NIL collectives.

But who are the movers and shakers behind the scenes of the collectives at Alabama and Auburn?

Some of them are former athletes. Others are big fundraisers for the universities with notable nonprofit and business connections across the state. They’re the ones handling the so-far unregulated flow of money, as it moves from boosters and fans to the pockets of student-athletes.

[Read more: Boosters started a nonprofit to pay Alabama athletes millions. Now, it’s shutting down.]

Bill Lawrence, a partner at the law firm Burr & Forman in Birmingham, has advised On to Victory, Auburn’s NIL collective.

He said the return of players like Johni Broome at Auburn and Mark Sears at Alabama, exemplify the impact NIL is having on rosters. Broome, Auburn basketball’s All-American big man, is staying this year.

“Because of what Auburn’s NIL collective has been able to do, and the amount of money it’s been able to generate for its athletes,” Lawrence said, “Broome has decided to forego his professional career in large part due to the NIL compensation he’ll be able to earn next year.”

In Tuscaloosa, Sears, the star guard for the men’s basketball team, decided not to go pro.

“The reason he would return at this point is simply because of the NIL compensation he could get returning for another year at Alabama,” Lawrence said. “You’re seeing, two to three years in, the good that can come out of NIL collectives and NCAA dropping its restrictions on compensation for student athletes.”

There still isn’t any federal legislation on NIL guidelines, which means the rules vary by state and even by university. Right now, Yea Alabama operates as Alabama’s official NIL collective, and On to Victory is Auburn’s official group. Both collectives offer membership benefits for fans. They can pay a monthly subscription for tiered access to exclusive events, content and merchandise.

On To Victory has about 3,000 active monthly members, said executive director Brett Whiteside. The collective reported 3,174 members at the end of 2023, growing 154% from August to December.

Meanwhile, it’s unclear just how many members Yea Alabama has. Jay McPhillips, the collective’s executive director, declined an interview and wouldn’t answer questions.

“Yea Alabama is the official NIL agency for student athletes at the University of Alabama,” McPhillips said in an email to AL.com. “Our purpose is to help facilitate licensing and endorsement deals for student athletes.”

In late January, Yea Alabama announced that it gained 900 new members in just six weeks after the hiring of new head football coach Kalen DeBoer to replace Nick Saban.

Kristi Dosh, founder of the Business of College Sports, said many collectives initially had a model where fans could pay between $9 to $100 a month via a membership tier to join.

But now, more collectives have expanded to larger fundraising strategies, such as a yearly donation of $5,000 or a one-time gift of $100,000, she said. That was so they could attract and retain student-athletes.

“What was sort of happening outside of the collective that we’re all very aware of now is that it became a recruiting advantage,” Dosh said. “Offering NIL deals to student-athletes became a way to attract new recruits or retain talent or get someone in the transfer portal.”

Here’s what we know about the people and businesses behind Yea Alabama and On to Victory:

Yea Alabama

The University of Alabama’s official NIL collective formed in February 2023. Yea Alabama had a “charitable partner,” an organization called Walk of Champions, which became a public nonprofit in March 2023. But Walk of Champions told AL.com in a statement that it has stopped accepting donations and plans to dissolve.

Yea Alabama pledges that all of its income from subscriptions – starting at $18 a month – goes to student-athletes, and salaries for staff are fundraised separately.

The leaders of Yea Alabama didn’t answer questions for this article.

Staff:

Jay McPhillips, executive director

McPhillips has been leading Yea Alabama since the beginning. He has 17 years of experience working in sales and fundraising. He previously was director of development for the University of Alabama’s College of Arts & Sciences, as well as assistant director of sports for the Tuscaloosa Tourism and Sports Commission, per his LinkedIn page. He graduated from Alabama in 2005 after earning his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in management and marketing.

Aaron Suttles, director of content

Suttles’ work for Yea Alabama includes publishing blogs with sports analysis for subscribers and hosting Q&As with coaches. He previously worked in journalism as sports writer covering Alabama and the Southeastern Conference for The Athletic and the Tuscaloosa News. He graduated from Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 2009.

Peyton Browne, events coordinator

Browne graduated from the University of Alabama in 2024 with both a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in sport management with a concentration in event management. While in college, she worked in events planning with the Office of the Director of Athletics, per Yea Alabama’s website.

On to Victory

On to Victory, Auburn’s primary NIL collective, launched in July 2022, after the collective acquired a previous collective, called NIL-Auburn, led by Rick Davidson.

“We certainly appreciate their initial efforts in this space and are proud to have built upon that foundation over the last two years,” Whiteside said in an email.

Lawrence represented On to Victory in the deal, one he said is unique for the field.

“They popped up literally overnight, and different collectives, and different owners of the collectives perhaps had different motivations at the outset,” he said. “Some collectives were organized to make money for the owners of collectives. Not only will they compensate student athletes through NIL deals, but the owners of that collective also wanted to make money.”

But On to Victory is different, he pointed out, as its board pledges to not take any profit.

“Its owners aren’t trying to generate income for themselves,” Lawrence said. “They don’t take salaries, and they’re not taking distributions from the collective. They exist to support Auburn athletics, and they cover their overhead and the rest of the money is intended to go to the student athletes at Auburn.”

The collective – a registered corporation in Alabama, not a nonprofit – is owned and managed by Friends of Auburn, LLC, per business entity records filed with the Alabama Secretary of State’s office. Members can join starting at $17 a month. The organization also accepts one-time donations, such as a $1 million founding donation from aerospace engineer Walter Woltosz, 247sports reported.

Wesley Spruill, who organized On to Victory’s board of directors, previously told 247sports that the collective functions as the voice “for a lot of value donors who know we have to make it happen.”

“We want to change kids’ lives, make Auburn competitive. We’re not trying to outspend everybody. We want to have a solid NIL program and do it the right way,” he said. “We will prove every year that nobody in our organization will ever make a penny.”

The organization lists the following businesses as sponsors: The Broadway Group, John Deere, Fulcrum Construction, Momma Goldberg’s Deli, The Sheffield Group, Sun South and CCS Technology Center.

Staff:

Brett Whiteside, executive director

Whiteside has been On to Victory’s executive director since August 2022, per his LinkedIn page. He worked as the chief recruiting officer for the University of Missouri. At Auburn, he was the director of football operations and administration as well as the director of recruiting operations for football. Whiteside earned his bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State University in 2012, his and his doctorate and master’s degrees in higher education from Auburn.

JJ Arminio, director of fulfillment

Arminio has worked as director of fulfillment for On to Victory since September 2022, per his LinkedIn page. He was previously head coach for Auburn’s men’s lacrosse team. He played lacrosse for Auburn from 2005 until he graduated in 2009 in the kinesiology school.

Jason Campbell, general manager of NIL – football

The 2004 SEC player of the year led the Auburn Tigers’ football team to an undefeated season before he joined the NFL draft. He went to Washington in the 2005 draft before stints with the Oakland Raiders, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals.

He held a similar role for Auburn’s original collective, NIL-Auburn. Campbell works on the Auburn Sports Network and hosts On to Victory’s podcast. He’s also an analyst for the Washington Commanders.

Sam Ahlersmeyer, operations coordinator

Ahlersmeyer joined On to Victory in August 2023 after she worked as a data entry coordinator at the South Dakota State University Foundation, per On to Victory’s website. She graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in agribusiness management.

Jamie Armstrong, director of development

Armstrong joined On to Victory in August 2023 after working as Jacksonville State University’s director of foundation and corporate relations and director of professional outreach for Gadsden Regional Medical Center, per On to Victory’s website. She graduated from Auburn in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in public relations.

Brandon Council, coordinator of student-athlete relations

Council joined On to Victory in April, per his LinkedIn page. He played football for the New York Jets and the Saskatchewan Roughrider Football Club, a Canadian professional team. He graduated from Auburn in 2023, after playing on the football team’s offensive line, with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and the University of Akron in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in sport and fitness administration and management.

Kendra Short, director of membership and marketing

Short has worked for software companies including ADP, Deltek and JumpCloud, per her LinkedIn page. She graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations in 2014.

Board of directors:

Mike Arasin

Arasin is the founder and owner of Fulcrum Construction, a commercial general contractor. He’s on the industry executive board for Auburn’s McWhorter School of Building Science. As a scholarship athlete on the men’s golf team, Arasin graduated from Auburn in 1988.

L. Nick Davis

Davis is also a founding member of Friends of Auburn, LLC, per his bio on On to Victory’s website. He leads Momma G’s Inc., the franchisor of Momma Goldberg’s Delis, as president, CEO, CMO and majority shareholder, as well as serves as chief executive The Progressive Companies based in Gainesville, Florida, Vision Restaurants Inc. – which operates six Taco Bell restaurants – and Davista Holdings, LLC, which has several real estate holdings in Alabama, Florida and Georgia. Davis graduated from Auburn in 1984. He’s well-versed in leading various alumni associations and advisory committees for the university, and is a member of the Auburn Athletics’ Tigers Unlimited, Heisman Society level. He also has a longtime executive suite at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Steve Fleming

Fleming, a retired banking executive, now works as a real estate investor and developer via Fleming Commercial Properties LLC. He owns commercial properties in Auburn and nearby. He graduated in 1983, and now serves on an advisory council for the College of Liberal Arts. He also belongs to two donor societies for Auburn, including the 1856 Society, which recognizes donors who have contributed at least $100,000 to the university.

Keith Jones

Jones graduated from Auburn at Montgomery’s School of Business in 1991. He’s a certified public accountant and realtor for Porter Properties, based in Auburn.

Ned Sheffield

Sheffield recently retired from his role as president and managing principal at consulting firm Jackson Thornton. He graduated from Auburn with an accounting degree in 1978, and has longstanding memberships with the Auburn Alumni Association and the advisory council for the School of Accountancy. He belongs to several donor societies, including the Shug Jordan Society of Tigers Unlimited, which recognizes donors who give between $100,000 and $250,000 to the university.

Wesley Spruill

Spruill runs The Spine Care Center as founder and medical director in Tuscaloosa, and he also is a real estate developer. He graduated from Auburn in 1983, and his son played baseball at Auburn.

Bob Broadway

Broadway is CEO and founder of the Broadway Group, LLC, a commercial real estate developer in Huntsville. He earned his MBA from Auburn’s business school in 1993.