Tennessee
Tennessee Volunteers Launch Exclusive NIL Content Platform
The Tennessee Volunteers NIL collective, The Volunteer Club, has launched its own media platform, Rock Media. The concept behind Rock Media is straightforward but impactful: to offer Tennessee fans high-quality, behind-the-scenes content without any barriers. From exclusive glimpses into Tennessee athletics to candid interviews with current and former players, the network is designed to bring fans closer to the heart of the action and the athletes they admire.
Rock Media is also set to host several podcasts, including a series in which current athletes will be interviewed, and two more shows still in development. All these will be available on popular podcast platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Adam Breneman, a co-founder of The College Sports Company and a seasoned media personality, is steering the ship. Having successfully navigated traditional media and digital content creation, Breneman is convinced this new approach is in sync with the evolving sports media landscape.
“We believe in going directly to the consumer. Paywalls just don’t make sense for us,” Breneman told Sports Business Journal. “Our goal is to be the go-to spot for fans to connect with their favorite players and, simultaneously, create opportunities for brands to engage with athletes to promote their products.”
Breneman’s collaboration with The Volunteer Club started in August 2023, and after swift negotiations, the two parties finalized a deal to launch Rock Media. Unlike many media projects that rely on outside agencies, this partnership was handled directly, with The College Sports Company managing daily operations and NOCAP Sports overseeing advertising and sponsorship sales.
The network is already on track for notable success. Breneman estimates Rock Media could generate at least $1 million in revenue within its first year, most of which will return to The Volunteer Club.
“We already have a pipeline of advertisers and sponsors with multiple six-figure deals in the pipeline,”’ Breneman said. “So, I give Tennessee a lot of credit for moving fast on it and taking the leap.”
The College Sports Company, which also collaborates with NIL collectives at Penn State, South Carolina, and Louisville, plans to roll out a similar network at the University of Oklahoma soon. Breneman hinted that more partnerships with other schools are on the horizon, although nothing is finalized yet.
“We’re in talks with several universities and collectives, but no deals have been signed so far,” he noted.
With other schools likely to follow Tennessee’s lead, Rock Media could become a blueprint for future NIL-driven media networks, merging athlete promotion, content creation, and fan engagement in a way that feels open, accessible, and exciting for the public.
Tennessee
Watch Reese Chapman’s unbelievable catch for Tennessee baseball vs LSU
Tennessee baseball right fielder Reese Chapman made one of the most unbelievable catches of the season to rob LSU of a home run.
In the top of the fifth inning, LSU’s Steven Milam smoked a 1-1 pitch from Landon Mack to deep right field. Chapman sprinted toward the wall.
The ball was headed out of the ballpark when Chapman leaped, caught the ball and slammed into the wall. He held on to end the inning, triggering a wild celebration by Mack and the UT dugout.
It was a critical play for the Vols midway through Game 1 of their LSU series on April 3 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
“I don’t know if we’re going to see a better one than that, boys,” said ESPN analyst Chris Burke, a former Tennessee baseball player. “It’s not just the play that he made.. It’s the complete disregard for your own body.”
Chapman almost single-handedly put Tennessee in the driver’s seat. He not only robbed LSU of a home run in the fifth, he also hit a home run to put the Vols ahead.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Blake Grimmer blooped a single to left-center. Then Chapman pulled a 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall for a two-run homer. It was his third home run of the season, putting Tennessee ahead 3-1.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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Tennessee
Americans would be ‘up at night worrying’ if they knew the truth about alien life, Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett says
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said the American people would be “up at night worrying” if they knew what he’s been briefed on about extraterrestrial life.
“I’ve been briefed by just about every alphabet agency there is. And, I’ll just say this, if they were to release the things that I’ve seen, you’d be up at night, worrying about, thinking about this stuff,” Burchett told Newsmax host Rob Finnerty on Wednesday.
Burchett — a member of the House Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets — recalled that he was briefed two weeks ago “on an issue” about extraterrestrial life that “would have set the Earth” on fire and “unglued” the country if released.
“They would demand answers,” Burchett said without going into further detail.
When Finnerty played a clip of former Rep. Matt Gaetz alleging knowledge of alien-human hybrid breeding programs, Burchett stopped short of directly addressing the explosive claims.
“I’m still a member of Congress, so I can’t really comment too much on what Matt said,” Burchett told Finnerty.
“Wait, seriously?” Finnerty slightly pushed back.
“I’m being 100% serious,” Burchett replied.
Burchett said that he has advocated for “full disclosure” despite the potential impact the truth could have on the public.
“The public has a right to know, dadgummit, it’s your tax dollars. Let’s get it out there,” he said.
Burchett also said that the people handling these sensitive matters are at the heart of the issue.
“When I’m in a meeting, in a closed-door meeting, and I ask about the president’s points on these. And then I’m told by some arrogant, unelected bureaucrat that the president is on a need-to-know basis. I think that says everything it needs to be said about what’s going on,” he told Finnerty.
The congressman said he’s described the handling of sensitive information to President Trump as “layers of the onion,” with each peeled away revealing “another one underneath.”
“When I sit in a meeting, and some little punk with a man bun is sort of running the show, and you have decorated officer military officers in the meeting there that are basically unallowed to say anything, and you can read their faces,” he shared.
Burchett also weighed in on the alarming string of disappearances and deaths among the country’s top researchers in the field — including the mysterious disappearance of retired Air Force Gen. William McCasland in February and his former colleague, rocket scientist Monica Reza, eight months earlier.
“There are no coincidences in this town. These folks have disappeared or died mysteriously,” he said. “I think overall, I think there is a connection there. People just do not disappear … not in this day and age.”
“For the record, I’m not suicidal, and I don’t take risks,” he added.
Burchett’s remarks follow President Trump’s vow in February to direct the Pentagon and other agencies to release files on UFOs and “alien and extraterrestrial life” to the public.
“Based on the tremendous interest shown,” the president wrote, “I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters.”
Since the president’s statement, the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has registered the domains aliens.gov and alien.gov, according to People.
Tennessee
East Tennessee Foundation celebrates 40 years of service
BRISTOL, Tenn. (WCYB) — The East Tennessee Foundation celebrated 40 years of service across the region at Bristol Motor Speedway today.
The nonprofit community foundation led the way in long term recovery efforts in the wake of Helene’s destruction, creating and funding positions across Northeast Tennessee.
President & CEO Keith Barber says the organization is moving forward with the hopes to expand their philanthropy.
“The past 18 months have propelled us forward but so have the past 40 years,” he said. “As we look forward we take those experiences that we had – whether it’s the past 18 months or the past 40 years – and build upon them so that we’re better tomorrow than we were today.
The East Tennessee Foundation was also able to gift a $2,500 donation to the Speedway Children’s Charities.
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