Student-Athletes Giving Back

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Kansas State's Wildcat NIL collective has experienced a prosperous year. Now its contracted student-athletes are helping spread some holiday cheer.

Fundraising is ongoing for what is called "Shop with a Cat," the latest initiative by Wildcat NIL, as student-athletes are raising funds to support youth in need in the Manhattan community.

With these funds, K-State student-athletes will partner with a local non-profit to take local youth shopping and enhance their holiday experience.

"Shop with a Cat" is taking donations from fans to facilitate this initiative. The goal is set at $2,500. Donations can be made HERE.

Each participating child will be paired with a K-State student-athlete. The event will take place at Walmart in Manhattan.

"The student-athlete will take the child throughout the store to shop, and depending upon how much money we raise from this initiative, the kids will be given a limit on how much they can spend, so they can buy gifts for themselves or family members," said Curry Sexton, a former K-State football player who joined Wildcat NIL in an administrative role. "Because of where we are with NIL at Kansas State, we decided this was a great opportunity to use the athletes and their platform to help people in the community who don't have the same Christmas experience as others."

Wildcat NIL is the official partner of K-State Athletics and keeps the Wildcats competitive and currently equips 175-200 student-athletes with resources necessary to succeed.

Collectives provide student-athletes with opportunities to benefit financially by selling their name, image and likeness (NIL) rights. Wildcat NIL was formed to support and serve the best interests of K-State student-athletes through NIL.

Wildcat NIL is the only collective administered by former K-State student-athletes.

"It's about how do we use NIL to help causes?" Sexton said. "With where we're at with NIL, it's all about using the athletes and their platforms to benefit K-State and the community. Our athletes do a ton of that but with NIL we're asking them to do more and to do more to elevate K-State and community organizations. With that mission in mind, we're taking the 175-200 student-athletes and are elevating K-State by trying to establish a great cause to benefit the community and children who maybe aren't as privileged and don't get to have some of the same Christmas experiences as others.

"In turn that might help NIL because it really shows the positive impact that NIL can have on K-State and on our local community. We look at it in terms of how we can use NIL to benefit K-State and the local community."

K-State fans can be a part of Wildcat NIL by purchasing a subscription on the WildcatNIL.com website for exclusive content featuring K-State staff, coaches and student-athletes, or fans can make a one-time or monthly contribution to directly support K-State student-athletes. Contributors will receive merchandise and other benefits while helping elevate rosters and talent at K-State.

"We're in a really fortunate position at K-State," Sexton said. "Credit to John Currie and Gene Taylor and so many other people in the athletic department. We're fortunate that we're a school where when NIL began three and a half years ago, we were basically finished with our capital projects. All our significant facilities were either complete or nearing completion, so really, we've been able to shift a lot of the focus from capital projects to NIL. That's allowed us to be really aggressive.

"Gene and his staff and Coach Chris Klieman and his staff and Coach Jerome Tang and his staff and the other staffs as well have been very aggressive with NIL understanding that it is incredibly important in this day in age. We're in a good spot. We feel really comfortable about where we're at. I think our teams feel like NIL can be and is a competitive advantage for them."

"Shop with a Cat" is just one initiative by Wildcat NIL.

"I'm proud of how we've played a part in getting our fan base and administration to embrace NIL," Sexton said. "That's been exciting to watch. Things look a lot different now than they did one year ago. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of how we've used NIL to benefit the Manhattan community. We're talking about 'Shop with a Cat,' which I think is going to be a great initiative and benefit a lot of children and their families across the Manhattan community, but we've done multiple things that have made a positive impact on the community.

"Last fall in 2023 into the winter and spring of 2024 we sold a ton of BEEF hats and BEEF merchandise, and for each item sold we donated one pound of locally sourced beef to local food banks. We ended up donating a couple thousand pounds of fresh locally raised beef to local food banks. Our offensive linemen just won an award for that at the Cats Cupboard on campus. It's another example of something I'm proud of. We're helping these athletes use their platforms to benefit the community."

Kansas State University Athletics

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