Grove Collective announces new initiatives, goals for growth to assist Ole Miss athletes

Sep. 30—OXFORD — The Grove Collective on Friday announced moves it believes will not only help it keep pace but place it among the leaders in the changing world of Name, Image and Likeness in college athletics.

It had been the most visible of a number of groups whose stated purposes have been to assist the NIL efforts of Ole Miss athletes.

Now it becomes the face of those collectives, bringing them under one umbrella.

"We don't want our donors and fans to be confused," said Walker Jones, an Ole Miss football player in the 19990s, who was introduced as the group's executive director.

The Grove Collective currently has NIL contracts with 55-60 athletes out of 400-plus.

Jones wants to see that number grow substantially to something that would in some way include NIL representation for every athlete on campus.

That could be an achievable goal through The Grove Collective's partnership with The Oxford Chamber of Commerce which was announced Friday.

Supporting those athletes takes more than one-time contributions. Jones called Friday a "call to arms" for Ole Miss people as he hopes to see membership in The Grove Collective increase from roughly 300 now to more than 2,000.

"We've definitely taken this to a competitive level with what's going on in the SEC and around the country," Ole Miss football coach Lane Kiffin said.

Jones said athletes who sign with The Grove Collective will benefit not only financially but also developmentally as the group efforts to provide resources and enhance skills.

"We hope they all go pro and play their sport for a long time, but we want to develop these men and women and give them the tools of networking, financial resources, advisory resources, all the things we can do to help them," Jones said. "An athlete from their freshman and sophomore year is a microcosm of what they'll be their senior year."

The Grove Collective's main emphasis will be for athletes to benefit financially from their name, image and likeness, but through the chamber of commerce athletes will have "an outlet for charitable endeavors, community outreach opportunities. Any passions these athletes have, they will be at the forefront of our community in Oxford."

Jones said an internal system of checks and balances will make it easy for athletes who sign with The Grove Collective to fulfill their obligations and allow Collective staff to properly chart their involvement and communicate with the university.

"It's consolidated, it's sustainable, it's 100 percent (NCAA) compliant and legal, but it's developmental in nature, not just compensatory," Jones said.

As NIL becomes more and more a buzz word among college prospects Kiffin said he doesn't have a set cash number to raise annually to remain competitive in recruiting.

"I just look at it as whatever it is we'll maximize it and make the best of it. Hopefully our people come together like what's happened here before," he said.

The Mississippi law went into effect in July of 2021. Originally it did not allow for school administrators or coaches to discuss NIL with athletes in any way. An amendment to the law in April changed that.

"State schools were at a disadvantage otherwise to not have any communication. Obviously that needed to happen. It catches us up actually," Kiffin said.

Jones closed his remarks to the group with a childhood memory of sitting in a game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium watching Ole Miss fans pass buckets to raise money for medical expenses for Chucky Mullins not long after his spinal cord injury in a Rebels football game in 1989.

Noting that the climate changes fast, Jones challenged Ole Miss fans to come together and support athletes financial needs in a new way in the NIL Era.

"Be curious but not judgment. We ask for your grace. We will be great stewards of your money and great partners with the university."

PARRISH ALFORD is the college sports editor and columnist for the Daily Journal. Contact him at parrish.alford@journalinc.com.