Memphis’ 901 Fund expects no compliance issues
The NCAA is trying to clean up the name, image and likeness, which it argues has been muddied by the advent of donor-driven collectives.
Officials and administrators contend some of these groups, often made up of wealthy supporters, have engaged in pay-for-play activities under the thinly veiled guise of providing future NIL opportunities. Even amid this new era and rapidly evolving atmosphere, that remains a no-no in the eyes of the NCAA. On Monday, the Division I Board of Directors issued guidance to member institutions calling out collectives that have been set up to “funnel name, image and likeness deals to prospective student-athletes or enrolled student-athletes who might be considering transferring.”
But Clay Presley isn’t worried. The former University of Memphis walk-on offensive lineman is a board member for the 901 Fund, a nonprofit created to “drive awareness” toward local charities while “deepening the connection between Memphis and the student-athletes who represent us.” The 901 Fund, which launched on March 29, raises money to pay Tiger athletes to promote charities through social media posts, inperson appearances and more.
Presley said the NCAA has not made any attempt to investigate the 901 Fund’s dealings, and he does not expect it ever will.
“We have not engaged with anyone who’s not currently enrolled (at the University of Memphis),” said Presley. “The first round of rules (regarding NIL) left a lot open to interpretation. So, it made sense that, at some point, (the NCAA) would come back and try to shore that up. (But) we’ve been working with current student-athletes. No prospects.”
When the NIL era began last July, the NCAA left much of the governance up to states, conferences and schools. But one thing that was clear — to Presley and others behind the 901 Fund — was the fact that recruiting inducements were still against the rules.
“We spent a lot of time focused on compliance at the beginning,” said Presley. “We said, ‘If we’re going to do this, we want to be compliant. We want to stay in between the lines.’ We really wanted to be focused on being on the right side of this thing.
“We’re proud of that, how we do things above board, so we don’t have to answer some of the questions it sounds like other schools are going to have to answer.”
Soon after the 901 Fund got off the