‘Bleeding Blue for Good’ UConn’s newest NIL nonprofit collective
Most name, image and likeness activity benefit solely the student-athlete and brands involved with each deal.
However, UConn Class of 1977 graduates Jonathan Greenblatt and John Malfettone want to change that.
On Thursday, the former UConn classmates announced the latest NIL collective to benefit student-athletes: “Bleeding Blue for Good.” The nonprofit collective is aimed at helping UConn studentathletes with NIL activity while also benefiting local, underserved communities through charitable events such as sports clinics and speaker appearances.
“I owe everything to the university,” Malfettone said. “... Much of my life has been trying to give back to the university that really made my life what it is. So, we’re excited about doing this, and John and I have been friends since college, so doing it with him just makes it even more fruitful.”
The collective is led by Greenblatt, who resides in Washington D.C., and Malfettone, who lives in Trumbull, along with a board of directors, an advisory board, and an executive director in former UConn women’s basketball star and current Boston Celtics scout Ashley Battle.
Former UConn studentathletes Kalana Greene (women’s basketball) and Rasool Ahmed (football) join Greenblatt and Malfettone on the board of directors, along with West Hartford resident and former
UConn Foundation board member Michael Cantor. The five-person advisory board includes former UConn men’s basketball player Donny Marshall and former UConn baseball player Kevin Solomon, who co-founded the nonprofit Husky Ticket Project that provides tickets for underprivileged children.
“My vision is just really being here to support the athletes and seeing how far we can take this, really,” Battle said. “So, is it going to be something where we’re just throwing events? Are we able to expand and grow? I think the sky’s the limit, really, just of how much we can imagine and how much are we able to do with the vision and imagination that we have.”
Greenblatt and Malfettone, who met while students at UConn, first had the idea to create the collective back in June. They researched what made collectives successful by talking with other collectives at various universities. The duo’s background in law and business helped them form “Bleeding Blue for Good” and learn what was needed to make it nonprofit. Collectives have emerged all over the country since NIL activity began in July 2021. Collectives are independent of schools and are often formed by alumni and donors, serving as a vehicle to raise money and help facilitate NIL activity for athletes.
One prominent alum has already taken a step to assist UConn athletes. Norwalk native and social media influencer Marc D’Amelio, a 1991 UConn graduate, formed the D’Amelio Huskies Collective as a means of offering assistance in personal branding and social media activity.
UConn announced over the summer that the athletic department is working with the school’s Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation to help create NIL opportunities for athletes. The school also said in June that it would be “working to explore and identify collectives that align with the best interest of studentathletes.”