More than two years ago, then-SDSU head football coach Brady Hoke asked former Aztec WR JR Tolver to spearhead the NIL Collective for his alma mater. 

Looking back on that discussion in an interview on Episode 141 of The SDSU Podcast last week, Tolver joked that he probably should have turned Hoke down, given all that he had going on in his life. 

However, because of his passion for SDSU and the business world, he took it on. He has no regrets despite the challenges he’s faced.

Aztec Link was created in July 2022, recently passing its two-year anniversary. It has grown through Tolver and the collective’s board of director’s dedication. They have given their time, money, and expertise to the cause. 

Despite the successes of the SDSU men’s basketball and football teams over the past 15 years, the programs still played at a disadvantage against Power 5 schools who collected much larger checks from their conferences and had more resources. “Keeping up with the Jones” continued to be a struggle. When NIL entered the picture, that struggle intensified. 

“I think when we first started, the goal was just to have something that would keep us competitive,” explained Tolver. “I understood how important NIL (was) going to be. …  (My thought was) I’ll open this thing up. I’ll put some credibility behind it as being a guy who’s come to the program and inducted into the Hall of Fame, cares about the community, and there will be a bunch of time, talent, and resources that follow as a result. But it was met with a little bit of resistance and I was not expecting that. It makes sense (because) NIL is different. It’s changing college football.”

The schools with donors willing to cut large checks to get the best players were at the forefront of the NIL revolution in college sports. Despite the 400,000+ Aztec alumni that live in San Diego, that is not the culture that exists here. Tolver credits Aztec Link for evaluating the landscape in San Diego and tailoring the rollout to fit the community. 

“We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what this San Diego community will respond to, and … I feel like we’re getting a little bit closer and closer to being exactly what this community needs,” said Tolver. … If you go to Oklahoma State, you probably just have a bunch of donors who are going to cut checks because they’re used to cutting checks in a way to support athletics. This San Diego community is a little bit different. We are an experiences community. We’re a community that really values our time. This is a very expensive place to live and there’s always people and purposes that are competing for every dollar that we earn. So we feel like, as a collective, we have to meet our community where it is.” 

In April, Aztec Link hosted a golf tournament with over 100 participants and raised $50,000. Before that, the Lamont Butler collectible, “The Shot,” was an opportunity for fans to own a piece of Aztec and San Diego history. Recently, the group negotiated a deal with Chase Fisher and Blenders to create a football-inspired pair of sunglasses behind the mantra, “Be the A1pha.”

“Brands are really what name, image and likeness is all about and it was awesome that Chase wanted to lean into his alma mater and create a business opportunity not only for our student athletes but for his company,” Tolver explained. “We sat down and negotiated a deal with Chase and a percentage of the revenue from these glasses are going to come back to the collective. This is truly name, image, and likeness and the way that businesses in this community can also benefit from this new rule change.”

The shades will be available for pre-order in early September through the Blenders website.

Tolver indicated that the collective’s ultimate goal is for over 90% of the incoming revenue to go back out to the student-athletes. Currently, they are below that goal due to the higher business costs required to set up and function the collective. 

Aztec Link’s latest venture, the 100 Yard Challenge, just raised another $100,000 for the football team. Coinciding with the start of the football season, Aztec Link launched the challenge about four weeks ago and hit the $100,000 mark this past Saturday. 

Providing experiences is the name of the game for Aztec Link, and this challenge was no different. Donors of $500 or more will receive a personalized thank-you call from a player, while donors of $2,500 or more will join the team for a practice and meal. In addition to those benefits, Tolver also added another layer to the challenge by offering a “Be the A1pha” shirt to the first 100 who donated at least $16 to the challenge. 

“You’re going to give some money to the NIL efforts of San Diego State student athletes but you’re also going to get an experience out of that,” Tolver explained. 

Providing experiences is not just set aside for alumni or fans. It’s also a big piece of the puzzle for student-athletes. SDSU’s NIL program has been built around enriching the players’ lives, not just through monetary benefits but life experiences. Community service has been paramount in that regard. 

Aztec Link teamed up with the Lucky Duck Foundation as part of the 100-Yard Challenge. The foundation’s website states that their mission is “to prevent and alleviate the suffering of homelessness throughout San Diego County.” 

The idea was spawned by one of its own who took it upon himself to help the homeless in his community. Senior CB Xavier Hamlet grew up in San Diego and played football at Lincoln High School and Grossmont College prior to joining the Aztecs. 

“When Xavier was at Grossmont College, he and a couple of buddies decided, let’s go out and feed the homeless, and they did it,” Tolver recounted. “They loved it. They got a lot of joy out of it.”

As part of the partnership, every $500 raised in the 100 Yard Challenge will result in one hour of community service by a football player. Reaching the $100,000 goal will now yield over 200 hours of community service hours through the Lucky Duck Foundation. 

“Homelessness here in San Diego, as we know, is an epidemic, right?” Tolver asked. “It’s a huge problem. I think the Lucky Duck Foundation has been probably the best proponent in the community attacking that problem as a nonprofit organization. So we teamed up with them … and to me, that’s name, image, and likeness. It’s using a student athlete’s passions and their purpose, getting them connected to the community in a way that they can make a little bit of money, but they can also get to know the community. For us, name, image, and likeness really is about connecting students with purpose and connecting the community to those students.”

NIL is here to stay. What some fans thought would be a short-term blip has turned into a long-term stay. Even Tolver, a former college athlete himself, believes NIL has changed the culture and fabric of what college sports should be. But he understands sitting back and doing nothing compounds the problem for schools like his alma mater. 

“Those programs that lean into it, that get really good at it, are going to get great kids, and they’re going to retain great kids,” Tolver added. “I think my biggest takeaway is that a lot of people doing a little bit is going to go a long way. If we can start communicating to the community that $22 a month from 22,000 people is going to be way more sustainable and a lot easier to build around than if we have to find a half-a-million-dollar donor every quarter.”

“I think there’s enough people out there that care enough about Aztec Athletics that if we can continue to preach that message, hopefully, that light bulb starts coming on for more Aztec fans and we can continue to grow our base of supporters who we can exchange experiences with.” 

Aztec Link memberships start at just $22/month, with varying experiences offered among tiers.

Andre Haghverdian

Avid sports fan and historian of basketball, baseball, football and soccer. UC San Diego and San Diego State alumni living in America’s Finest City. Diverse team following across multiple sports leagues, but Aztecs come first in college athletics.