Syracuse Athletics announces One Orange Alliance NIL partnership
Syracuse Athletics has partnered with third-party NIL collective One Orange Alliance, the program announced Tuesday. Avery Magee | Photo Editor
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Syracuse Athletics has partnered with third-party name, image and likeness collective One Orange Alliance, the university announced Tuesday. The collective allows individuals and businesses to make contributions to support SU’s teams and athletes’ NIL opportunities.
One Orange Alliance is one of the first major initiatives taken by incoming Director of Athletics Bryan Blair, who will officially replace outgoing Director of Athletics John Wildhack on July 1.
Blair launched the first NIL collective in the Mid-American Conference while he was Toledo’s athletic director in 2022. He’s played a role in doing the same at SU.
“By aligning third-party NIL efforts for each of our programs under one entity, our teams will be better positioned for success in this transformative era of college athletics,” Blair said in a press release Tuesday.
The collective will expand on Syracuse’s previous sole NIL collective, SU Football NIL, and serve all of the university’s sports rather than just football, per the release. Syracuse’s previous NIL collective, Orange United, shut down in October 2025 after two years. Now, the university has a third-party NIL collective once again.
However, all contributions can’t go to a specific team. They will be pooled together for all teams, Blair said at the announcement event.
One Orange Alliance’s website said the collective’s aim is to “build the most unified, multi-sport NIL operation in college athletics — one that aligns philanthropic fundraising, corporate partnerships, social and traditional media opportunities and community engagement to drive sustainable, long-term NIL revenue for current and future Syracuse student-athletes.”
The efforts to support SU athletics come at a crucial time for the Orange. The football team is coming off a disappointing 3-9 2025 campaign. The men’s basketball squad hired former player Gerry McNamara as its next head coach in March. McNamara is tasked with ending a five-year NCAA Tournament drought.
“When I came back to Syracuse, I told you I was here to win,” McNamara said in the release. “In order to win in this era, you need a strong NIL program for your student-athletes. One Orange Alliance provides those resources and opportunities not only to Syracuse Men’s Basketball, but to all of our programs.”
NIL — the ability for collegiate players to earn money from their personal brands, such as social media, appearances and endorsements — came into effect in June 2021 following an NCAA rule change. In June 2025, collegiate institutions could pay athletes directly following the House v. NCAA settlement.
On top of Syracuse and all other universities having a $20.5 million maximum to share with its athletes during the 2025-26 academic year, third-party NIL collectives like One Orange Alliance can raise additional money to pay athletes and teams.
In addition to One Orange Alliance, prospective donors can also make contributions to Orange sports through the ’Cuse Athletic Fund. The fund supports SU sports’ operations and facilities, while One Orange Alliance is dedicated to the NIL space and revenue directly to athletes.
“The passion and energy of our Syracuse community is unmatched,” Blair said in the release. “Having a true one-team mindset enables our student-athletes to benefit from the full support of Orange Nation. One Orange Alliance will further our student-athletes’ NIL opportunities and streamline the process for all of our stakeholders to get involved.”
