Gerry McNamara, other Syracuse sports coaches stress importance of new NIL strategy

The head coaches of Syracuse Orange sports teams say SU's newly announced third-party NIL strategy is critical for their teams to thrive moving forward, in an era of college sports where the programs with the deepest financial pockets are often those who succeed the most.

On Tuesday, Syracuse Athletics announced that SU Football NIL, a third-party NIL organization focused on Syracuse football players, was evolving into a third-party marketing agency called One Orange Alliance that will support all 20 varsity sports at the 'Cuse.

After a commercial name, image and likeness ("NIL") collective known as Orange United closed up shop last fall (it launched in September of 2023), Syracuse had been lacking a third-party entity to facilitate NIL deals for 'Cuse athletes in sports beyond football. Over the long term, if that continued, it would have been problematic for SU to remain competitive both within the Atlantic Coast Conference and on a national scale, experts have told me.

There were rumblings in recent months that SU Football NIL might expand its reach beyond primarily football. SU Football NIL, which launched in the fall of 2023, had done some NIL deals for 'Cuse players in sports other than football, I'm told. Candidly, it made sense for that organization to broaden its horizon, rather than attempt to bring in another completely new entity.

Tuesday's announcement is significant, because Syracuse Orange sports teams need a strong third-party NIL infrastructure in place to supplement what SU does in terms of paying its athletes directly in the form of revenue-sharing.

For example, let's suppose for a second that Syracuse men's basketball, led by first-year head coach Gerry McNamara, is hoping for a $10 million roster budget in the 2026-27 campaign. Let's also suppose that the program will get about $5 million for its players in rev-share. The other $5 million needs to come from third-party NIL initiatives, and having One Orange Alliance to support men's basketball and other SU sports was absolutely, positively needed.

Said McNamara: "When I came back to Syracuse, I told you I was here to win. 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."

Syracuse sports head coaches laud the new One Orange Alliance.

Fran Brown, the head coach of Syracuse football, says SU Football NIL has done a great job with his players over the past few years, and he's glad that the group is expanding to focus on all 'Cuse sports. "My hope has always been for our NIL efforts for every sport to be under one umbrella, because SU together makes SU better," Brown says.

Syracuse women's basketball had a terrific 2025-26 campaign, going 24-9 overall and advancing to the second round of this spring's NCAA Tournament. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack and her staff have spoken, on various occasions, about the importance of third-party NIL, especially from the business community, to aid in funding their roster.

Her team, Legette-Jack said, "is on the rise, and One Orange Alliance will help create the necessary opportunities for us to take the next step."

Added Syracuse men's lacrosse head coach Gary Gait, "Being part of a unified NIL effort across all of Syracuse Athletics means our players benefit from the strength of not only the best lacrosse fans in the country, but from the entire Orange family, and that's a powerful thing."

Colby Clark, the CEO of Feldmeier Equipment in Syracuse, will serve as the president of One Orange Alliance. He had been on SU Football NIL's board.

After news broke about the One Orange Alliance launch, fans on social media and in chat rooms bemoaned the inability to donate to a specific SU sport. Incoming athletics director Bryan Blair addressed that criticism via his X account, and it was good to see his response.

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