Notes and takeaways from the Hail! Impact NIL launch event in Ann Arbor
The Wolverine was invited out to a private event at The Chop House in Ann Arbor on Friday night for the official launch of Hail! Impact, the latest organization to enter the NIL space to support Michigan Athletics.
“NIL has changed the landscape of college athletics, especially college football,” co-founder Chin Weerappuli said during a presentation at the event. “To attract and retain top talent, you need to have a strong NIL program. We want to be transformational, but we also want to be amongst the best in the country to have those Saturdays that we’ve been having the last couple of years.”
With so many balls in the air with different collectives in the space, Hail! Impact seeks to be something different. The organization has the endorsement of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh and university president Santa J. Ono, both unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
The idea is to take the transformational approach Harbaugh has discussed publicly what players can get out of his program but to mix it with community-based impact work that provides stipends of $40,000 to each scholarship player on the football team. Eventually, the group wants to support the other athletic programs at U-M.
Hail! Impact is different because it is a non-profit organization with a 501c3 status pending, meaning that donors could receive tax benefits and incentives for contributing to the cause. From there, athletes will be placed with organizations for volunteer-based assignments and work that could also help fund those respective groups. The Human Society of Huron Valley and Ele’s Place were the two foundations cited in the presentation with more announcements to come shortly. The Ross Business School will also be involved in the endeavor.
There are three pillars to the program that student-athletes will have to meet. First, they are asking for a 24-hour commitment to volunteer projects that athletes could exceed with service to qualified non-profit organizations. Weerappuli does not believe this is a difficult ask given that Michigan players by and large have asked for more opportunities. Players will also be asked to attend a “Leaders and Best” seminar series, where they would attend a set of classes in conjunction with the school of business and law schools. The triple-prong approach between those entities and football is a potentially powerful mix.
The third and final pillar is a 1-2 page report to the coaching staff to summarize their experience and what they get out of working with it. It is something that is expected to help the coaches learn about the work being done and also for the organization to collect feedback on the process and experience.
Hail! Impact is seeking a $5 million annual fund to make the stipends happen. During the presentation, the organization stated 70% of the funds would go directly to the players, 20% to the organizations they work with and 10% to operating costs. Michigan players have shown a willingness to participate in community-based work, but have struggled to manage the opportunities with full-time commitments to school and football. Hail! Impact is positioning itself to be a mediator between student-athletes and the organizations they work with.
Takeaways and tidbits from the newest Michigan NIL organization
Some may wonder if the Michigan NIL space is getting cluttered with collectives, but Hail! Impact does see itself as different from the others. They have a working relationship with Valiant Management and the Champions Circle, so boats are rowing in the same direction. No other details about the relationship were revealed, but the new group is connecting with the Valiant folks, who by and large have carried Michigan’s efforts with NIL over the last few years.
There are already Michigan players involved, too. Sophomore cornerback Amorion Walker is the program’s lead ambassador and classmates Will Johnson and Kody Jones are involved, too. Freshman wide receiver Semaj Morgan is also in the mix. Family members of Walker, Johnson and Morgan were in attendance at the event Friday night.
Weerappuli and his team were extremely transparent in their presentations and conversations with those in attendance Friday night. It also knows there is no hard and fast way to get the job done. It wants feedback and encourages conversation among all of its stakeholders.
A lot of people in the NIL game nationally have started collectives and figured out the logistics later. This is a group with a cohesive plan that knows it has a lot of work to do. It has the backing of Harbaugh and Ono but ultimately will need public support from the athletic department. If the current plan holds up, it is hard to see why it would not happen sooner rather than later. Support from U-M and the donors is paramount.
Many NIL deals revolve around pushing a product or posting on social media, cashing the check and being done with it. Hail! Impact wants there to be a tangible community benefit that helps fulfill the mission of the Michigan football program. It could also help retain talent that might not have immediate playing time but can be compensated for their time while waiting for an opportunity to make an impact on the field.
But above all else, it’s the people that run the organization that makes this latest Michigan endeavor feel like it has a chance. While there is still a long way to go funding-wise, we were told Hail! Impact has generated somewhere in the range of $1 million so far. After a soft launch earlier this week and the official launch on Friday night, it is now all systems go.
The only sense of an agenda was forwarding the mission of the football program to stay near the top of the sport while also increasing its appeal to acquire and retain talent. It needs the backing of the powers that be – both donors and the university – to make that happen. But it is another avenue for Michigan to take a bigger step into a NIL setup that competes with the best of the best nationally.
Many Michigan donors have been waiting on clarity from the athletic department and organizations on their best course of action and tax implications. Hail! Impact appears to have a solid plan in place. There will remain other for-profit collectives in the market, which is expected and necessary. This new endeavor has the backing of some heavy hitters in the leadership department. Now, it needs donors and support. Now that the group’s pitch is public, we will see where it goes.
For more information or to donate to the Hail! Impact organization, be sure to check out their website. The Wolverine will have more on the organization as it develops.
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