How Cohesion Foundation is built differently than other Ohio State NIL collectives
Standing amidst numerous booths of Columbus businesses and national companies, Dan Apple settled in and chatted with Ohio State football players last week.
The executive director of the Buckeyes-focused collective Cohesion Foundation has quickly learned how large a role NIL now plays in college football. It’s been a rush the last two months. Brought on as the first full-time employee of the organization, he’s helped build out the list of athletes working with the collective.
For Apple, it’s almost been a flashback to his career in banking. He helped found Cooper State Bank in 2015, running the company for 10 years before it was bought out. During his tenure, the financial establishment spread throughout central Ohio.
Every day brought on a new challenge. NIL may be in a completely separate line of work but it’s an ever-evolving landscape. At last week’s Ohio State’s Career and NIL Expo, Apple and his Cohesion team mingled with possible future clients.
“You know, I started a bank from scratch,” he said, stepping away for a few minutes to discuss Cohesion. “So it reminds me a lot of when I did that. It’s very fulfilling.”
Cohesion focused on student-athletes in all Ohio State sports
Since it launched nearly a year ago as the second collective in the Columbus NIL market, Cohesion has branded itself differently. The organization is a sponsor of the Ohio State Athletic Department, through an agreement with Learfield sports properties, which is the Buckeyes’ multimedia rights holder.
While the organization does have the blessing from Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, the athletic department has been hands-off in promoting any collective. Cohesion was the lone NIL entity at the expo last week. A university spokesperson said the event was open to anyone and did not know why the other Ohio State-dedicated collective, The Foundation, wasn’t in attendance.
Prioritizing sports outside of football and basketball has also been one of Cohesion’s pillars. A large percentage of collectives have opted to just focus on signing partnerships with athletes from those two sports. Cohesion has instead spread the opportunity, signing athletes from golf, hockey, cheerleading and rowing.
Apple estimates of the collective’s 50 total athletes, 20 are from the football team. That number is also starting to pick up, though. As a registered nonprofit, the collective has focused on finding charitable opportunities for athletes to fulfill.
Nine players spent time with kids at the Ronald McDonald House to make Valentine’s Day cards and play games back in February. Marvin Harrison Jr. also signed with the collective in early March, spending time at the Ronald McDonald House.
“We’ll help in any way we can,” Apple said. “I mean – I’ve shouldn’t say to pick and choose. But, you know, we’re trying to help all sports, and we realize that’s [roster retention] a part of it. We’ll speak with the coaches on what some of the biggest needs are, etc.”
“In a perfect world, we would be able to support all 1,000 athletes across all 36 sports.”
When Ohio State head coach Ryan Day threw out the $13 million figure needed for NIL last spring, it caught the attention of many across college athletics. The dollar amount was meant to provide NIL options for players at Ohio State instead of leaving for the transfer portal.
One of the chief focuses for collectives has become roster retention. The portal is set to open again starting this Saturday, and the 15-day window could show the progress Ohio State has made in NIL.
Cohesion working on multiple models
Cohesion is only starting to ramp up its activity. With Apple on board, as well as two other full-time staff members, the collective is able to spend more time meeting with donors and Columbus businesses.
Apple said Cohesion is starting to explore the opportunity of establishing a for-profit entity. There are not any concrete plans, however, it will be under the collective’s umbrella under a new name. The same model has worked for a number of collectives, including Indiana, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. It provides top-end donors the ability to make tax-deductible donations and athletes to make a decision if they want to do charitable work.
Cohesion has made an emphasis to insert itself in community events, too. A partner of the Ohio State 4 miler run this Sunday, a number of Cohesion athletes will be participating. And the organization has helped promote the Coaches and Cocktails event on April 24, which benefits the Buckeye Cruise for Cancer and Ryan Day’s preferred charities.
The challenge remains on educating fans and boosters on how their contributions help Ohio State. Apple thinks he is starting to get away from that and creating change.
“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, they’re already getting a scholarship,’” Apple said. “And then they realize that these athletes don’t have time to hold down a job because these sports are a full-time job and the commitment. So once they understand that, and then also when they understand the charities that they’re serving, and raising awareness and giving back to the community, I think it really helps people.”
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