Hard Shell Collective

College sports are officially in the midst of a new era with the legalization of NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness). In this new era, NIL has altered the landscape of college sports forever, and it's not going away anytime soon. 

Maryland men's lacrosse has embraced the change through its partnership with The Hard Shell Collective, a third-party organization that works with the student-athletes to provide fans and supporters access to their favorite Maryland Men's Lacrosse student-athletes through contributions and subscriptions. Additionally, each membership level includes various exclusive benefits allowing student-athletes to receive legal compensation for their Name, Image, and Likeness. 

Notably, HSC works exclusively for the benefit of Terps Men's Lacrosse athletes and fans; it is not affiliated with the University of Maryland or the Men's Lacrosse team.

For HSC member Kip Fulks, a former Maryland men's lacrosse player, and an Under Armour co-founder, the Hard Shell Collective, was a perfect organization to get involved with in this new world of NIL.

"NIL allows a monetization of name and likeness and we have some of the best players in the world playing at Maryland. It's really cool now because they can monetize that and we want to help them do that fully."

The mutual benefits of HSC are far-reaching, according to Fulks. On the one hand, you give young lacrosse kids greater access to some of their idols. 

"Any 10-18 year old kid across the country that's a lacrosse fanatic, they want to know what goes into how Maryland is always in the Final Four, and how they're winning so many Championships. There's so much pent-up demand that, unless you go to the school, you would never know what it's like to go to Maryland. But now you can." 

On the other hand, the players, who serve as strong role models in the lacrosse community and beyond, receive some financial benefits for themselves and their families.

"There's this secret sauce about Maryland Men's Lacrosse that's really special," Fulks said. "We want to preserve that and bring it to life in a way that benefits the kids and families that are the ones that make it all happen."

HSC also never loses sight of the program's main mantra, "Be The Best." Just as the student-athletes strive to be the best every day in all walks of life, both on and off the lacrosse field, HSC helps empower student-athletes to Be The Best in the new era of NIL.

In terms of NIL, that means working with companies and brands that value the same "Be The Best" mindset. 

"You have some of the most talented, most skilled guys who are also all about the team and there are corporations and brands who want to be associated with that," Fulks said. "That's the connection, connecting the attributes that make Maryland great to brands that are trying to do great things."

Those same attributes are what the program prides itself on demonstrating to the youth every day. And now, with NIL, they can do it on a more significant platform with an increased social media presence and the ability to put on individual camps that can also be monetized. 

"Think about all these young players out there who look up to the Maryland players and think about what great role models these Maryland players are," Fulks said. "They value teamwork, dedication and all those gritty things that Coach Tillman promotes. That just feels great for a family who is trying to raise their kids in the lacrosse community."

"There's a lot of little, special things that these kids do to stay in shape and stay sharp for the next season that a lot of younger kids might not know even though they need to know," Fulks added. "It's a lifetime commitment to Be the Best."

In addition to wanting to connect with the next generation of young lacrosse stars, another point of emphasis for HSC has been to make the Collective a family-oriented one. Kids, and the rest of the families, are not just welcomed but encouraged to come out to all the Collective Events.

The Maryland men's lacrosse program is all about family, so it's only right that the associated collective is as well. 

"Currently, we have a few alumni whose kids are now playing at Maryland," Fulks said. "You have this generational commitment to a program and that's very special. It's not one and done here." 

This is especially true in a state like Maryland, where the sport of lacrosse reigns supreme.

"Maryland as a lacrosse state and community is the best of the best," Fulks said. "So that heritage and those family ties through lacrosse run deep. My son is 11 and I hope he plays midfield at Maryland."

It's that same sense of family that has former players so interested in being involved with HSC and its accompanying events. 

“All these kids have a great opportunity with NIL that we didn't have," Isaiah Davis-Allen ('17) said after he spoke to the team at the Tacos with the Terps HSC event. "It would have been nice to take advantage of some of the opportunities that have now been made available to college athletes. I want to do my part as a “younger” guy to help these guys navigate this process."

HSC is just recently getting off the ground, running behind a few schools regarding NIL. But that doesn't scare people involved like Fulks.

"We need people to understand that we're on a journey to build something for these players and their families. But it takes time, energy and commitment, which is perfect because that's exactly what Maryland Lacrosse is about." 

Fulks is confident that, with the help of donors and others passionate about the program, HSC will be running in full effect soon.

"Maryland is best in class in basically every area. This is new so we aren't at that point yet. But we will be. It's just what Maryland does."