NIL has completely transformed college athletics and changed the futures of college athletes, yet many don’t get credit for the good things they do with those funds.
But you know that we will always celebrate athletes who use their NIL funds for good.
That includes athletes like former Miami Hurricanes’ QB D’Eriq King, who used NIL money to help teammates who are struggling financially; former Michigan Wolverine Blake Corum, who used his NIL money for turkey drives and community service events, and the Indiana Hoosiers football team, which used NIL funds to partner with local organizations dedicated to stopping gun violence.
Now there’s the story of former South Carolina Gamecocks basketball player BJ Mack, who used his NIL funds to help his father open “The House of Hoops” barbershop in their hometown of Charlotte, NC.
“That first one was just for me. That was something to do,” said Brian Mack to The Charlotte Observer about his previous shop. “This one has so much more meaning behind it. Because of my son and my family being involved.”
BJ played for Wofford College for three seasons before transferring to South Carolina as a graduate student and averaged 13.6 ppg.
Now he and his father will share their love of basketball at their basketball-inspired barbershop, which is full of basketball memorabilia.
But basketball is just one part of the barbershop. The more important qualities are the culture, atmosphere and experience, qualities they focused closely on when building the shop.
“I was born and raised here all my life,” said Brian Mack. “A lot of new people are coming in here. We want to make sure, 20-30 years from now, the history that supports the Charlotteans is still preserved somewhere.”
And that history begins with a son using his earnings to build a legacy with his father.
