Christmas stress? Welcome to the world of Country Roads Trust’s Stephen Ford
If you think Christmas shopping is stressful, imagine the task in front of Country Roads Trust’s Stephen Ford, the General Manager and COO of West Virginia’s Name, Image and Likeness collective serving the Mountaineers.
Football players across the country and at WVU are coming and going like UPS drivers to front porches.
“This is the first full NIL/transfer portal cycle,” Ford said on Tuesday. “It’s a very unique time for the Trust and collectives all around the country.
“In Morgantown here, we’ve been doing a lot – including fact-finding. We’ve been collecting as much data as possible to help [football coach] Neal [Brown] and the football program make the best financially sound decisions.”
In a way it’s more difficult than the NFL, which has a salary cap. With colleges, there is no salary cap. In another way, though, there is a salary cap – whatever money collectives can raise from fans for their favorite teams.
Also, there are priorities.
“Retention and the ability to succeed within the portal are priorities 1-A and 1-B,” Ford said. “At WVU, there are a lot of needs we have to fill, especially on the defensive side. So we have to look at the big picture. It’s non-stop fact-finding.”
The good news for Ford and Country Road Trust is Mountaineer fans really responded to the hire of Wren Baker as WVU Director of Athletics.
“With new leadership at the helm we saw an incredible financial uptick with the help of social media,” Ford said. “Our fanbase raised $100,000 in annualized subscriptions in three days. That sets up well for 2023. If we can keep that pace up each month we’ll be in good shape.”
The goal is to use Baker’s bump as a floor not a ceiling.
“We’re working to build on that multiplied four or five times in 2023,” Ford said. “Then, in 2024, we want to double and triple that. These recent membership fundraising successes we’ve had are going to help us create more and more opportunities for the program.”
The collective’s task, however, is not easy.
“Again, it’s the first full cycle,” Ford said. “We have the mix of transfer portal and NIL. It’s been a huge learning experience for coaching staffs, support staffs, collectives and fans wanting to contribute. There’s a market out there I don’t think is really understood by many.”
There’s also the process to understand. The transfer portal is open for 45 days, according to Ford, from Dec. 5 to Jan. 18. That’s about six-and-a-half weeks, not six days. Players can stretch out the process until Jan. 18. And if they really want, they can go back in the portal in April, when there is a 15-day window.
Obviously, Ford, Brown and coaches all across the country would prefer everything be settled much sooner than that.
“We want to get guys committed and here as soon as possible, playing spring ball and the spring game and getting ready for summer workouts,” Ford said.
Yet the Country Roads Trust GM simply has to continue grinding.
“We’re all learning, even the big, big brands,” Ford said. “We’re all trying to navigate. For us it’s got to be a collective effort with WVU’s fans. We’re doing promotions through the holidays. We have a ‘match day’ coming up when donations will be matched. It’s not easy, but we’re giving it our all. And we won’t stop until WVU has a nationally recognized team on the field year in and year out.”
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To check out Country Roads Trust’s website, click here: https://countryroadstrust.com
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.
