The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Los Angeles-based Passes, a direct-to-fan engagement and monetization platform, have joined forces to unlock athlete Name, Image, Likeness value across 29 varsity sports, improve recruiting and retention, and create an “ecosystem for unprecedented fan access.”
The multi-year partnership empowers Michigan student athletes to sell exclusive content, mentorships, and merchandise and empowers fans to play a role in the retention and recruitment of athletic and academic talent.
It offers fans a new opportunity to follow, support, and engage with University of Michigan teams and athletes. Passes says it will enhance fan engagement and connectivity, while providing student-athletes with tools to develop their personal brands.
The focal point of the partnership is the Michigan Content Hub, where subscribers will be able to select from a variety of tiers to receive access to exclusive content, merchandise, and experiences.
All Michigan student athletes are positioned to benefit from Passes, which currently features several athletes earning 6-7 figures on the platform. From exclusive merchandise and signed memorabilia to post and pre-game livestreams, the Passes platform allows for total customization to best reach the interests of diverse audiences.
Subscriptions to the main Michigan x Passes page will benefit all Michigan sports teams, including next year’s 146th football team. Proceeds from all merchandise and content on the main page will be directed toward ensuring that Michigan athletics, through recruiting, retention, and portal transfers, will remain in contention for national championships year after year.
The goal of the Hail! Tier, at $5 per month, is to demonstrate that subscriptions of any size can have an impact on Michigan’s ability to be successful in today’s college landscape.
“The University of Michigan ranks highly among the world’s great institutions of higher learning and enjoys a rich, tradition-laden history in college sports,” says Lucy Guo, CEO of Passes. “Michigan fans like myself want to see our teams raise that National Championship trophy every year. Passes is especially proud to partner with University of Michigan and have the opportunity to work with student-athletes and the Wolverine community in Ann Arbor and around the world.”
Passes’ support of the University of Michigan does not end with its commitment to student athletes. Passes intends to offer summer internships and expects to recruit on campus for a variety of positions at Passes corporate office in Los Angeles. Passes already has hired on-campus support in Ann Arbor to produce content and ensure that student athletes have necessary resources to be successful on the platform.
The partnership is live here where users can purchase merchandise without creating a Passes profile.
